Middle School

Middle School

Year 8 and 9 students at Keith Area School are members of our Middle School. The Middle School aims to provide a unique experience for students in a rewarding and understanding learning environment that recognises the needs of young adolescents.

Based in year level home groups, students are progressively exposed to a wider range of specialist teachers over the three years in preparation for Years 10 – 12. The home group room, however, remains a unifying thread through the majority of subjects, ensuring the best possible chance of a productive, efficient routine during the school day.

The overall purpose of the middle school will be to meet the educational, developmental, and social needs that emerge in this transitional period. The middle school program will provide a supportive and flexible environment so students will have opportunities to develop skills and explore a variety of learning experiences while making the transition from middle to senior school.

In keeping with this philosophy, the middle school will establish and provide:

A core curriculum of english, mathematics, science, and society and environment.

• A supportive environment for the physical and social development of every student.
• A positive climate that fosters self-esteem, self-discipline, and student responsibility.
• Knowledgeable educators who are committed to the middle school ethos.
• Close contact and communication between parents and school.
• A challenging curriculum and pace of learning to meet individual levels and understanding.
• Opportunities for intervention and acceleration when needs are identified.

The Home Group Teacher works very closely with the students in his/her home group and through the development of positive relationships is able to ensure that the social and emotional needs of each student are met.

Regular communication between Parents and the Home Group Teacher is encouraged to keep Staff and Parents informed. An interview between Parents and the Home Group Teacher will occur in Term 1 as part of the assessment process. Any feedback or information about a student’s welfare will be through the Home Group Teacher.

It is believed that goals will be reached when the student, the parent, and the teacher assume responsibility. The student will attend school regularly, maintain a positive attitude, and make an effort to achieve these goals. Parents will be supportive of the school system and encourage the student in learning. The teacher will strive for an optimal, professional approach to meet the individual needs of each student. When these responsibilities are met, maximum learning will be achieved.

Events and Activities

Camps:

• Year 7/8 (even years) venture to  Canberra
• Year 9 spend 3 days at Murraylands Aquatic Centre

NAPLAN:

• Year 7 & 9 will sit the tests in Term 2

National Competitions

Students will be encouraged to participate in the Maths, Science, English and IT competitions

Diary Use

The diary is a two-way communication tool between home and school.

The diary:

• acts as a prompt to plan resources to be taken home each day
• assists students to plan their time to meet due dates for assessment tasks
• provides the means to convey student achievements and assessment results to parents
• is the avenue to inform the school of a student’s absenteeism, late arrival, early departures and appointments
  outside the school structure
• assists communication to parents and teachers when interviews are required
• contains information regarding school rules and expectations, uniform requirements and policies of which both
  students and parents should be aware.

Students are to take their diaries to all lessons to record homework, assessment dates, reminders and achievement results.

Parents/Caregivers are asked to check their child’s diary regularly, preferably daily, to monitor their child’s progress and to sign it each weekend.

The diary will be checked by Home Group Teachers.

Homework

Homework is an integral part of the Middle School teaching and learning programme. The main purpose of homework is to consolidate, practice and review concepts, ideas and skills introduced in class. This could include short and long term tasks. Homework is set Monday to Thursday with Friday being set aside for ‘catchup’ purposes. Each subject will be allocated a night; however, students may be set weekly tasks. A homework timetable and an assessment plan will be provided to students to assist them with planning their homework. Students will be given guidance regarding time management and organisational skills in a Home Group lesson.