Explicit instruction is an act involving novices and experts. It is characterised by the deliberate teaching of knowledge and skills with clear models, explanations of how to start and how to proceed, time for practice and consolidation, and review.  Explicit instruction is a researched-backed, highly effective strategy to ensure learning is not esoteric or left up to chance. Strategically paired with Tara’s inquiry-based approach (based on relevant and engaging issues, big driving ideas, effective questioning and student voice), explicit instruction provides a reliable and purposeful approach to learning for girls. 

What does explicit instruction of the basics look like at Tara?

From the moment girls walk in the door, they are immersed in a rich phonics-based approach to learning to read. This involves explicit and correct modelling of the sounds of the English language. Students use, manipulate and write sounds as they learn how to match sounds with corresponding letters. This is a planned and sequenced process right up to Year 6 where students encounter more complex letter-sound combinations and draw on knowledge of etymology to more fully appreciate the complexities and beauty of the English language. Word knowledge is more than just letters and sounds. To be a confident user of English requires explicit teaching of rich vocabulary, word meaning and correct usage (grammar). Our ‘K-6 Wonder Words’ (part of the Building Blocks in the Home Learning options) aims to motivate girls to grow in their vocabulary knowledge and expertise. Almost every day we have the pleasure of seeing girls acquiring and experimenting with rich vocabulary in a variety of contexts, especially when they are getting their arguments lined up to persuade us about something!

Number is a universal language in which every girl needs to have agility. Educators call this number sense. How students acquire a deep understanding of the Base 10 number system, looks different from year to year. Students are explicitly taught using tools and objects from the most simple counting, through to complex operations involving whole and partial numbers. Our ‘K-6 Number Smash’ (another part of Building Blocks) articulates this progression and is a structured way parents can support and keep in touch with their daughter’s expertise in key mathematical skills. When teachers explicitly teach and assess Number Smash and other maths content, they learn about a student’s strategies, reasoning, fluency and misconceptions: such powerful insight into each student’s approach to foundational skills.

We do not teach our students to read for its own sake. Likewise with number sense. Rather, we have a higher aim: our ultimate goal is to equip each girl with the skills and inclination to be an inquirer. In this elevated role, she will use her knowledge in literacy and numeracy to become a more open-minded, confident, successful and critical resident of the world. 

Is explicit instruction only relevant in basic literacy and numeracy?

Fundamental skills in literacy and numeracy are often where people stop talking about explicit instruction of the basics. In the Junior School, we believe your daughter needs explicit instruction on higher order skills too. For example, it’s important to explicitly teach students how to think in a critical and creative way, and how to organise that thinking. This is equally vital for undertaking mental arithmetic as it is for conducting a scientific investigation, making a decision or composing a piece of music. 

There is intention to everything we teach and how we teach it, from how to load and use a paintbrush, to how to ask rich questions. When teachers plan, they select key social, research, thinking, communication and self-management skills to explicitly teach or expose their students to within each unit. These skills for life and inquiry are an authentic ‘match’ with the content knowledge. For example, in maths students may be simply building fluency in addition facts to 100 off the decade (Number Smash #22), but explicit teaching of critical thinking will have them learning how to deconstruct their chosen mental strategy, and reason and communicate its logic. 

It is only through a solid foundation in the basics, that we can springboard into rich and exciting inquiry into: who we are, how we organise ourselves, where we are in place and time, sharing the planet and how the world works - the six PYP ‘transdisciplinary themes’ in which students immerse themselves each year. 

So, the next time some shock jock tries to beat up a story about schools of today overlooking the basics, rest assured Tara has that covered and much more besides.  

With the added demands which accompany the academic year drawing to a close, parents and care givers are encouraged to be aware of changes which may signal evidence of less than healthy wellbeing. This message was highlighted in the Senior School at the end of Term 3 when members of the SRC led the annual RUOK? Day. On this day, the School community was reminded of the importance of asking this question of their extended family and friends:

https://www.ruok.org.au/join-r-u-ok-day

As previously noted in the Wellbeing@Tara section of Tara News, occurrences of poor mental health are not uncommon amongst young people (and old), and not surprisingly in 2020. While anyone can be expected to have relatively good and bad days, if poor mental health has an impact on everyday life for an extended period of time (say, two to three weeks) it is important to reach out for some help.

In this context all of us could be alert if observing those in our care exhibiting sustained changes such as the following:

• Lack of motivation
• Withdrawal from social activities
• Showing little interest or pleasure in doing things
• Changes in eating habits – poor appetite or over eating
• Changes in sleeping habits such as having trouble falling asleep, staying asleep or sleeping too much
• Feeling tired or having little energy 
• Feeling in a low mood or sense of hopeless
• Having thoughts of being a failure or letting down the family
• Having trouble concentrating on things such as reading or watching TV
• Being fidgety or restless and moving around a lot more than usual
• Expressing thoughts of self-harm

For parents and caregivers wanting advice concerning talking through such issues Schooltv.me, as accessed through the following icon on Edumate, provides very useful information via videos, fact sheets and articles relevant to a range of issues that face young people today:

Accessed through this resource are episodes regarding Resilience, Mindfulness, Eating Disorders, Anxiety and Depression which may be particularly relevant at this time.

As is often the case with many problems in life, it is early intervention that is the key to achieving a positive outcome. With this in mind parents and care givers could consider seeking guidance from their GP and, as always, members of the Wellbeing Staff at Tara are available to listen and provide advice.

Year 9 Drama Performances

Junior School students enjoyed Year 9 Drama student-devised performances of the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) shortlisted books, Bat vs Poss by Alexa Moses and When Billy was a Dog by Kirsty Murray. These were performed in the Tara theatre over two lunchtimes where Junior School students proved to be an enthusiastic audience.

Reading Festival

Junior School teachers donned some crazy attire to visit unfamiliar classrooms and read CBCA shortlisted books over three days. Children delighted in their visiting teacher and in the joy of these beautiful books. 

Australian Book Character Dress Up Day

All Junior School students and staff enjoyed a dress up day to celebrate the finale of Book Week. A wonderful abundance of Australian book characters were represented and the Book Week theme of Curious Creatures, Wild Minds was embodied in many of the costumes.

Author Visits

Claire Zorn spoke to a keen group of Senior School students over lunch in the Science Lecture Theatre.  Claire inspired these students with her writing tips and encouraged many of them in their own writing.

Lisa Shanahan spoke to all Junior School students over three sessions in the Junior School Hall. Lisa gave engaging presentations and wonderful insights into the joys of reading and writing.

TEAR Readathon

Junior School students and staff have been reading to raise money for TEAR. Our goal was $1,650 but we exceeded this by more than three times, raising $6,001. Thank you to all who have supported the children’s reading and provided generous sponsorship of this worthy cause.

She has been invited to receive her award on 3rd December at the Anzac Memorial at Hyde Park with a guest and will be sharing a brief statement at the event about what she has learned from her participation in the National History Challenge as part of the ceremony proceedings. She will be presented with a certificate, a medallion and $200 prize money. 

Na-Young, alongside four other Tara entrants from Years 9 and 10, carefully drafted her submission beginning the process early this year and continued the drafting process during the lockdown period, demonstrating strong inquiry skills, organisation and independent learning. The competition theme for 2020 was ‘Contested hiStories’, inviting entrants to consider debatable and controversial topics of History and multiple interpretations of the past.

The History Department are incredibly proud of her achievement. Well done Na-Young! 

The Year 11 Team were affirmative and debated that “America has not learnt from the Salem Witch Trials”, with the Tara A Team (Siena, Aneesa, Dhara and Alexandra) progressing to the grand finals! It was a very close debate, however, they used criteria to shape their debate, and used the examples of Guantanamo Bay, the Civil Rights Movement, McMartin childhood case and McCarthyism communism hunts, as legal examples of America’s inconsistent approach. This ultimately allowed them to come through with a win!

Both teams worked really hard to anticipate the nature of the real debate, so we congratulate them both for their efforts. Best of luck to Year 11 Team A in the Grand Finals!

After countless meetings and hours of planning by the SRC, the event came together. 

During the day, all students were invited to wear pink accessories in support of the Pink Ribbon Foundation and a pink themed movie (Barbie!) was played in the quad for the girls to enjoy. Popcorn was sold and all proceeds went to the Cancer Council.

We are super grateful to Dr Davidson - one of our very own Tara Dads, who made us a very informative video on breast cancer and how we can support cancer patients. This was a central part of the initiative and we cannot thank him enough!

We would also like to thank everyone else who was involved in the running of the day. Thank you to Tony and the kitchen staff who created a very special pink meal deal; the entire SRC who brought in popcorn and made the day run smoothly; Mr Baker who approved everything and supported us throughout; every girl who donated and participated in the day; the Year 12 Leadership team who guided us throughout the planning and running of the day.  And finally massive thank you to Mrs Losco who has done so much for the initiative and the girls! Congratulations to the Year 7 and 8 SRC on a successful event!

"We aim to support and inspire Tara students by creating an authentic school environment that promotes opportunity. We strive to encourage personal growth by empowering girls through the Christian Model of servant leadership.” 

2020-21 Student Leadership Team

Any questions were asked through the software Mentimeter, where the questions were anonymous and collated to be answered at the end of the presentation. Throughout, the idea of student voices permeated, not only organising initiatives but also collecting the feedback of students, in order to be servant leaders. 

Despite the early wake up required to arrive at Frensham for many of the Tara teams, the long journey paid off and we were rewarded with some great results and competitive games. The Senior Firsts played a tough game against Frensham, although they lost, they managed to apply new skills from training sessions and push through a difficult game with only one sub. The Senior Seconds won an exciting game with almost every team member scoring a try. A highlight of the game was Evelyn J's breathtaking try. Tara Team 3 also played a strong and competitive game against Meriden, with the final score being one point ahead in Tara's favour. Our Junior teams also performed well, a special congratulations to the year 7 players who demonstrated confidence and teamwork even though, for some, it was their first experience of the IGSSA competition.

Round 2

• S01 Tara 1 vs PLC Sydney 2, Loss, 0-10
• S07 Tara 2 vs PLC Sydney 7, Win, 4-1
• S07 Tara 3 vs PLC Sydney 6, Loss, 2-4
• J01 Tara 4 vs Meriden 4, Win, 13-4
• J03 Tara 5 vs Danebank 2, Loss, 2-5
• J05 v J07 Tara 6 vs Tara 7, Loss, 2-3
• J07 v J05 Tara 7 vs Tara 6, Win, 3-2
• Y701 Tara 8 vs Meriden 7, Win, 5-2
• Y703 Tara 9 vs Danebank 4, Loss, 3-7

This round marked another fantastic series of games. The Tara 1 team played a tough game against PLC, despite their loss, the game provided a great opportunity to tackle new skills including, switches, dummies and scoops and improve teamwork to prepare for the upcoming games. Tara 2 won an exhilarating game against PLC, even though they had no subs, the team managed to pull off an exciting win. A highlight of the game was Sienna E’s try, where she ran across the distance of the whole field on the wing. The junior teams also participated in some exciting games, with the Junior firsts achieving a fantastic win of 13-4 against Meriden. Tara 6 and Tara 7 had the opportunity to play a friendly game against each other, which was extremely close with Tara 7 only just taking the win. Overall, it’s been a great weekend of touch football, notwithstanding the wet and muddy grounds.

Round 3

• S01 Tara 1 vs MLC 1, WET
• S07 Tara 2 vs Tara 3, WET
• S07 Tara 3 vs Tara 2, WET
• J01 Tara 4 vs Santa Sabina 4, WET
• J03 Tara 5 vs Frensham 10, Loss, 2-7
• J05 Tara 6 vs MLC 7, Loss, 2-4
• J07 Tara 7 vs MLC 8, WET
• Y701 Tara 8 vs MLC 9, WET
• Y703 Tara 9 vs Frensham 17, Loss, 5-15

Due to weather constraints, several games were cancelled this weekend. However, the Junior 2nds, Junior 3rds and Year 7 team still had the opportunity to play. Despite their losses, it was a great weekend full of competitive games. The girls were given the opportunity to apply specialised skills, tactics and teamwork that had been practised at training into their games and are eager to win their upcoming games. Good luck for next week!

Mia - Touch Football Captain

Water Polo

Round 1

• S03 Tara 1 vs Frensham 1, Loss, 8-11
• S07 Tara 2 vs Frensham 2, Win, 9-6
• J05 Tara 3 vs Frensham 5, Loss, 2-14

The water polo firsts had a good start to the season despite the early wake up to get to Frensham by 7:30. The girls already seem like they’ve been playing together for years, with the majority attempting to score a goal and Chyna T even taking an elbow to the face for the team.

Team 2 had an amazing game, keeping their lead in each quarter. Henrietta MH particularly stood out, managing to score the majority of the goals and Evelyn D had also some good saves as goalie.

Our water polo team 3 had a hard game but played very well considering many of the Year 7 students have never played water polo before and it was their first time playing as a team. Good job everyone for playing hard the first week back to school and good luck with your next games! 

Round 2

• S03 Tara 1 vs Santa Sabina 1,  Loss, 2-14
• S07 v S05 Tara 2 vs Santa Sabina 2, Friendly-Loss, 4-12
• J05 Tara 3 vs Santa Sabina 4, Loss, 2-14

Even though the Senior 1st team were completely smashed - they had fun in the process, putting their all in the game. With the usual goalie away, players filled in and Chyna T had some very good saves.

The Senior 2nds had a good game, especially since they were playing a team from two divisions above. 

The Junior team played really well, figuring out how their team plays best and the different skills that everyone has. Something that many of the new water polo players find hard is remembering the rules – and there are a lot of them so it might take a while. They are coming along well.

Round 3

• S03 Tara 1 vs Kincoppal Rose Bay 1, Loss, 6-17
• S07 Tara 2 vs Meriden 5, Win, 8-14
• J05 Tara 3 vs Kincoppal Rose Bay 4, Loss, 2-14

Everyone in the Senior 1st team played really well, especially since two of their players were away and had no subs. By the end of the game everyone was tired but continued to push through it and get a few more goals. 

The Senior 2nds won their game, making their total 2/3!! The girls all worked together and were able to get goal after goal in. They utilised their individual skills and worked out what positions suit them best during the game, whether it’s goalie, attack or defence.

The Junior 1sts had another hard game, but still managed to continue playing. All the girls are now used to working together and can begin to develop new skills and tactics besides just remembering what the rules of water polo are!

Good luck to all teams in your games!!

Hannah - Water Polo Captain

Interhouse Rhythmic Gymnastics

We saw many girls participate in rhythmic gymnastics at the carnival who each had amazing performances. Many girls participated with hoop in the novice category, with Lara T (Hake) placing as runner-up, and Arnvi M (Hake) and Sophia K (Walker) together as the champion, demonstrating incredible control of the apparatus. In the intermediate category girls performed with rope. Olivia L (Hake) placed runner-up, with Jordan H (Waugh) and Siena L (Walker) together placing as the champion, with use of exceptional technique. In the advanced category, girls performed with a range of apparatus and Jacquelyn L (Crawford) placed runner-up and Janice Y (Waugh) placed as champion, both displaying their skill and hard work throughout the year. Overall, Crawford came first with an amazing 272 points. Waugh followed closely at second, Walker at third and Hake placing fourth on the day. Congratulations to the winners, and all girls who participated!

Siena - Rhythmic Gymnastics Captain

Interhouse Artistic Gymnastics

The Interhouse Gymnastics carnival for 2020 was one like no other. In order to adapt to circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 environment, artistic gymnastics and sport aerobics followed a new system. Girls participating in championship events were judged and performed on different days, some during lunch and others after school. A special congratulations to the champions of all categories. The Novice Artistic Champion was Emily S (Walker) and the runner up was Antonia S (Crawford), the Intermediate Artistic Champion was Mikaela A (Waugh) and the runner up was Ruby D (Crawford), and the Advanced Artistic Champion was Meghann B (Hake) and the runner up was Angela V ( Waugh). Terrific efforts by all participants! The final artistic results concluded that in fourth place was Walker with 657 points, third was Crawford with 725 points, second was Hake with 736 points and the Champion Artistic House was Waugh with 753 points. Holding championship and participation events on separate days allowed all girls to take part in the participation events on the day of the carnival. Overall the day ran smoothly and was a success, despite the differences to the structure of the carnival. A highlight of the day was watching the grade sports aerobics routines, which showed immense house spirit and encouraged girls to try out new skills and improve their confidence. The group results of sport aerobics are as follows, Junior Sport Aerobics Champion Walker and runner up Hake and Senior Sport Aerobics Champion Crawford and runner up Hake. Congratulations to all participants for their efforts and entertaining performances. Thank you to Mrs Oakley, Ms Musto, and all the teachers who contributed and made the day as special as it was!

Angela - Artistic Gymnastics Captain