Literacy News
At Waverley College, we are committed to caring for and supporting all students on their Literacy journey. Here is just a sample of some of the many strategic initiatives and activities we have in place to ensure that our students are best supported from Year 5 right through to Year 12.
Writing
We are delighted to expand the Writer’s Toolbox program in 2024. Writer’s Toolbox is a comprehensive writing program, developed by Dr Ian Hunter that is designed to improve syntax, punctuation, and paragraphing. The interactive software component of the program has been very well received by our students and teachers across all faculties.
Students in Years 7 and 8 have been assigned a year-long Writer’s Toolbox Home Learning Program. This program requires students to complete set tasks on their Learning Journey. Students’ progress will be checked on a weekly basis.
Reading
All Year 7 and Year 9 classes have one scheduled Library lesson for Wider Reading each cycle in Semester 1. (Year 8 Library Lessons will resume in Semester 2). These classes are run by myself, Mr Roberts, the library staff, and the classroom teacher. In our Library Reading classes, our goal is to ensure that students read for pleasure.
Students also have time during English classes to complete wider reading and it is essential that students bring their own reading books to every English lesson, including when they attend their library lesson. Suggested reading lists for students can also be found on the relevant English CANVAS pages.
Preparation for NAPLAN
As was the case in 2023, the NAPLAN assessments will take place in March. Specific dates will be set by the College in the next few weeks and then communicated with students, parents, and carers.
All Year 7 and Year 9 students will be given a NAPLAN writing booklet to complete for home-learning in preparation for the NAPLAN writing test. This is just one aspect of the holistic approach adopted by all teachers to ensure that students in Year 7 and Year 9 are well prepared for the NAPLAN tests.
All NAPLAN resources are located on the Year 7 and Year 9 English CANVAS page. Students are also encouraged to use the public demonstration NAPLAN site to familiarise themselves with the types of questions and tools available in the NAPLAN online tests.
Additional Literacy Support – Years 7-10
Students are also encouraged to avail themselves of the following supports in the Library via our co-curricular program, run by expert teachers:
- Literacy – Monday and Tuesday, 3:30pm – 4:30pm
- Numeracy – Wednesday and Thursday, 3:30pm – 4:30pm
- Science – Wednesday and Friday mornings, 7:30am – 8:30am.
