Pathways for Learning, anywhere and anytime

Last week, we opened our school to our community for an impressive Open Night display.  Thank you to the enthusiastic staff who provided engaging displays with our wonderful students partaking in  inspiring activities was “awesome”. The success of what we do everyday as a part of our business was clearly demonstrated in the way the students went about showing their learning to our guests, in a friendly, engaged manner. I was very impressed.I think every person who visited was enthused by the amazing levels of student learning and the commitment of staff.
Firstly, we take learning seriously, Marsden is more that the buildings and the facilities, it’s about the classroom activities and what learning looks like.  at Marsden we truly are preparing our students to learn for life.. we are life long learners!  Our visiting numbers were reasonably strong, and hopefully those who attended will sing our praises in our local community.

Learning and the new educational landscape.

What would the ‘utopia of learning’ look like ?  and secondly how could we make this a pathway for learning, anywhere and anytime. This question was posed at a recent symposium on education and where does Marsden fit in this education picture. I am thrilled to have all our Year 9 netbooks out and in the hands of our students. Already, there is great  changes happening in our classrooms showing innovative collaboration between students and teachers. This all has come about by our teacher champions joining forces with other schools to share their innovations and understanding the best way to engage and excite our students about quality learning by using the new learning netbooks. Ask your child about ‘edmodo’ or maybe what is a wiki.. ask them to show you. And for those who have thought that a 3D printer was impossible. OUr TAS department has been creating the most amazing 3D objects.. It must be seen to be believed. Our sincerest thanks goes to our very supportive P & C who funded this initiative.

Schools Spectacular.. our leading lights are both students and teachers.

William Wachsmann and Aiden Stirling in Year 12 as part to the vocal ensemble are preparing to be part of the highly accomplished musical production produced by our schools. Ms. Lee also displays her amazing piano skills as the ensembles pianist. We are privileged to have such amazing talents.

‘Giving’ and ‘helping others’ is one of the happiest times we can experience.

In the upcoming holidays our work studies students are off to Queensland, (Yelarbon) to assist with fencing and building for the QLD Flood Victims.. We are very proud of the significant contribution our students make to our community, Local and Global! Our driving force, Ms Symons has been incredibly driven to successfully get this project off the ground, gathering the support of our  local Rotary club and the greater community. the support from our teachers has been also extremely supportive, and have decided to brave the 10 hour bus trip to be part of the project. We await the stories and pictures of their adventures for our next edition.

If its sport you like.. then Marsden is the place.

LAst Tuesday, our entire school student body took part in the cross-country carnival. All sweaty, prepped up and ready to go, our students managed to complete the various cross country courses.  Some making record times. The PDHPE/sport faculty were very pleased with the excellent manner in which all the students did their best and surprised themselves on their successes. While running is a great exercise, its the new way to engage in activity that is really capturing our students. The PDHPE faculty have been busy building their simulation Wii game to show and test other athletic abilities. Naturally, this is raving success, and what is most pleasing that this type os simulation learning meets many curriculum aspects for PDHPE, now that is pleasing!

Year 7 success4Learning: Year 7 parent night held Tuesday 15th March.

Year 7 parent night held last Tuesday saw the launch of our Year 7 Curriculum booklet (draft), outlining all the content, assessment tasks, learning outcomes and homework expectations for all year 7 students. If you would like a copy as you were unable to make the night, please ask your child to see the Year 7 advisor Ms.Dalal. A reminder that the Deputy Principal for year 7 is Dr. V.

Keeping us informed about your details is very important.

If you change details for yourself or your child, please ensure that you contact the front office to give the correct updated details in regards to telephone numbers, address and emergency contacts. The school must have these details correct, particularly in an emergency situation, it is vital we have correct student parent numbers and address. Please ensure this is attended to. If you have not forwarded your most correct EMAIL address to the front office through your child( drop into the front office asap), please forward the details, please ensure you indicate your child’s name. We intend to email the Marsden Bulletins. This is both economical and much faster. thank you for your assistance.

All go with supporting our scholarship holders.

The scholarship holders are leaping forward with the financial education benefits they have received. All recipients are clearly taking their opportunity very seriously. Congratulations to these students. John Tuckerman the founder of the Pinnacle scholarship visited our school this week and shared his wisdom with  Mr. Williamson’s Business Studies Year 12 Class. Our students continually enjoy opportunities to further their understandings of the course content.  This was also demonstrated in our Reptile alive visit last week, which was enjoyed by our students, it was a ‘home delivered reptile park’ and was a most exciting learning experience.

The final word.. the biggest room in the house.. the “room for improvement”.

The focus is on achieving above and beyond, what we never thought would be possible. Keeping the compass set on the goals we set at the beginning of the journey. And remember, calm seas, do not always make good sailors. Mark your level and then always try to improve on this.