News from the Academic Academy
What a wonderful and interesting Term 1 it has been! This Term, I continue to admire the strength and resilience of our students and every day I am reminded our students are the reason I am so thankful to be working at A.B. Paterson College.
This year, I have a dual role at the College. I am the Director of Student Academic Performance and also Head of the Academic Academy.
The Academic Academy is an exciting initiative introduced by our Principal, Joanne Sheehy, in May last year. The Academic Academy coordinates and offers a significant number of academically enriching and challenging activities for students, ranging from opportunities for staged acceleration through to International level competitions. Students from Years 1 through to 11 are invited to join this program based on both subjective and objective data. This year, with removal of restrictions, we are excited to be able to partake in the Scholar’s Cup, Da Vinci Decathlon and Reader’s Cup, just to name a few.
In Years 1 and 2 the focus in the Academy is on inferential reading and developing long term memory skills. In Years 3-11 the students are involved in Project Based Learning which allows the student to actively engage in real world and meaningful programs. Students work on a project throughout the year where they focus on finding a solution to a 21st Century problem – from things such as wearable technologies, stopping food wastage, humans and their impact on the environment and personalised medicine. They demonstrate their knowledge through a public presentation at the Academic Gala Evening at the end of each year. This is a wonderful evening and one I hope many of you will be able to attend this year. Within the Academy our students are developing their critical thinking, collaboration, creativity and communication skills.
Looking at different ways students can improve their academic performance is an interesting challenge all teachers face. In my role as Director of Student Academic Performance, I am fortunate enough to work closely with the Heads of Faculty examining different ways we can differentiate for our students to ensure they all have access to the curriculum and can build upon their learning skills. We look at differentiating our content, product, process and environment to ensure success for all A.B. Paterson College students.
In addition, we have introduced our after school tutoring program this year. We have past students who were very successful in their academic work at school who come in and work with our students; giving them tips and advice on how to approach study and different assignments. This takes place in The Winton Centre, rooms Winton 4 and 5. If you have any questions regarding this new program, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Starting next term, we have made some changes:
- Monday - 3:30pm-5:00pm for all students in Years 4-6
- Tuesday – 3:30pm-6:00pm for Academic Academy Students Years 6-12
- Thursday – 3:30pm-6:00pm for all students Years 7-12
I thought I would finish with one of my favourite quotes from B.B. King, “The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.”
Wishing you all a lovely weekend.
Belinda Pilgrim
Director of Student Academic Performance
