It’s difficult to believe we’ve only been back for two weeks, Commencement Service, Academic Assembly, House Swimming, school photos, and the beginning of the new Tutor Group structure all having passed. This week’s House Swimming was a good micro example of how we’ve started – students were enthusiastic, squashed in, respectful, and eager, all true of the start of classes as well as the day on Wednesday.

Senior School Parent Information Night – Monday 17 February
Further to my correspondence earlier this week, next Monday is the Senior School Information Night, beginning at 7pm in Heyward Hall. We will start off with a general session pertinent to all of Senior School and then move into year-level focussed meetings. After these meetings, there will be a chance for you to meet and speak with Tutors and Year Level Leaders over a coffee or tea.

Please note that, while students are of course welcome to join us, the information will be targeted most specifically at parents.

Uniform Notes
Students have returned looking sharp and well put-together, so thank you for the efforts that are sometimes needed behind the scenes to achieve this. Two brief reminders: plain white socks with PE uniform please; and long-sleeved shirts always require a tie to be worn, open-necked short-sleeve are fine.

Michael Horne

Welcome to all the new families at Braemar College. As Dean of Research and Pedagogy my role is to oversee the curriculum and reporting across the Middle School and Senior School. I also ensure that instructional and teaching practices are supported by evidence and research.

SEQTA is the Learning Management System we use at Braemar. Among its features, it allows you as a parent to access results and feedback about tasks. Through the SEQTA Engage app, you will receive a notification when a result has been released. If you are not familiar with how to navigate SEQTA, I encourage you to attend one of the information sessions being held at the Woodend campus on the Monday 24 and Wednesday 26 February starting at 7pm.

Research shows that providing regular feedback is one of the most powerful ways of increasing student achievement.

Teachers provide feedback across a range of areas. These can include:

• how well the task was understood or completed;
• whether the process needed to undertake the task was followed;
• the extent to which the student was organised and able to complete the task independently, and their level of application and efforts; and
• what students can do to improve for future learning and assessment tasks.

Written feedback is only one way that students receive this information. In class, they receive feedback during every lesson. Teachers are constantly noticing, evaluating, and planning ways to support the different learning needs of their class.

Tasks may be released on SEQTA that do not have written feedback. Due to the nature of the task, it may be more appropriate for the teacher to deliver in person to the student or class. However, there is another reason why they may not have a letter grade. With the latest update of SEQTA, teachers have the option to release feedback and not publish a letter grade. This is an option that I am encouraging teachers to consider for some results they release. Dylan William, Emeritus Professor of Educational Assessment at University College London, is among the experts who believe grades aren’t always the best approach.

“When students receive both scores and comments, the first thing they look at is their score, and the second thing they look at is…someone else’s score. Being compared with others triggers a concern for preserving well-being at the expense of growth” he writes in the journal, Educational Leadership.

The focus should be on personal academic growth and how students have improved from the beginning of the task until the end. A letter grade does not always accurately reflect this growth.

Finally, students are asked to write a self-reflection on how they completed the task. This allows them to consider what they have done well and how they will improve next time.

Julia Padgett

New year, new instrument?

At Braemar, we are proud to run a progressive Music program that offers both classroom and extracurricular music lessons. The intention is to provide a well-rounded musical education and expose students to a broad spectrum of creative experiences.

Instrumental Lessons
Braemar College employs a team of skilled Instrumental Music Tutors who specialise in a particular family of instruments or area of music. Our students have the ability to learn a wide variety of instruments including Harp, Percussion, Guitar, Woodwind, Brass, Strings, Piano and more.

Lessons are in 30 or 60-minute slots during class time.

Click here to view the current Music Handbook for more details, or discuss your options with the Director of Music (directorofmusic@braemar.vic.edu.au).

College Ensembles
In addition to instrumental lessons, the College runs a variety of different inclusive Ensembles throughout each week that cater to a variety of musical tastes and abilities. College Ensembles are open to any Braemar student regardless of if they are studying music privately at the College or their level of musical ability. The Ensembles are a fantastic place to make new friends, get involved in your school community and learn to be a performer.

Justin Marshall