Letter from the Vice Principal
Posted February 09 2010Dear Parents and Guardians
Welcome to a brand new year at Huntingtower. I hope you have had a good break enjoying the summer with family and friends. Over the past few days the teachers have been busy in their teams preparing units of work, lessons, classrooms and other exciting activities all designed to deepen their understanding of teaching in the 21st century. It has been a joy to work in Huntingtower’s professional learning community where action research, a thoughtful approach and sharing expertise with colleagues is the norm.
New schedule:
This year ushers in several changes at school; the most significant involves the daily schedule. The day now begins with the first lesson at 8.25am sharp and not a mentor period. (The roll will be taken electronically at the beginning and the end of the day). This means classes start immediately. Mentor time comes later in the day. Students must be at school at 8.15am in order to be ready at their classroom door for period 1. On Fridays, the day starts with period 1 at 9am. This allows for teachers to have curriculum meetings before school and for the Senior Orchestra to rehearse. The Principal’s assembly will now be on a Tuesday morning after recess.
In addition to these changes, lessons will now last 70 minutes as opposed to 43 minutes. The day therefore will have five periods rather than eight like previous years. The decision to have longer lessons is in line with research which states that students need to have longer lessons so that deeper thinking, and more varied activities can occur within the allotted time. Students also spend less time moving to different classes and therefore save on learning time. It also creates a far easier time at school for students who only have to organize themselves and their homework around five lessons. Teachers are very excited about these changes and have devoted considerable time to readjusting their teaching strategies to be in line with longer lessons.
New staff:
This year we welcome back Yvonne David (Tenne), Leigh Parsons and Lisa Sutton after a one year absence. Hayden McQueenie joins the staff as a part time senior maths teacher. He is passionate about his subject and I know the students will enjoy his classes.
Professional development:
This is ongoing at Huntingtower and works within the theme of ‘2020 Vision’ as we strive to meet the needs of all our students in the new century. At Huntingtower, we aim to find ways to unlock the unlimited potential of every student. To do this we do the following:
- Involve over 90% of our staff in training in the Teaching for Understanding (TfU) framework. TfU was developed by researchers at Harvard Graduate School of Education as a ‘tool to design, revise, and review curriculum and instruction that helps students develop understanding’. The framework guides teachers’ efforts to design effective teaching that supports students in building understanding of important content. In this day and age understanding and application of knowledge, not simply regurgitation of facts, is crucial to success.
- Have ‘2020 Teaching’ meetings every week where a staff member presents to the faculty a teaching strategy that deepens thinking.
- Have Huntingtower staff make presentations, run workshops at conferences and schools and submit articles for publication.
- Have teachers attend network meetings as well as local, interstate and international conferences and report back at staff meetings.
- Have teams that meet regularly to plan, revise and reflect on units.
- Over the holidays Ms Gordon and I spent time in the USA at Principia School, sharing the good work that Huntingtower does around teaching, learning and creating a vibrant professional learning community. Ms Gordon also visited our friends at Harvard University to present the research she has conducted on the impact of Teaching for Understanding at Huntingtower.
We aim to have the best educational team and the best learning environment in the world.
Vice Principal:
I am now moving into my fifth year as Vice Principal (already!). My broad objectives remain the same: to make the school an even better place for students, staff and parents and to improve the learning of every student. I also aim to leave a legacy. The previous years have been most successful with many positive changes. I am looking forward to working with the School Principal and the members of the executive to continue the momentum.
New team:
With the departure of Dot Greiveson to take up the role of the Junior School Headmistress, some small reshuffling of roles in the senior school has occurred. My role continues to be to oversee the Middle and Senior school and to act as Principal for the entire school when Mr. Bowen is away. Meredith Lawson (Middle School Coordinator, Years 7-9) and Noel Davies (VCE Coordinator, Years 10-12), keep me informed of the progress of students and programmes in their respective areas. They meet regularly with mentors and teachers to assess the needs of all students. Fiona Gordon (Teaching and Learning Coordinator, Years Prep-12) is responsible for the development of a dynamic and relevant curriculum. Her key role is to support the teachers in their journey of continuous improvement.
Mentors:
Mentor groups in Years 7-10 will continue to take place in class groups. For example 7.1 will meet as 7.1 and will consist of a mixture of all three houses. In most cases, the mentor will also teach his\her mentor group for a subject. This means the mentor will see them more than only in the mentor time. By having a mentor responsible for a class group, he\she will better monitor the progress of the students.
The focus for the first part of the year will be on the theme True North. Students will view a presentation and complete a number of workshops during the term in their mentor groups with the aim to develop their understanding of what it means to be values driven.
All students will be involved in goal setting. Goals will be discussed and then written in the student planner. They will be reviewed each term. You are encouraged to keep a close check on the planner as it is a good way to monitor your child’s homework and communicate with teachers.
The mentors are;
Year 7: Mr Amos (coordinator), Ms P Dove, Ms Fletcher-McGookin
Year 8: Mr Walkerden, Ms Phan, Mr Brown (Ms Lawson is the coordinator)
Year 9: Ms Goddard (coordinator), Ms Tiepermann, Mr Parsons
Year 10:Ms Stevens (coordinator), Ms Bush, Ms Craik
Year 11: Mr Hill (coordinator), Ms Lyristis, Mr Borbely
Year 12: Ms Christensen, Mr Newman, Ms Matthews (Mr Davies is the coordinator)
The mentors are responsible for the pastoral care of the group. They will meet with students regularly and keep abreast of the development of the students in their mentor group. Mentors will also meet on a weekly basis with teachers to ensure continuing support of the students. The mentor is the first ‘port of call’ for parents. Parents should feel free to contact the mentor about any issue relating to their child.
Year level coordinators are responsible for overseeing the progress of the year group. They are to be contacted for any issues relating to the Year. The year level coordinators work closely with the mentors to ensure all students are progressing adequately. They also ensure that the year level has a clear identity and that the program is meeting the needs of the students. They are responsible for coordinating the camp for the year level.
Students will continue to regularly meet in house groups. Led by Mr Rees, Ms Beal and Ms Jonas, the aim of the Houses continues to be to provide students the opportunity to form friendships with students across year levels, create leadership opportunities, to do community service and to compete in House competitions.
Please feel free to ask any questions or make suggestions as the year goes on. We value a strong bond between school and home at it has such a positive impact on the progress of the child.May I take this opportunity to wish the entire Huntingtower community a joyous and productive 2010!
Yours sincerely
Mr. Peter Dry
Vice Principal
February 09 2010 10:10 am | All | 
