LEARNING CENTRE & ESOL
knowledge to tackle challenges in Mathematics and related subjects. The programme emphasises developing student approaches that align with their strengths and foster confidence. Working closely with the Mathematics Department, student progress is monitored and informs teaching both in the Learning Centre and in the classroom. Lessons are carefully structured to support classwork and accommodate different learning styles. The numbers of junior students in ESOL have been lower, with fewer international students arriving from overseas and fewer students from feeder schools. Our ESOL students have been making good progress towards their Christ’s College Diploma, being involved in Drama, sports, and Round Square, and demonstrating global citizenship, as well as working hard to develop their English language skill. We have a strong Year 11 ESOL group, moving into Year 12. These students should enjoy the challenge of Year 12 while still being able to access support through ESOL, when necessary. They can also complete the literacy co-requisites in Year 12, when they have had more time to prepare. Senior students are using rotational tuition, when necessary, to advance their studies. Relationships built with the department as junior students allow them the flexibility and confidence to return when they need to during the academic year. We look forward to welcoming new students next year, as well as supporting our established students through NCEA and to finding pathways to university. With the implementation of the national co-requisite examinations, our Special Assistance Coordinator, Kate Barber, continues to play a vital role. Kate works tirelessly to accommodate student needs when it comes to assessments, and we thank her. I would also like to thank our teacher aides, Annemarie Winstone, Susannah He, Maria Riveros, Tyler Walker, and Henry Toulsen, for their commitment to the individual
boys they help. A special mention to Maria and Henry, who are both leaving us at the end of this year – they will be missed. Thank you to our reader/writers, who have ably supported our boys over the course of the year. They provide a valuable service in helping many students achieve their potential. Finally, thank you to our staff for their dedication and care. We can be proud of the support we offer those with learning differences. As we farewell our Year 13 boys, and think about where many of them began, it is so encouraging to recognise their achievements and know they head out into the world having developed both the skills and confidence to succeed in their chosen pursuits. Gill Kilpatrick HoD Learning Centre & ESOL LIBRARY It has been a year of embedding with comparatively fewer changes than the previous two years. That’s not to say it’s all been business as usual. We started the year with a layout change which involved moving the entire collection. Credit must be given to the Richards House boys who helped with all the heavy lifting. All the books are now downstairs, along with the couches and other comfortable seating. This has made it a lot easier to supervise the recreational spaces at lunchtime. It has also made finding a book easier with the collection on the same level. We moved all the desks and study tables upstairs, turning it into a space for focussed activities. This includes homework, but isn’t limited to it. There has also been plenty of chess, cards, and more complicated board games played upstairs this year. The Dungeons and Dragons Club grew to a third table, which was helped significantly by the arrival of new English teacher Chris Nye. As an Old Boy and excellent Dungeon Master, numerous Year 9s decided they did want to play D&D if it meant they were at Mr Nye’s table. Multiple students also did great jobs at running their own tables,
It has been another busy year in the Learning Centre. In particular, the co-requisite examinations have kept the literacy and numeracy specialists busy throughout the year. This year, the literacy specialist
teachers embraced several professional development opportunities to further their knowledge and understanding of the ‘Science of Reading’ and
the ‘Writing Revolution’. The fully subscribed Year 9 literacy classes have benefitted greatly from the ongoing commitment to providing an evidence-based, structured literacy approach. Our Year 10 programme continues to develop higher-level reading comprehension skills such as inference reading. Writing development has an emphasis on grammar, sentence structure, and technical accuracy. We also continue to have Year 11 students on a learning support line, rather than a Diploma course. This has been a valuable addition to our programme as it has enabled students to access more support with their classwork to achieve success. Rotational tuition was also popular with many boys. In Years 12–13, tuition continues to focus on the boys’ literacy needs across their NCEA subjects. Thank you to Kate Morris, Sarah Loughnan, Claire Sparks, and Alex Robertson for their work in supporting students with the literacy requirements the boys need to access all their subjects and progress successfully through their schooling. I am also grateful to Nicole Billante, our former Assistant Principal – Teaching & Learning, and Katie Southworth, Nicole’s replacement, for their support of the Learning Centre and the boys who come our way. Our specialist numeracy teachers, Shelly Jackson and Claire Sparks, have supported more than 100 students at all year levels with individually tailored Mathematics programmes this year. Their guidance has helped students build the necessary numeracy skills and
including Monty Williams, Tom Kerr, Adam Holder, and Sasha Young. The Wargaming Club, led by Angus Whitteker and Eli Clarkson, outdid themselves with the complexity of this year’s main game. ‘World in Flames’ took over first one table, and eventually three tables upstairs. It was not uncommon to hear debates on the comparative strength of various countries’ navies in 1942, or who had the strongest tanks during the Cold War. Getting the boys to read continues to be a focus and we have worked hard to engage parents in encouraging reading this year. We launched a parent-student book group which met twice a term across most of the year. Attendance has been building and it will hopefully continue to grow. The head of the Parents’ Association, Jane Elworthy, has been a strong supporter of the group and key to its success. The librarians also attended teacher-parent evenings to highlight the importance of encouraging reading. House Reading was won by a day House for the first time, with a
few phenomenal readers in Somes helping the House to victory. It was a close contest between Somes House and Flower’s House. This year, we hosted a readers’ race to select our Year 9 Readers Cup team. Like the Cantamath competition, six boys ran and quizzed their way around the Chapman Room, with the four fastest winning a place. The winner was Nitin Keswani, and the other spots went to Harrison Tapper, Guy Boissard, and Sean Ma. At the regional competition, our team came 2nd – our best-ever placing and only one point behind the winner. It was very impressive as the regional winner won the national title. Our Year 10 Battle of the Bibliophiles team also earned its best place yet, coming 9th= at the national competition. We continued to develop the student librarian programme, with more boys participating and seniors taking on greater leadership roles. Our first head student librarian, Teo Arndt, helped to train new student librarians and identify areas for improvement. Year 12 student Sam
Bennett designed all the displays, which looked very professional. Bill Cross and Finlay Benson ran Kahoots! at Friday lunchtimes over the winter. Jack Beaven contined to be better at covering books than the adults, while Jack Gorrie created a series of training videos to help the new student librarians. Tom Kerr and George Simonsohn coached the Year 9 Readers Cup team, contributing to their excellent placing. Sasha Young and Robert Nesselrode were exceptionally reliable and accurate shelvers and Felix Liu’s idea to set up a drawing table was a massive hit. Hosting the SLANZA National Conference put the library staff under a bit of pressure. There’s nothing quite like having more than 100 school librarians looking through your library. The feedback was lovely and many were impressed by the array of activities as well as the beauty of the space. One aspect of the library this year that feels hard to quantify is how social the space has become. Many boys have made it ‘their space’ at College. It’s where they meet their
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