Keith Blaikie, Principal of St Patrick’s School

In order to keep our students at the centre of the school’s vision, which is to be an inclusive community committed to high levels of learning for all, staff have been engaged in a body of research known as the Science of Reading.

The school’s Learning Enrichment teacher Mrs Kathryn Lucas is a passionate convert. Her observations during small group reading intervention, coupled with the Science of Reading theory, have highlighted some possible areas for targeted improvement.

“We need to teach a systematic sound-based reading program based on decoding and phonological awareness which limits the overuse of context clues and sight words as students’ go to reading strategies”.

The staff of St Patrick’s School are currently developing a whole school scope and sequence that incorporates the ‘how’ we teach reading from Prep to Year 6.

At its core will be explicit teaching involving the manipulation of words, decoding of texts, flexibility with sounds and limiting the overuse of predictions or picture clues.

Building vocabulary through the use of rich texts during shared and modelled reading times will remain a focus.

A Parent Engagement Session will take place on Thursday 20 October at 3:30pm at St Patrick’s School, Allora. This session will be facilitated by our Early Years teachers.

Our staff will provide explicit instruction around reading and how parents may support their students at home. Everyone is most welcome even if your children are not enrolled at St Patrick’s School. New enrolments are always welcome.

Please feel free to contact St Patrick’s School on 4666 3551 or by email allora@twb.catholic.edu.au to arrange a school tour or alternatively, for more information access the school’s website www.allora.catholic.edu.au and complete the online application for 2023.

Come and experience the St Patrick’s Way, where everyone is welcome.

This article appeared in the Allora Advertiser, 31 August 2022.