Standard 1: Know Students and how they learn

1.1 Physical, social and intellectual development and characteristics of students

Mentor teacher comment from first Practicum about the learning management plan I developed for a student; The learning Management plan was highly detailed and showed a thorough understanding of the learning requirements of the child. The lessons included a variety of learning activities that were relevant for the development of the child. Ms. Natalie Meuret, Glossop High School.

1.1 Continued
Mentor teacher comment;

Teresa has excellent rapport with the class, knows names, knows students with behaviour issues and/or learning difficulties. & Teresa has a lovely speaking voice with good volume and expression. She had an excellent connection with my homeclass due to teaching them in science as well as homegroup. The students saw her as a co-class teacher. Margot Kranich, Loxton High School

1.2 Understand how students learn

Mentor teacher comments;

Lesson plans indicate this aspect is covered well. Ross Templeman, GHS Knowledge of how to engage students in active learning is Well displayed. Ross Templeman, GHS

1.2 Continued ..
Reflection, week 10;
I have tried very hard to ensure that I vary the method of delivery of information to students so that all students can understand what is being presented to them. In Science classes I have used everyday examples to allow the students to relate to the content and provided practical activities and demonstrations as well as visual media such as photos and videos to make it real for the students. I was pleased that my mentor Julia Andriske noted the following in a feedback comment;

Teresa used a variety of teaching tools including video, powerpoints, practical activities and worksheets. Students given plenty of work to do, interesting activities. Students usually given adequate time to complete each task. Julia Andriske, Loxton High School

1.3 Students with diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds
Reflection;
During my practicum at Glossop High School I taught

students from a wide range of cultural, religious and sociocultural backgrounds. I needed to ensure I was sensitive to the diverse range of students in the classroom when planning learning activities and when leading discussions within the class. I was pleased to see how well the students interacted with each other and were tolerant of the opinions expressed in the class.

1.3 Continued
Mentor comment;

Teresa has good awareness in a culturally diverse setting. Ross Templeman, Glossop High School.

1.4 Strategies for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students
Reflection, Week 10;
I have taught a number of Aboriginal students during my

practicum placements at Glossop High School and Loxton High School. I am thankful for the focus placed on teaching strategies for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students by the GDTL unit Productive Learning in Diverse Classrooms. The readings for this unit have really opened my eyes to how cultural differences need to be taken into account when lesson planning and teaching students from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds and is something I would like to pursue further in the future.

1.4 Continued
At Loxton High School I was fortunate to spend some time

working with the Aboriginal Support person Billie-Jean Sumner. I found Billie-Jean to be an open, friendly and supportive person who I would have no hesitation to contact if I needed support with developing topic plans or learning management plans for Indigenous students at Loxton High. Whilst on placement at Loxton High School I was able to observe the activities organised at the school to promote communication between Indigenous students, their families and the school. It was great to see the way the whole school community worked together to support these students during their time at the school.

1.5 Differentiate teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities.
Teresa has used a good range of teaching and learning

strategies, technologies, activities and resources. Ross Templeman, Glossop High School.

I have used a wide variety of teaching strategies during my practicum to give every student the chance to shine. These strategies include powerpoints, laboratory practicals, videos and demonstrations to present information to students in a variety of methods to help them understand the material being presented. I have planned activities where students have presented their ideas verbally, allowing students who are not strong in written presentations to show not only me, but their peers what they have learned during a topic.

1.5 Continued
Mentor teacher comment;

During her placement at Loxton High School Teresa has worked successfully with students with a range of learning difficulties these include students who have English as a second language and NEPs (Negotiated Education Plans) in place. Bruno Falcinella, Loxton High School.

1.6 Strategies to support full participation of students with disability.

Reflection:
There are 2 students in the year 8 class I teach for science

who have an identified learning difficulty. Both students have trouble with auditory processing which affects their learning. I have consulted with other teachers who teach these students to try to ascertain the most effective teaching strategies to engage them and support them in their learning. This has been an interesting process that has made me consider how alternative strategies can not only help these particular students but also engage other students in the class.

1.6 Continued
Mentor teacher comments;
Teresa used appropriate language to year level and

showed a very positive supportive role in assisting students. &

Teresa was able to form clear views of how and what

students had learned and always displayed a willingness to revisit if required. Bruno Falcinella, Loxton High School

Standard 2: Know the content and how to teach it.

2.1 Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area.

I have endeavoured to use as many strategies as

possible to introduce concepts to students in science. I have incorporated videos, practical experiments, demonstrations, internet research and web-based resources to support the material being taught. Mentor teacher comment; Good range (of teaching and learning strategies) displayed. Ross Templeman, GHS.

2.1 Continued
Mentor teacher comments;
The content Teresa used for years 8 & 9 Science were

as per the National Curriculum. Bruno Falcinella, Loxton High School.

Knowledge of content is very good. Julia Andriske,

Loxton High School.

2.2 Content selection and organisation

Mentor teacher comments;
Teresa is highly organised and plans ahead. Ross

Templeman, Glossop High School.

One excellent lesson was on breaking up big

tasks/goals into smaller steps and Teresa used learning for your science test as the goal and then we broke it up into what you could do on the various homework nights to achieve success. Margot Kranich, Loxton High School.

2.3 Curriculum, assessment and reporting

Mentor teacher comments about the assessment and

reporting I undertook while on 1st practicum at Glossop High School;

Assessment tasks maintained/recorded satisfactorily Ross Templeman, GHS

Assessment tasks valid and comprehensive Ross Templeman, GHS

Use of a wide range of techniques Ross Templeman, GHS

2.3 Continued
Mentor teacher comments;

Teresa developed whole topic plans based on the Australian Curriculum while teaching Science at Loxton High School. She liaised with the Laboratory manager to organise practicals and set an assessment task for two topics taught during practicum. As an exercise leading up to end of term assessments Teresa wrote reports for the students she taught which has given her an example of the reporting system used at Loxton High School. Bruno Falcinella, Loxton High School

2.4 Understand and respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to promote reconciliation between Indigenous and non-indigenous Australians.

Reflection, week 10; During my studies for the Graduate Diploma in Teaching and Learning there has been a strong focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and ways to engage them in school and make them feel safe and affirmed in the school environment. The What works website at www.whatworks.edu.au provides strategies to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and has been a great resource when searching for information. Resources such as Diversity and inclusion in Australian Schools (Hyde, Carpenter and Conway 2010) have given me an insight into how important identity and culture are to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and I will endeavour to learn more about ways to engage them in learning in the classroom.

2.5 Literacy and numeracy strategies

The Speed Dating with Literacy professional development day has provided me with great ideas for integrating activities that strengthen students literacy skills. Some of the things I have tried so far are; Forced relationships students wrote a short story about what happens to a chip through the digestive system from the perspective of the chip. Helping students with reading strategies to enable them to find important information within text.

2.5 Continued .
The numeracy strategies I have integrated into my topic

planning for the year 8, 9 & 10 science classes are; Measurement measuring materials during practicals for density, energy transformations, volume measurements. Graphing Plotting data on a graph and interpreting the result. Extracting information from a text using a newspaper article on energy efficiency of insulation in houses to show students how the text we see everyday can use numbers such as percentages to convey important information. This was also a good literacy exercise as students were given strategies to read the text and summarise the information in the article to draw a conclusion about insulation.

2.6 Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

During my practicum I have incorporated lessons

using powerpoint presentations, digital videos and lessons where students have used lap-top computers to research a topic. I have also conducted lessons in the school library where students have been able to access computers to research and write a report on a given topic.

2.6 Continued
Loxton High School use a digital video resource called

Clickview in the classroom. I was able to install the Clickview software onto my personal laptop computer and then use digital videos available in the schools digital video library, called My School Bag in clickview. I could then connect my laptop to a projector or electronic smartboard in a classroom and play the video for students. This was an excellent tool in the classroom which made showing videos in the classroom a much easier process than using a television and VCR/DVD player. I had a couple of hiccups with the sound not being loud enough but fixed this by sourcing a different set of speakers to use.

2.6 Continued
Both Loxton High School and Glossop High School have laptops

available for students to use in the classroom. The laptops are stored in pods which are mobile recharging stations that can be taken from class to class depending on where they are needed. At Loxton High School there is an on-line booking system on the schools computer network to book the pods or computer rooms so it was important to be prepared and book well ahead of time to get access to the computers. At Glossop High the computers were kept in particular classrooms and there was no formal booking system but if all the computers were in use, the students could go to the library and borrow a computer for the lesson. This was not as structured but it was really good if students finished the given work early they could go and borrow a computer and access additional learning activities on-line. It could be used as a reward activity for those students who worked well but you didnt have to book out a whole pod or room, leaving more computers free for other teachers.

Standard 3: Plan for and Implement effective teaching and learning.

3.1 Establish challenging learning goals

Mentor teacher comments;
Lesson outcomes demonstrate competence. Ross

Templeman, Glossop High School.

Teresa clearly expressed the expectation for each

learning activity and set clearly defined goals with assignments. Bruno Falcinella, Loxton High School.

3.2 Plan, structure and sequence learning programs

For each topic I taught in each learning area I

developed a topic plan which then guided my sequence of lessons. It was important to consider the time available to teach each topic as we are constrained by the number of weeks available in a semester. There were many extra-curricular activities going on at Loxton High School (Sports day, interschool sports day, assemblies) that meant the loss of some lessons so it was essential to plan out each topic with these interruptions in mind to ensure we would have enough time to cover the required curriculum material.

3.2 Continued
Mentor teacher comments;

Teresa developed whole topic plans based on the Australian Curriculum while teaching Science at Loxton High School. She liaised with the Laboratory manager to organise practicals and set an assessment task for two topics taught during practicum. As an exercise leading up to end of term assessments Teresa wrote reports for the students she taught which has given her an example of the reporting system used at Loxton High School. Bruno Falcinella, Loxton High School.

3.2 Continued
Mentor teacher comments;
Equipment for practical lessons ordered with plenty of

time. Organised and set up ready for lessons. Julia Andriske, Loxton High School.

3.3 Use teaching strategies

Mentor teacher comments;

Lesson plans indicate this aspect is covered well. Ross Templeman, Glossop High School.
Class skills used extensively. Ross Templeman, Glossop

High School.
Teresa has used strategies such as verbal introductions,

practical demonstrations, practical student tasks and provided good assignment sheets. Bruno Falcinella, Loxton High School.

3.4 Select and use resources

Year 11 Nutrition Term: 3
Lesson Monday Lesson 2 10:40 12:00 Content Details Food processing and food technology

Week: 1

Topic: Food spoilage / Food poisoning

Teaching and Learning Activities / Strategies PowerPoint summarising different food processing techniques. Discussion of food processing, why, how. PowerPoint, discussion Food poisoning bacteria investigation work sheet, answers found on internet Draw table on white board with discussion of each preservation technique. PowerPoint showing different preservation techniques used in manufacturing Assessment activities / strategies Assessment Design Criteria

Thursday Lesson 3 12:05 1:25 Friday Lesson 1 9:00 10:10

Food spoilage vs food poisoning. Identifying different food spoilage organisms. Principles of food preservation

Using lap-top computers to research on the internet to find answers for worksheet Interaction / discussion

Term: 3
Lesson Monday Lesson 2 10:40 12:00 Content Details Setting up food spoilage practical task.

Week: 2

Topic: Food packaging / Food labelling

Assessment activites / Strategies Practical report Assessment Design Criteria Investigation 3, 4 Analysis and Ev 2, 3 Application 2 Knowledge and understanding - 3

Teaching and Learning Activites / Strategies Instructions given on how to prepare samples. Assist students with method.

Example of topic plan created for year 11 Nutrition at Glossop High School

3.4 Continued
Mentor teacher comment;

Teresa successfully planned and presented a unit of work about enzymes and DNA (SACE Stage 1). She collected work for formative assessment and gave verbal feedback. The students appreciated her effort in finding visual aids and practical activities. Julia Andriske, Loxton High School

3.5 Use effective classroom communication

Mentor teacher comments;
Good communication skills displayed. & Teresa has worked hard to develop these well. Ross

Templeman, Glossop High School.

3.5 Continued
Mentor teacher comments;
Teresa had a definite presence in the classroom, used

appropriate language for year level, very positive, supportive role in assisting students. Bruno Falcinella, Loxton High School.
Very clear instructions, often with examples given or doing

an example as a class before continuing independently. When Teresa noticed issues, she stopped the class to expand/clarify instructions. Margot Kranich, Loxton High School.

3.6 Evaluate and improve teaching programs

Mentor teacher comment;

Teresa is able to reflect and actively seeks feedback. Ross Templeman, Glossop High School. Aims to address issues in own and others work practice. Ross Templeman, Glossop High School.

Overcame interruptions, modified school program to her particular style. Including some team teaching. Bruno Falcinella, Loxton High School.

3.7 Engage parents, carers in the educative process

During parent-teaching interviews I was able to speak to

parents about their childs progress in the subjects I was involved in. This was a great opportunity to engage the parents in the education of their child. We discussed classroom behaviour, study techniques and ways to help their child succeed in their chosen study path.
Teresa attended our Parent-Teacher interview night and

engaged professionally with parents and students at individual interviews. Bruno Falcinella, Loxton High School.

3.7 Continued
Reflection, week 6; Part of the responsibilities during homegroup sessions is to ensure that

all notes are sent home to parents/carers and to ensure there is communication between the school and parents/carers concerning absences for sicknesses, sport events and family holidays. It is quite a challenge to keep up with who is away for what reason and to make sure all absences are recorded correctly. One instance was more challenging as a student had been kept home to work on his parents fruit property. My mentor teacher Margot Kranich and I discussed this case and talked about how prolonged absences can affect a students learning and how to approach this subject with parents who think it is OK to keep their child home when there is a lot of work to do at home. Margot also raised this issue with the Deputy Principal during a year level meeting to make him aware of why this student had been absent for so many days this term.

Standard 4: Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments

4.1 Support student participation

Working with a home-group has given me the opportunity

to actively encourage students to pursue the many opportunities offered at Loxton High School.
During my placement I have supported and encouraged

participation of students during their sports day, interschool sports day, cross-country, science competitions, a talent show and some innovative Business and Enterprise student food stalls. As part of running the morning homegroup I have promoted these activities and tried to give encouragement and support to students to participate.

4.1 Continued
Mentor teacher comments;
Teresa picks students to answer questions and gives

everyone a go. Justin Lane, Loxton High School.

Teresa gives positive feedback to students whether getting

it right or not. Justin Lane, Loxton High School.

Students felt comfortable approaching Teresa for help with

science. She met with some of them during breaks or used spare time in home-group to answer their questions/clarify concepts. Margot Kranich, Loxton High School.

4.2 Manage classroom activities

Reflection, Tuesday, Week 4;

Organised chaos! That is the best description for todays practical session. I organised the materials required with the laboratory manager, had a handout with clear instructions but somehow the lesson seemed to be so disorganised. I realise now that I needed to tell the students exactly where all of the equipment was stored, rather than assuming they would know. I spent too much time searching through cupboards trying to find bits and pieces and must ensure that next time I do this before the lesson. Having the instructions printed on a handout was a good idea so the students didnt have to take their exercise books or text books to the bench where they were working and maybe get them wet or dirty.

4.2 Continued
Mentor teacher comments;
Recognition of clear sequences, especially in Junior Years,

showed great improvement. Bruno Falcinella, Loxton High School. commented on good/appropriate responses and varied selecting students with hands up and non-participating to encourage their involvement. Margot Kranich, Loxton High School. know how they are going. Julia Andriske, Loxton High School.

Home-group is not so much about progress but Teresa always

Teresa monitors how activities are progressing and lets students

4.3 Manage challenging behaviour

Reflection; Friday, week 2 There are a number of students in the year 10 science class who are

challenging my ability to manage the classroom. The students are not nasty or malicious, they just seem to be testing whether I will make them do some work or not. I need to ensure that I provide interesting material and activities to engage these students or else I will be fighting them all the time. I must work on getting the students to quiet down quickly when I want to get their attention and make sure they stop talking before I start. Reflection, week 10; Now that I have been in the year 10 Science class for 10 weeks, I am pleased to see that the students who were challenging me right at the start are now looking to me for guidance and support during the lesson. This has really made me feel confident in my ability to manage a class in the future.

4.3 Continued
Mentor teacher comments; Shows clear recognition (of challenging behaviour)

and willing to get involved with more reluctant students in some classes. Bruno Falcinella, Loxton High School. Conscious of noise levels, willing to stop to conform so that lesson moves well. Bruno Falcinella, Loxton High School. Excellent monitoring, warnings given then students moved. Improved as more time spent with class. Margot Kranich, Loxton High School.

4.4 Maintain student safety

Science teaching sometimes requires the use of

chemicals and equipment which can be harmful. It is therefore very important for students to be made aware of any safety issues before commencing a practical task and for us as teachers to model safe and appropriate behaviour in the class. I have discussed safety with the Laboratory Manager before each practical and ensured students have worn safety equipment such as lab coats and safety glasses during practicals where needed.

4.4 Continued
Reflection, Wednesday, week 4;
Today was Interschool sports day where the 4 schools in the Riverland region come together to compete across a range of athletics and ball sports events. This year Loxton High hosted so we had at least 3 times the usual number of students at the school. I spent the day supervising students in the

waiting/supporters areas and made sure no-one was going into the areas around the classrooms. This was a day when members of the community come and support their children during events and so there are a lot of people who are not students or teachers present. It was important to ensure that students remained in the supervised areas to provide duty of care to them, and to make sure that there were no people present who could pose a risk to any of the students. With no formal lessons some students will take advantage of the situation and try to leave the school grounds with friends who are from outside the school, I was pleased to see the Loxton High School staff vigilant in their quest to keep all students in the appropriate school areas.

4.5 Use ICT safely, responsibly and ethically

I have ensured all ICT used in the classroom has been of

appropriate ratings for students. The computers used at Loxton High School are connected to the internet via Learnlink and students are therefore only permitted access to DECD approved sites. Nonetheless I have supervised what students are accessing by continuously moving around the classroom to ensure the content is appropriate. All media that I have used in the classroom has been carefully selected to ensure no breach of copyright has occurred in its use. When I first arrived at Loxton High School I had my personal laptop computer checked for electrical safety compliance to ensure it was safe to use at the school.

Standard 5: Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning

5.1 Assess student learning

For year 11 Biology I set a practical task for the students using pectinase to increase the yield of apple juice extracted from canned apple. The students were required to write a practical report to show and discuss their results including answering some questions . In marking these reports I was able to see evidence of the students learning about the enzymes topic that this prac complemented. I provided feedback to the students about their reports to try to give them ideas for improvement in the future.

Marking, marking, marking

5.1 Continued
Mentor teacher comment;
Teresa marks work promptly and explains to progress

students. Bruno Falcinella, Loxton High School.

Teresa gives positive feedback whether getting it right

or not. Justin Lane, Loxton High School.

5.2 Provide feedback to students on their learning

Reflection; Week 7 I have found that setting a homework task on a worksheet that can be

handed up by the students has been a valuable way to assess how much the students are learning during a topic. It is not practical to pick up a whole classs exercise books and take them home but a class worth of single page worksheets is quite portable. Marking the homework task and giving it back to the students provides feedback for them to see how they are going. I have been pleased with the number of students who will come and ask me questions about the homework because they dont understand a part of it. It gives me a idea of whether the whole class is struggling with a concept and then I can plan to spend some class time going over it again. Templeman, GHS.

Mentor teacher comment; Rapid return of assessment work. Ross

5.2 Continued
Mentor teacher comments;
Teresa monitors how activities are progressing and

lets students know how they are going. Julia Andriske, Loxton High School.
Very responsible in marking and returning work.

Bruno Falcinella, Loxton High School.

5.3 Make consistent and comparable judgements

Mentor teacher comments;
Teresa was able to form clear views and how and what

students had learned and always displayed willingness to revisit if required. Bruno Falcinella, Loxton High School.

5.3 Continued
Reflection, week 7; Today I wanted to hand back the maths tests I had marked but

when my mentor teacher Justin Lane saw the marks he wanted to change the way I had marked them. I find marking very subjective, every teacher has a different method and different tolerance for what they consider a right answer. I brought the tests home and have re-marked them, being much more generous. If I set another test I will make each question worth more marks so there are more opportunities to give part-marks for when a student shows some understanding of the problem. I usually take this approach in Science so I dont know why I thought Maths would be different. (I have made sure that I have checked what each teacher expects when marking since this experience.)

5.4 Interpret student data

Setting a homework task for the year 8 topic Using Energy

which was due before the students had an assessment for this topic gave me an opportunity to see how well the students had understood the material. The grades indicated that some parts of the topic were not well understood so I was able to go back over this material with the whole class as well as with individual students before they completed their assessment task. Writing reports for the year 8 Science class has given me an opportunity to look back over the data I have collected for this class from tests, homework assignments and practical activities and interpret that into a report on their learning. My mentor teacher Bruno Falcinella and I were then able to discuss the results and see if we interpreted the results the same way.

5.5 Report on student achievement

This is an example of the template used by Loxton High School to report on student learning. I completed one of these for each student in the year 8 science class. The report covers work habits, student achievement and personal effort. I felt it was a worthwhile exercise for me to do and I was pleased to be able to find something positive to say for every student and give them feedback for improvement.

5.5 Continued
Reflection, week 3; This week the staff at Loxton High School have started their first

round of proof-reading of term 1 reports. I have been involved in this exercise alongside the teachers and have found it to be a fascinating process. We split up into groups set by what year level home-group you have and went through every report written for students in that year level, checking for spelling mistakes, grammatical errors and inconsistent results. I have seen how this can be a very emotive issue as teachers disagree on what someone has written on a report, especially if a younger teacher tries to critique the work of an older, more experienced one. Sparks can fly! The teachers will now get their reports back with suggested corrections to make and the home-group teachers will once again proof read the reports (for just their class this time).

Standard 6: Engage in Professional learning.

6.1 Identify and plan professional learning needs

Taking part in professional development during placement has given me a great start to identifying my professional learning needs.

Reflection: I have seen some teachers during placement using professional development portfolios to plan and record their professional development. This is such a great idea and something to look into before I start teaching.

This was a template provided by DP Julie Ahrens of Loxton High School to record professional development and how it addressed the teaching standards.

6.2 Engage in professional learning and improve practice

I was fortunate to take part in a day of professional development in Literacy strategies while on placement at Loxton High School.

I also attended a faculty curriculum writing day with the science faculty at Loxton High which was really beneficial.

6.3 Engage with colleagues and improve practice

Speed dating with Literacy involved working in groups as we worked through various sessions on proof-reading, referencing, reading strategies and feedback. This was a great opportunity to engage with experienced teachers and improve my understanding of integrating literacy into my classroom activities.

6.3 Continued
Reflection, Friday 7th June;
I have officially finished my placement at Loxton High School

but I was invited to return and participate in the faculty curriculum writing day today. The Australian Curriculum has been implemented at Loxton High in year 8 & 9 for a year and a half and next year will be implemented for year 10. The science faculty used this day to review how the new curriculum was going and compare ideas for what worked and what didnt. It was great to see experienced teachers reflecting on their teaching practice and identifying areas that could be improved. All the faculty members shared and contributed ideas as they summarised each of the topics taught. I was pleased to be able to add my own ideas and be treated as one of the team.

6.3 Continued
Mentor teacher comment;
Teresa has shared an office with 5 Science teachers

and has actively engaged in discussion of teaching approaches and methods. Bruno Falcinella, Loxton High School.

6.4 Apply professional learning and improve student learning

As a result of taking part in the Speed dating with Literacy professional development I have implemented some activities in the year 8 science class to support the development of students literacy skills.
This is an example of a sheet of vocabulary words I gave the year 8 science class to help them learn the spelling and meanings of the terms introduced in the living systems topic.
Word/Phrase Mechanical digestion Chemical digestion Description When food is broken down into smaller pieces. When large complex substances within the food are broken down into simpler chemicals that can be absorbed. Long muscular tube that has mouth at one end and stomach at other end. Flap of skin that closes the end of the windpipe as you swallow The contracting and relaxing of muscles in the oesophagus that keeps food moving down to the stomach. Muscular bag that contracts and relaxes, churning up food. Cells in wall of stomach produce gastric juice. A mixture of hydrochloric acid, mucus and digestive juices that break down protein in food (chemical digestion) Long narrow tube that goes from the stomach to the large intestine, lined with villi. Tiny finger-like structures that increase the surface area of the small intestine. The first part of the small intestine where tubes from the pancreas and liver open into. Not part of the digestive tract. Produces pancreatic juice which contains chemicals that break down carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Not part of the digestive tract. Produces bile which breaks down fats. Water is absorbed from the food along with any last nutrients. The waste forms lumps of faeces. A muscle at the end of the digestive tract. Faeces is expelled through the anus.

Oesophagus Epiglottis Peristalsis

Stomach

Gastric Juice

Small intestine Villi Duodenum Pancreas

Liver Large Intestine Anus

The Chip Story During the year 8 science Living Systems topic, student were set a task where they had to imagine they were a potato chip moving through the digestive system of a person. This task challenged the students to use their imagination and write creatively. This task was very similar to a forced relationship literacy task we did during the Speed dating with literacy professional development day.

Standard 7: Engage professionally with colleagues, parents / carers and the community

7.1 Meet professional ethics and responsibilities

Mandatory reporting certificate.
I have undertaken training in reporting Child abuse and Neglect to meet the ethical responsibilities of working with children. During my placements at both Glossop High School and Loxton High School I have been privy to confidential information and discussions with colleagues and understand the professional responsibility of keeping such information private.

7.2 Comply with legislative, administrative and organisational requirements

Reflection: Monday 8th May
At tonight's staff meeting Julie Ahrens, the Assistant

principal at Loxton High School, gave a presentation on the AITSL teaching standards and how the teachers at Loxton High School will need to assess and record how they are addressing each of the standards. It was really interesting to listen to a professional school leader talk about the teaching standards and showed me how committed to continuous improvement these teachers are.

7.2 Continued
Teresa is punctual and conscious of the time (during

lessons). Bruno Falcinella, Loxton High School

Teresa is highly organised and plans ahead. Ross

Templeman, Glossop High School.

7.3 Engage with the parents / carers

During my practicum at Loxton High School I have had the

opportunity to attend Parent-Teacher interviews. Most interviews were attended by both the students and at least one of their parents enabling me to engage with and provide feedback to them. During home-class sessions I have also been involved with sending notes home to parents, notifying them of activities being run at the school and seeking their permission for their child to attend. Teresa attended our Parent-Teacher interview night and engaged professionally with parents and students at individual interviews. Bruno Falcinella, Loxton High School.

7.4 Engage with professional teaching networks and broader communities

Attending the Speed dating with Literacy professional

development at Loxton High School enabled me to engage with teachers other than my mentors in a professional environment. This was a great opportunity to work alongside teachers from various faculties and to share ideas and opinions as we worked through the activities. I am an active supporter of my own Childrens school, helping out at sports days, fundraising and cooking activities. I also volunteer my time to help our Childrens soccer club. I work as an SSO (School Support Officer) at Glossop High School, Middle Campus, which gives me an opportunity to engage with the teachers at this site and develop professional relationships as a colleague, rather than as a student teacher. I have attended functions for local SSOs which has helped me develop relationships with members of other school networks.