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Head of Junior School<br />
REPORT<br />
2017 in the Junior School has been full, fun and fast.<br />
A major focus once again was thankfulness.<br />
Mrs Amy Corrigan<br />
Head of Junior School<br />
Staff and students regularly<br />
discussed the importance of being<br />
thankful for others, to lift up and<br />
encourage them, and also as a positive<br />
habit for each of us to <strong>demo</strong>nstrate. Our<br />
students also spent time discussing the<br />
concept of ‘Love is a Verb’. This topic<br />
was discussed in particular detail during<br />
Christian Studies and during class time,<br />
with encouraging and exciting results.<br />
Classes enjoyed working on personal<br />
goals to show that ‘Love is a Verb’. I was<br />
impressed with the range of ideas the<br />
children came up with. These included:<br />
‘Thankful Ninjas’, whole classes raised<br />
money for local community members,<br />
some classes wrote thank-you notes to<br />
people in our School and to others.<br />
Staff in the Junior School have enjoyed<br />
professional development and additional<br />
resources to support our ongoing<br />
Literacy focus. This year the Buddy<br />
Reading program was introduced. This<br />
highly successful scheme has not only<br />
fostered a genuine love of reading but<br />
has also positively affected playground<br />
interactions between students of varying<br />
ages. This year we celebrated Book<br />
Week and loved the pleasure our<br />
students and staff have taken in reading<br />
new and interesting stories. The<br />
culminating event for this fun week was<br />
the first K–6 Book Parade and teacher<br />
Reader’s Theatre. The students brought<br />
an amazing selection of characters and<br />
stories to the Parade as we watched<br />
buddy classes walk together reflecting<br />
on this focus, I remembered a quote by<br />
a favourite author, C S Lewis, “A children’s<br />
story that can only be enjoyed by children<br />
is not a good children’s story in the<br />
slightest.” A great reminder of the joy<br />
that can be found in reading for all ages.<br />
This year many talented students in our<br />
School achieved heights we had not seen<br />
before. More than 450 students attended<br />
sports carnivals of varying levels, breaking<br />
all sorts of records. Our Swimming<br />
Carnival, Cross Country and Athletics<br />
Carnivals continue to provide opportunities<br />
for students to push themselves and<br />
achieve goals. Students have had the<br />
privilege of trialling for CIS sporting teams<br />
or representing the School in PISA.<br />
Our NAPLAN results were a good<br />
reflection of the hard work of staff and<br />
students alike, with both Year 3 and<br />
Year 5 results s above State and AIS<br />
averages. Student teams won prizes<br />
in a range of competitions including<br />
Tournament of the Minds, and a gifted<br />
Year 5 team was awarded second place<br />
in the 2017 University of Sydney Sleek<br />
Geeks Science Eureka Prize.<br />
Years 3–6 participated in their annual<br />
camps this year. For many students this<br />
is their first overnight adventure and all<br />
the camps were a great success. We<br />
are so proud of each student and the<br />
resilience they <strong>demo</strong>nstrated in tackling<br />
what is sometimes a tricky first step.<br />
I thoroughly enjoyed my time visiting<br />
the students and staff at each camp<br />
– I witnessed students and teachers<br />
enjoying the flying fox, the crate climb,<br />
BMX riding, rock climbing and more.<br />
A huge thank you to our dedicated staff<br />
who sacrifice time with their families<br />
(and sometimes tiny, new babies!) to<br />
be there, it was obvious from all the<br />
smiling faces it was much appreciated.<br />
The Year 6 students have served<br />
the School so well in their various<br />
leadership roles throughout the year.<br />
For the first time, every student in Year<br />
6 elected a portfolio area to serve the<br />
School in as a leader. These portfolios<br />
included a Community, Ministry,<br />
Creative focus. Our Year 6 students<br />
once again proved to be caring and<br />
compassionate mentors and buddies to<br />
their peers and will be greatly missed<br />
as they move on to Year 7 next year.<br />
We have a group of dedicated Junior<br />
School student leaders who have run<br />
lunchtime clubs for interested peers and<br />
sacrificed their time to contribute to<br />
the School community. Student leaders<br />
enjoyed receiving training and attending<br />
a student leadership conference to learn<br />
about the qualities of an effective leader.<br />
Each year our goal is to see each and<br />
every student grow and learn in a<br />
positive environment. A 2017 Oxford<br />
Falls Grammar School student had<br />
opportunities throughout the year to<br />
display and work on qualities such as<br />
diligence, servant-heartedness, respect,<br />
to develop in their Faith, knowledge<br />
and love of God. I am impressed by the<br />
passion and dedication our students<br />
exhibit in their commitment to their<br />
academic and personal interests and we<br />
look forward to another great year ahead.<br />
Mrs Amy Corrigan<br />
Head of Junior School<br />
OFFICIAL REPORTS HEAD OF JUNIOR SCHOOL REPORT<br />
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