Literacy skills are essential for young people to demonstrate their ideas and understanding in school and to excel in their future lives. To support the literacy skills of our students, St Ives High School has a dedicated literacy team as well as highly qualified teachers who are committed to explicitly teach literacy across all areas of the curriculum. Our aim is to empower students in their reading, comprehension, use of complex vocabulary, writing and speaking. Together, we aim to meet the needs of all young people in our school community, with a special focus on:
- Year 7 – 9 students who can demonstrate their skills by achieving a Band 8 or above in NAPLAN
- Year 10 students who need to achieve at the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF) Level 3 and
- Senior students who require literacy skills for tertiary study, the workplace and life beyond school.
There are a number of different programs to support students’ literacy skills at SIHS.
These include:
- The Writing Centre is in the Library on the following days: Monday (Years 7-9): 3.15 – 4.15pm; Wednesday (Years 10-12): 3.15 – 4.15pm
- This is program designed for both EAL/D students, mainstream students and GATS. The program focuses on sentence structure and grammar and is helpful for young people who would like to improve their writing skills. Students don’t need to book to be part of this program; they can simply turn up on a morning of their choice. For more information, students should see Miss Abraham in the English staffroom.
- Beyond the Bell (after school Wednesday in the Library): This is a ‘homework help’ program which runs after school. For more information, students should see Mr Moller for more information.
- The Quicksmart program: QuickSmart is an academic skills program aimed at middle years students who need some extra help with their literacy skills. It was developed by academics from the University of New England and is run in lesson time through the school’s Learning Support department. For more information, students should see Mr Moller in the Learning Support staffroom.
The literacy team has produced a Literacy Booklet (Click Here) full of resources to help students (and parents) improve their overall literacy and writing skills.
If you would like to contact a member of the literacy team, feel free to email:
Mrs Nathalie Bodley (Deputy Principal) nathalie.bodley@det.nsw.edu.au or
Ms Jenny Jaeger (HT English) jennifer.jaeger@det.nsw.edu.au