The first six weeks of school forms part of our responsive classrooms whole school approach and is therefore a non -negotiable at Beenyup Primary. Though details differ between the various year levels present within a school, the first six weeks of the school year are particularly important for developing a cooperative, rigorous and supportive learning environment.
There are four key intentions during the first six weeks of school, these are as follows:
- Create a climate and tone of warmth and safety.
- Teach the schedule and routines of the school day and our expectations for behaviour.
- Introduce students to the physical environment and materials of the classroom and the school; and teach students how to use and care for them.
- Establish expectations about ways we will learn together in the year ahead.
Those who devote time to setting goals, generating rules, explaining materials and building a positive learning environment in the first few weeks experience fewer disciplinary issues and gain time as expectations are clear and require less explanation as the year progresses. Furthermore, the shared understanding of academic expectations and outcomes provides a strong basis for the academic journey of each student.
- Morning Meeting
- Guided Discovery
- Hopes and Dreams – the starting point for developing rules with students
- Logical Consequences
- Weekly goals for each of the first six weeks. These include:
- Learning and knowing each other’s names.
- Teachers and children will know about one another and their interests, out-of-school activities and experiences.
- Students will become familiar with the basic expectations and routines of the school day with teacher supervision and reinforcement (including out-of-bounds areas).
- Students and teachers involved in naming and sharing their hopes and dreams for the school year.
- Students will be given the opportunity to explore their new learning environment and the basic tools that will be used throughout the school year. The rules and procedures for using classroom tools and materials will be co-constructed together to ensure everyone is aware of these.
- Teachers begin implementing the organisational strategies outlined in the Year Group AVID Organisational Expectations document.
- Children’s work will be displayed around the classroom to make it a welcoming environment that they have ownership of.
- The following aspects of the school day should be made specific, taught, practiced and consistently reinforced:
- Arrival
- Transitions
- Lining up/moving around school (SHARP)
- Bathroom procedures
- Activity/work time expectations
- Lunch
- Signals (including SLANT)
- Work-sharing
- Whole-group meetings
- Quiet time
- Clean-up
- End of day dismissal