There is always something interesting going on in Middle School Classrooms.

I feel privileged to be able to pop into a variety of classes and watch or join in with learning as it is happening. This last week I have been involved in a crazy drama game called 7 and observed the Year 8s completing a teamwork challenge. I have been talking with one Year 10 class about how different cultures have managed cultural diversity and had rigorous debate with another class about whether we were all created equal.

It is watching the girls active in their learning which I think is one of the highlights of being a teacher. Some days I walk down the corridor and there are paper planes being thrown or movies being made. At these times I sit back and watch the learning conversations and watch our girls engaged in their learning. I wish to acknowledge the energy our Middle Schoolers bring to our campus every day.

As John Holt, an American author, once said, “Learning is not the product of the teachers, it is the product of the activity of the learners”

To spark interest in our unit on innovation, the Year 8 (FPT) ENSS classes took part in a design challenge.

Students were asked to build a device to lift a ball (one at a time) across a 2 metre gap. Materials were provided and they had 25 minutes to make their device. Students were judged on the number of balls retrieved and placed in the container.

Upon reflection of the challenge, students thought about the skills and qualities they needed to use, to be an effective team. These are shown by the word art below