| In Middle School at MLC the learning environment is designed to be one which presumes more than procedural engagement, where students "do as they are told" |
Teaching
& Learning Programs in the Middle School
The learning environment in Middle School aims to address the many and varied needs of every girl. It recognises that learning is most effective when it is relevant and purposeful and that the learning needs of girls in middle years of schooling are specific and
different from younger and older students. The focus is centred around the School’s core values of connectedness, wholeness and excellence.
We will continue to increase our focus on ‘wholeness’ – emphasising the importance of the girls' individual learning needs.
Specialised Middle School staff are experienced in meeting the learning needs of younger adolescents and bring curriculum expertise to engage students in real and relevant learning experiences within and beyond the classroom.
Year
6
Homeroom teachers, working as a Year 6 team, are each responsible for monitoring student outcomes in the learning areas of English, Mathematics, Science, Human Society and its Environment for their class. Specialist teachers are responsible for monitoring student outcomes in their learning area: Languages Other than English, PDHPE, Creative and Performing Arts. A major integrated unit in Year 6 investigates ‘Making Choices ’ on many levels, from friendships to Australian democratic processes. The culmination of classroom activities in HSIE, English, Science and Technology and PDHPE is a four-day trip to Canberra. The Pastoral Care Program looks at belonging and the impact of thoughtful decision making of communities. The Wetlands integrated unit with dance and drama will focus on environmental awareness and responsibility.
Year
7
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| Year 7 Service Learning |
Our Middle School recognises the need to provide extra support for girls in the important transition years between primary and secondary school. Mentors who teach a class in core curriculum areas monitor a student’s academic progress and pastoral care. To allow effective integration into secondary school, members of the Year 7 teaching team are chosen as experts in their field and concentrate their teaching in the Year 7 area. Core curriculum
teachers as ‘Mentors’ teach all girls in their Mentor Class in at least two core learning areas and are responsible for the outcomes in their speciality learning areas of English, Mathematics, Science, Human Society and its Environment or Mathematics or Science. They also teach the Learning to Learn course. Mentors are also responsible for monitoring a student’s settling into high school and assisting each student to make the most of her educational opportunities. Specialist teachers are responsible for outcomes in their learning area – Languages Other Than English, PDHPE, Technological and Applied Studies, Creative and Performing Arts. At MLC School it is compulsory for students to study a foreign language from Year 7 to Year 10 with the possibility of studying a second language from Year 9.
The integrated and differentiated tasks in Year 7 meet outcomes from all core curriculum areas and centre around St Stephen’s Church Newtown, The Renaissance, 'Shakespeare Day' and World Heritage.
Year
8
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| Year 8 Students in the Botanical Gardens during City Experience |
Students study a common core curriculum of English, Mathematics, Science, Human Society and its Environment and Learning to Learn. Specialist teachers working in teams are responsible for the outcomes in their speciality learning areas of Languages Other Than English, PDHPE, Technological and Applied Studies, Creative and Performing Arts.
The culmination of learning beyond the classroom experiences in Middle School is the three-week City Experience for Year 8. St Stephen’s Church Hall in Macquarie Street has become a city base for the group for the three weeks from the beginning of Term 4. Focus areas enable every girl to respond to the big question
‘Do we shape our environment or does our environment shape us?’ in their own area of interest. Interest areas are determined in consultation with the girls. Some examples included investigations into the emerald city, silence is golden and multiculturalism.
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