Learning and Teaching at STM Ruse

During the past month, I have visited every classroom and found myself excited to see all the students engaged in their learning. I am proud to say that our community offers fabulous supportive learning environments in which our wonderful teachers plan for and implement rich, interesting and well-structured learning experiences.

I witnessed students in learning opportunities that utilised techniques and strategies that had each student working on tasks that engage and challenge them to achieve their personal best. It was clear that the teachers had an understanding of how their students learn by the way they teach and provide each student with their own entry point to the lesson.

In Kindergarten I observed play-based learning, where the students were engaged in conversations at the washing line, of counting pegs and the identification of the colours.

In Year 1, I had an opportunity to be in the classroom, where I found the students were able to tell me of the routines they need to follow to ensure everyone can learn.

In Year 2, I was able to read with students and get an indication of how well they comprehend what they read.

In Year 3, I saw effective small group instruction that was led by the classroom teacher and the students showing they were ready to learn.

In Year 4, I viewed a Religious Education lesson in which the students were listening to the story of the Israelites escaping from Egypt, and the students were asked what to wonder and take the place of a character from the story.

In Year 5, I noticed how respectfully students responded in class discussions and listened to each other.

Finally, in Year 6, I have had the privilege to teach each week and have seen how the students have quickly built a rapport with the teachers which has had an impact on how they approach their learning, in an extremely positive and effective manner.

The students of STM are a credit to their first teacher, you, the parents and guardians. It warms my heart that they are so excited about learning.