Welcome to Middle School
The primary purpose of Middle School at Wadalba Community School is to support students in their transition from primary to high school by catering to the needs of students in early adolescence.
Year 7 students' are adjusting to profound changes in their physical, social, emotional and intellectual being. They are striving for independence and are learning about their place in the world.
By addressing the needs of Year 7 students through teaching and welfare programs Wadalba Community School has developed a highly successful Year 7 Middle School program.
In Middle School, teachers teach an integrated curriculum to enhance the relevance of the learning by enabling students to see the connections and linkages between subjects. If students' can see the relevance of what they are learning, they are much more engaged. Research on the specific needs of adolescents supports the concept of an integrated curriculum.
This Middle School program takes a variety of Stage 4 outcomes from each Key Learning Area and integrates them under the strands of Humanities (English, History and Geography) and Measuring Physical Space (MPS – Mathematics, PEHPD and Science). Students have two main teachers, one for each of these strands and therefore, students' come into contact with fewer teachers. This facilitates improved teacher/student relationships and student management as teachers and students know each other very well.
Each Middle School class has a homeroom. It is vitally important for Middle School students to "own" their own room as this gives them sense of ownership, responsibility and security and their work can be displayed.
There are commonly understood assessment, reporting, homework and assignment expectations. There are teachers from all KLA's in the Middle School. Where possible, teachers are accommodated in one staffroom. This aids in building a cohesive faculty and allows for ease of communication regarding student concerns, new ideas, and professional sharing.
Beverly Partridge
Head Teacher Teaching and Learning