STUDENT SERVICES
Newsletter
Term 2, 2016
In this edition
PAGE 3
WHISPA Excursion – April Holidays
PAGE 4
Student Spotlight on Adino’s Taekwondo
PAGE 5
Open Plan Classroom Listening Environments
PAGE 6
Student Stories
PAGE 7
Read Aloud
PAGE 9
PIG the PUG – Aaron Blabey 2014
PAGE 10
Sensory Processing Difficulties and Hearing Loss
PAGE 11
Important Dates
WHISPA Excursion – April Holidays
“CHAMPS went to the
Botanic Gardens in the
first week of the holidays.
We found trees and did a
scavenger hunt.
It was a long list of things
we had to find. We had
drinks and snacks.
It was hot!”
Jasper, 7 years
CHAMPS and WHISPA
– fun and friendship
CHAMPS and WHISPA have had
an enriching 2016 so far with many
and varied events concentrating
on peer friendship and interaction,
personal development, selfawareness and some fun
excursions. Momentum is building
in both peer support groups and
CHAMPS is now at full capacity,
which is testament to the interest
and benefit members are gaining
from being a part of the program.
CHAMPS has experienced the
Botanic Gardens on an exploration
day during the school holidays,
started to get to know themselves
and each other in our personal
development program ‘Spark’
and have expressed their creative
talents with ‘Art Attack’ painting
their ideas on canvas and their
very0own t-shirts.
Coming up the July school holidays
we have another exciting excursion
to the Hahndorf Farm Barn.
2016 has been a great year for
WHISPA also; members have
experienced a Dolphin Cruise on
the Port River and had some fun
and exciting competition with GoKarting and Laser Skirmish at our
first school holiday excursion.
In addition, we have encouraged
personal development to enable
each member to discover their
passions, gifts, abilities and values
with our ‘Coaching for Life sessions’.
Our July school holiday event will
be at the Animal Welfare League
and to continue in the vein of
personal development later in
the year we will have our ‘Stand
Firm’ bullying and mental health
workshops.
The highlight for 2016 however, has
been our Shiloh Hills Camp.
Situated in Iron Bank, our group
had an awesome time getting to
know each other and participate
in all sorts of activities including;
Archery, yabbying, night walks,
water golf, bonfires, glow in the
dark ,capture the flag and even a
personal development workshop
run by our very own Belinda
Dunne.
Tim Everton
Peer Support Coordinator
PAGE 3
Student Spotlight on Adino’s Taekwondo
We left Adelaide on Friday 29 April
and spent the afternoon relaxing.
On Saturday we had to ‘weigh-in’ to
see if we were the correct weight
to compete.
We went to see the Sydney
Harbour Bridge and the Sydney
Opera House. We walked around in
the afternoon looking at the places
around the Opera House.
The competition was on Sunday….!
I had to wait for about an hour for
my fight. I watched my other team
mates have their fights, and then
I had my fight. My fight was a bit
nerve-wracking because it was my
first head-kick fight. I enjoyed my
fight because I tried my hardest
and it was fun.
Even though I was wearing my
sports hearing aids, it was hard to
hear because there was a lot of
noise from the crowds cheering.
After my fight, my coach was a bit
angry for not listening to him but it
was hard to hear him. He was also
happy that I’d tried my hardest.
The competition finished at night
time so after the competition
we went and got dinner and I
got a salted caramel brownie for
dessert… YUM!!
Adino has attended the
Ben Rutten Taekwondo
Centre for five years.
Last year he achieved
his BLACK BELT and was
awarded his belt and
certificate in April 2016.
On the weekend of 30 April –
1 May he attended the Sydney
Taekwondo Festival – his first
interstate competition as a cadet
black belt.
He was one of the smallest cadet
black belts so he had to fight older
and heavier kids. He competed in
the 12-14 year old group but he is
eleven years old. He came home
with a silver medal!
In Adino’s words:
A team of 5 from SA went to
the Sydney Taekwondo Festival
and competed at the Sydney
Taekwondo Festival. The team
got on the plane from Adelaide
to Sydney. Dad went with me.
We stayed in a hotel near the
competition and we had a van
to drive the team around.
PAGE 4
We flew home on Monday. Mum
and Dad are very proud of me.
Addendum: Over the weekend of
18-19 June Adino competed at the
Caboolture Open and received two
gold medals for the two fights he was
in. Well done Adino!
Open Plan Classroom Listening Environments
During the April school
holidays I attended an
online presentation by
Kiri Mealing about open
plan classroom listening
environments. Below
is a summary of her
presentation and findings
from her PhD thesis.
Cindy Marples
Allied Health Manager
It's estimated that children spend
around 45% to 75% of the time in
the classroom listening.
Both external noise, such as
traffic, children outside or in
other classrooms, maintenance
equipment; and internal noise,
such as an air conditioner, children
talking and movement of chairs
contribute to classroom noise.
There is a recent trend to convert
classrooms to more open-plan
spaces (multiple classes in the
same area).
Open plan classrooms are more
prone to having very high noise
levels.
Studies looking at the effect of
noise levels on children have
found that it affects their speech
perception, cognition and
concentration.
The aim of Kiri’s PhD thesis was
to determine whether open plan
learning spaces are suitable
listening environments for young
children and teachers.
To do this, she measured and
compared the reverberation
time, noise level during when the
classroom was unoccupied and
during different activities and
looked at the signal to noise level in
four different classroom settings:
1 Enclosed classroom with
25 children and 1 teacher
2A double classroom with
44 children and 2 teachers
3 An open plan triple classroom
with 91 children divided into
3 class spaces with 3 teachers
4 A purpose-built semi open plan
classroom with 205 children in
K-6.
Results:
1 Only the enclosed classroom
was within the recommended
limits for reverberation.
2 None of the classrooms, when
unoccupied, met the minimum
level of noise recommended
however all but the K-6
classroom met the maximum
level of noise recommended.
3 The triple and K-6 classroom did
not meet the maximum level of
noise recommended when other
classrooms sharing the area or
nearby were occupied and doing
quiet activities.
4 The triple and K-6 classroom
does not meet the
recommended signal to noise
ratio during quiet activity and
none of them do during noisy
activity.
She also looked at speech
perception in these classrooms.
The children were asked to identify
the picture that matched the
sentence presented in quiet, while
the other class engaged in a quiet
activity and a noisy activity.
Results:
1 Speech perception scores
decreased as noise level
increased.
2 Speech perception scores
decreased the further away
the child was seated from the
speaker during noisy activities.
3 Response time was slower when
the noise level was higher.
4 Response time was slower when
the child was further away from
the speaker.
Conclusion:
Open plan classrooms are unlikely
to be appropriate learning
environments for critical listening
activities with young children
because it’s too hard to control the
noise levels coming from the other
classes sharing the area. These
noise levels affect children’s ability
to hear and process what their
teacher is saying and it affects the
teacher’s vocal health.
Suggestions for improving
classroom acoustic conditions:
1 Carpet on the floor or rugs to
minimise the foot or chair noise.
2 Soft furnishings or pin boards
around the classroom will
minimise the reverberation time.
3 Closing the doors and windows
to keep out the noise from
outside or the classes next door.
4 Turn off equipment when not in
use because some equipment in
the classroom can be quite noisy
and contributes to the noise
levels.
5 Minimise the teacher to student
distance.
6 Coordinate activities across
classes, particularly those critical
listening activities.
8 Use an FM or sound filtered
system.
9 Install acoustic panels and
ceiling tiles to minimise the
reverberation time.
10Install low noise, heating
ventilation systems.
PAGE 5
Student Stories
Chelsea Homa
On Sunday the 17th of April I
competed in the Victorian Karate
Championships which were held
in the city of Geelong. I have been
training in Kyokushin Karate for
5 years, and have competed in
7 tournaments in total. This was
my second time competing in
the Victorian Championships.
I travelled to Geelong with my
Dad and little sister, Chloe.
When we arrived at the
competition venue I felt nervous
and excited at the same time. There
were over 110 people competing in
the event which meant that there
were a lot of people because of
all the family members that came
along with each competitor. The
crowd was big and ready to cheer!
My first fight was against a girl
who was taller than me which
was a challenge, but I still won.
This gave me a lot of confidence
going into the next round. In my
12 year-old age group there were
8 competitors but I didn’t fight all
of them because it all depended
on the draw. I made it all the way
through my first few fights with
mostly all wins, but I did lose one
fight. This meant I still had a chance
to fight for third place in the final
rounds. Unfortunately I didn’t win
the fight for third place, but I felt
like that particular fight was a great
challenge for me.
Nathan Goodwin
I had a great time competing at the
tournament overall and I am now
looking forward to competing at
the National Karate Championships
which are being held in Sydney
in August this year. I really love
doing karate because of the friends
I’ve made through training and
competing, and because of the
confidence it gives me.
This is what Nathan said, “I was a
little bit nervous when we did the
Billy Goat Gruff cos there were a
lot of people around. It was fun, I
enjoyed it. I’m pretty sure the rest
enjoyed it as well and yeah….. So
I was the Troll as you might have
seen in the play, Robyn was the
Three Billy Goats Gruff. We did
the bridge and the grass that you
might have seen in the video, so
that’s pretty much it.”
This year Nathan Goodwin at St
Ignatius’ and Robyn, his Teacher of
the Deaf, have been looking at fairy
tales. We have been talking about
the characters feelings, motives
and attributes. We have looked at
the complications of the story and
its resolution.
We worked out how to make a
play of the story “The Three Billy
Goats Gruff” and performed it with
puppets in front of Nathan’s class.
By Ethan
A while ago the Braendler Family
attended their church’s pastor’s
daughter’s 21st birthday.
The theme of the birthday party
was Bushrangers and Belles.
Josiah’s Ned Kelly costume was
made by our mum out of black
cardboard and bolt. All of the other
dress ups we had at home.
PAGE 6
Read Aloud
Looking for fun and adventure
during the holidays?
Read a great book!
Reading together is a listening
activity and can be used to improve
attention and develop knowledge
of new words.
Just because your child can read
independently doesn’t mean that
you have to stop reading to them.
Older students may appreciate
listening to the English novel they
have to read and time can be spent
ensuring that what they hear they
also understand.
Why teach words?
There is a clear relationship
between vocabulary and
comprehension. Knowing words
enables a child to understand the
text, whether the words are heard
or read. Comprehension requires
that a person understands between
90%-95% of the words in a text.
This allows the reader or listener
to understand the main idea of
the text which then assists with
guessing correctly what the
unfamiliar word or words probably
mean. Children who understand
less than 90% of the words in a
passage will not understand what
they hear or read (Hirsch, 2003, pg.
16).
How many words do
we learn throughout
childhood?
The most commonly cited statistic
indicates that the “average” child
learns approximately 3000 words
a year. This means children learn
between 7-8 words per day.
Much of this word learning occurs
indirectly (Miller & Gildea cited in
Nelson & Van Meter, 2006).
How do children learn
words?
Indirectly through Conversations
Many words are learned indirectly
– children pick up on words and
associate them with what they see,
hear, touch, feel or experience in
some way. Context is an important
part of word learning. When new
words are introduced in meaningful
situations children who can
hear the words with competent
language skills will easily pick up
on new words. Conversations in
many different contexts, whether
they be in the supermarket, at
mealtimes, or play, are a source
of new word learning for children.
Some environments can be difficult
to hear in and opportunities for
learning new words are lost.
Other Children and Play
Interactions with other children
are another context for word
learning. This may not necessarily
provide a rich variety of words for
children; however learning from
peers is a powerful context. It is
also a context for talk and any
communication situation will be
a potential source for “picking up
words”.
Listening to Stories
Listening to stories is another
important context for word
learning. Books often have a
range of interesting words that
are not part of children’s everyday
communication, so they can be an
important source of new words for
children. Children may “pick up” on
new word meanings through the
process of listening; however word
learning can be richer through an
adult talking about the story or
defining the meaning of individual
words.
PAGE 7
Direct Instruction
Some words are learned through
direct instruction, where someone,
often an adult, explains word
meanings. This can happen in
conversations or during book
reading, when a rare or less
common word is encountered
and the adult explains the word
meaning. This also commonly
happens as teachers introduce
new subject specific words to
children as they move through
school. Teaching of vocabulary
is particularly prominent in high
school, especially in subjects such
as chemistry and maths.
How many times do you
need to exposure to a new
word to learn it?
Number of exposures to a word
needed by most students to learn a
word is 6-14.
Number of exposures to a word
needed by students with word
learning difficulties is 40.
Learning words indirectly and
through play can be difficult for a
child who is deaf or hard of hearing
so increased direct teaching of
words is needed from families and
educators.
Stages of Knowing a Word
Whilst reading together, encourage your child to identify
words they hear but do not know (red and amber words).
Specific questions can assist with helping a child know
which words are tricky for them.
Happy reading!!!
Stages of Knowing a Word
Dale and O’Rourke (1986, pp. 3)
describe four levels of knowing
a word:
I’ve never heard it
1 I’ve never heard or seen it before
”red light zone”
I’ve heard it, but I don’t
know what it means
2 I’ve heard it, but I don’t know
what it means. Both of these
stages would include “red
light” words as the child has
no understanding of the word
meaning.
I recognise it in context; it
has something to do with...
3 The next level is the “amber
light zone”, and here children
recognise the word in context,
so when asked about the
word, may respond with “it
has something to do with…”
The child has partial knowledge
of the word but is dependent on
a context. For example, when
asked to tell about fruit, the child
may say “you eat it”, but offer no
further information or examples.
I know it
4 The last level is the “green light
zone” and here the child can
demonstrate full knowledge of
the word. For example, for fruit
the child may say, “You eat fruit.
My favourite fruits are apples
and bananas”.
PAGE 8
PIG the PUG – Aaron Blabey 2014
Why do you think his name is Pig?
Do you know what a pug is?
What does greedy mean?
(wanting to have more than you
actually need)
What does selfish mean?
(your feelings and needs are more
important than other peoples)
Vocabulary and
Comprehension Questions
What is a flat? (small house)
Where do you live?
What does grumble mean?
(complaining – this might need
to be modelled)
What is another word for grumble?
(whine - this might need to be
modelled)
“You’ve got some great toys there,”
poor Trevor would say – Why was
he “poor Trevor”?
What does the sentence
“Well, Pig flipped his wig.” mean?
(threw a tantrum, lost the lolly, spat
the dummy)
What does share mean? (this might
need to be modelled)
Why won’t Pig share with Trevor?
How is Trevor feeling?
What could you do if your friend
would not share with you?
What does gathered mean? (bring
things together into a pile)
What is a “satisfied smile”? (very
pleased smile – demonstrate
together in the mirror)
What does loot mean? (large
amount of things someone has)
What is another word for scoot?
(run or hurry away)
PAGE 9
What made the pile of toys
wobble?
What do you think is going to
happen next?
What did happen?
What does this mean “Pigs cannot
fly”?
Where do you think Pig went?
What do you think happened to Pig?
Why do you think it is different in
Trevor and Pig’s flat?
How is Trevor feeling?
How is Pig feeling?
What does “on the mend” mean?
(getting better, bones are healing)
What do you think will happen
when Pig is better and is able to
move again?
If you were Trevor, what would you
say to Pig when he is better?
References
Beck, IL, McKeown, MG & Kucan,
L 2002, Bringing words to life –
robust vocabulary instruction, The
Guilford Press, New York.
Hirsch, ED 2003, ‘Reading
comprehension requires knowledge
of words and the world’, American
Educator, Spring, pp. 10-44.
Stahl, S 1999, Vocabulary
development, Brookline MA:
Brookline Books.
Dale, E & O’Rourke, J 1986,
Vocabulary building, OH: ZanerBloser, Columbus.
Sensory Processing Difficulties and Hearing Loss
‘Sensory Processing is the ability to
organise an interpret information
we receive through our senses’
(Northern Territory Department of
Health and Community Services
2006, pp.13).
Children with visual or hearing
impairments, or physical
disabilities, may receive, perceive,
organise or interpret information
inaccurately and display difficulties
processing sensory information
(Northern Territory Department of
Health and Community Services
2006, pp. 13).
Children who are deaf or hard of
hearing are especially vulnerable
to sensory processing difficulties.
‘The inner ear affects the sense of
balance and gravity which plays
a major part in the processing
of the other senses. The cochlea
also plays an important role in
sensory integration’. http://www.
californiaearinstitute.com/eardisorders-sensory-processingdisorder-ear-institute-bay-area.php
Have you observed any of
the following behaviours?
Children with sensory processing
difficulties may fall in to one of two
categories – being over sensitive or
being under sensitive.
Under Sensitive Child
Under Sensitive Child
Low registration (accepting)
• lacks initiative
• passive/withdrawn
• lethargic/gets tired easily
• clumsy/uncoordinated
• reduced sense of pain and
temperature
• self-absorbed
• doesn’t notice if dirty
• doesn’t respond when called
Sensory seeking (trying to
change)
• very active/can’t sit still
• seeks out lots of sensory
stimulation (e.g. spinning,
touching, licking, mouthing)
• fidgety
• excitable
• touches people and objects to
the point of irritating others
• takes unnecessary risks
Over Sensitive Child
Over Sensitive Child
Sensory Sensitivity (accepting)
• distractible
• short attention span
• unable to focus
• constantly disrupted by new
stimulation
• lash out/shut down
• reacts negatively (irritated,
annoyed, threatened, anxious,
hostile)
Sensory avoiding (trying to
change)
• resistant to change/rigid rituals
• appears to be lethargic/
low energy
• dislikes crowded environments/
standing in line
• avoids touch, messy play,
certain foods and movement
experiences
• complains about loud noises
and bright lights
• irritated by certain clothes
(Northern Territory Department of Health and Community Services 2006,
pp. 15-20)
PAGE 10
Sensory Processing Difficulties and Hearing Loss
Should my child see an
Occupational Therapist?
Speak with your child’s classroom
teacher and Teacher of the Deaf.
Have they observed the above
problems?
If concerned an Occupational
Therapist can assess and diagnose
Sensory Processing Difficulties and
provide strategies that can be used
at home and in the classroom to
assist with regulating sensory input.
Each child will require different
strategies depending on their
individual sensory profile.
Discuss your observations and/
or assessment findings with your
NDIS planner to incorporate
Occupational Therapy sessions into
your child’s plan.
Koomar, J, Kranowitz, C, Szklut, S,
Balzer-Martin, L, Haber, E & Sava,
D. I 2000, Answers to questions
teachers ask about sensory
integration, Future Horizons, Texas.
Share any intervention suggestions
with your child’s classroom teacher
and other therapists working with
your child so they can support
your child’s sensory needs in the
classroom and in small group or
individual therapy sessions.
Northern Territory Department of
Health and Community Services
2006, Learning through the senses
resource manual: The impact
of sensory processing in the
classroom, Pearson, Texas.
Colby Trott, M 1993, SenseAbilities:
understanding sensory integration,
Pro-ed, Texas.
Williams, MS & Shellenberger, S
1996, How does your engine run? A
leader’s guide to the Alert program
for self-regulation, Therapy Works,
New Mexico.
Yack, E, Aquilla, P & Sutton, S 2002,
Building bridges through sensory
integration, Future Horizons, Texas.
JULY
AUG
SEPT
Monday 25
Saturday 6
Sunday 18
First day of school term
Westfield Give Ability Day –
volunteers needed
City to Bay Fun Run
Sunday 21 – Saturday 28
Hearing Awareness Week
Wednesday 24
Ghostbusters FREE Movie Night at
Hoyts Norwood as part of Hearing
Awareness Week
OCT
NOV
ANYTIME
Friday 21
Wednesday 9
Loud Shirt Day – hosts needed
to fundraise
Bowls SA/Clubs SA Bowling
Day – teams wanted
PAGE 11
Entertainment Books available now
Any queries please call 8267 9200
[email protected]
185 Melbourne Street
North Adelaide 5006
08 8267 9200
[email protected]
corabarclay.com.au