Thursday 22 November 2007

A Notable Week.


This is a big week at school. One of the cross-curricular programmes I started eight years ago is called Night Of The Notables. It is now run right across the Year 9 programme and 250 kids are presenting this week over two nights. My class were presenting on Tuesday night and they did a fabulous job. It was 37c on the day but thankfully by the evening when it all happens it was cooler - and it isn't even summer yet here in Australia. The range of choices made and the stands done were really impressive. What astounds me each year is how much improvement there is in the standard of work done.The fact it is now an expected part of the year has something to do with the success of the week. It is also about choice as the students select their own notable based on a criteria of actually having done something to benefit the world.They have a range of tasks to complete for three different subjects. It is the most powerful moment to see a student who has been struggling to be engaged all year be galvanised by the ownership of their work and a really positive way to finish the year. For the stronger students it is a chance to really shine and the incidental learning from seeing how others approach the task is huge. Anyway, in the midst of drowning in exam marking, correction and reports, this is a shining moment that reminds me of why I am still doing this job. I cannot recommend the programme highly enough. This link is to the promotional movie made by our IT Co-ordinator for the school tv station and for the introduction of students to the programme . It takes about twenty minutes , but it really captures the evening and the excitement of the planning process. I hope people will watch and give me some feedback. I am so proud of this and the wonderful movie.

3 comments:

diane said...

I am a K-12 Librarian/Teacher in rural upstate New York.

The scope of your projects takes my breath away - our kids are way too laid back and unmotivated.

How wonderful that you can see the positive outcomes of your instruction!

No sympathy from me about your weather: we're heading towards a cold snap, as the Christmas holidays rapidly approach.

diane

diane said...

Tag!

Come play in our "7 Random Things Meme".

diane

Anonymous said...

Hey Sue, this is fantastic. What a great production, both the night and the movie. I'd love to talk to you more about it.