MOUNT ISA SCHOOL OF THE AIR
Mount Isa School of the Air
PO Box 1683
137-143 Abel Smith Pde
MOUNT ISA QLD 4825
Phone: 07 4744 8333 Fax: 07 4744 8300
NEWSLETTER 3 – TERM 3 2016
Inside this Newsletter:
 Principal’s Comments
 Term 3 School Routine
- Prep Year 2017
- Activity Days
- Group Days
- Minischools
- School Magazine – Gumbuya
- School Opinion Surveys
- Technical Talk
- New Resource: Wushka
 Term 2 in Review
- Camp News
 Year 4 Camp
 Year 5 Camp
 Year 6 Camp
- Home Tutor Seminar Week
Feedback
- NAPLAN
- SDEs eTeach Project
- Western Alliance Multischool
- Sports Day
- Sports News
- Eisteddfod of the Air 2016
 Curriculum Update
- Mid Year Reporting
- Library News
- Mailroom News
 General Interest
- ICPA & SFBK
- Bullying
- Staff Profiles
- ASG Inspirational
Teaching Awards Neita
- PEACH™ Online
- Guitar Tuition
- eKindy Program
 P&C News & Views
- P&C Contact details
 Attachments
- 2016 Staff Contact List
- Students First
- MISOTA Mantras
- 2016 MISOTA Reading
Framework
- MISOTA Reading Roles
- Everyday Reading Practices
- MISOTA Reading Lesson
Development
- Bush Kids Calendar
PRINCIPAL’S COMMENTS
Quadrennial School Review
In setting our priorities for the next four years three main sources of information are used.
We use
 Discussions and surveys of our school community, these have been sent to you.
 School data over time - NAPLAN, School Opinion Surveys, report card data etc
 Full School Review conducted by Education Queensland. In the second week of term
three our school will be fully reviewed by three principals. Schools undergo this
review every four years. Out of this review will come some recommendations.
Our school council will assess all of this information and determine the school’s priorities
for the period 2017-2020. The school council consists of some staff members and the
following mums:
Bedourie Lorraine Kath
Camooweal Tina Barrett & Lisa Hamilton
Cloncurry Tara Locke
Gregory Kimberley Arnold
Julia Creek Kylie Cook
Normanton Wendy Wockner
Please contact your minischool representative or me if you want to add your input.
Please consider, if you haven’t already done so, completing the survey.
Staff News
Robyn Wade has joined our staff. Robyn will be covering for the teachers who are taking
long service leave during Semester 2. When staff are not on leave Robyn will be helping
some of our WA students.
Jo Mills is having the first 6 weeks of term 3 as long service leave, as we can all attest,
this leave is well deserved. Robyn Wade will replace Jo for this period. Kelly Green
has leave approved for the first 4 weeks of term 3 for her wedding. Bridoen Schloss and
Selena Courtice will be replacing Kelly during this period. Claire Goodall will also take
leave in weeks 6 and 7 for her wedding – details of Claire’s temporary replacement are
being finalised and families will be advised next term.
Semester One Reports
You should receive your Semester One report in the same mailing as your newsletter.
All 7 SDE’s across Queensland have collectively moderated aspects of our student’s
work to ensure consistency of reporting across the distance education community in Qld.
I invite you to contact your teacher to discuss any aspect of your child’s report.
May Week
May is always a special month in our school calendar and this year was no exception.
The feedback we have received from activity days, HT seminar, sports day and camps
have shown that these functions were really well received. While these activities are still
fresh in your minds please pass any feedback that you may have to me. Thank you for
making the effort, in both time and money, to make these events great for the kids.
Behaviour
In the main, at all school events, your children’s behaviour is exemplary. Recently
however we have had some incidences of bullying and aggressive behaviour between
students. Although rare we wish to be proactive and ensure that this type of behaviour
does not become common. Selena and Bridoen, at all school events, will discuss the
SOTA Mantras with the students at the start of each day. Mantras are sayings that
students should apply to their schooling life. I have attached the school mantras to
this newsletter. I would encourage you to put them up in your classroom and refer to
them. Please report, and also encourage your children to report, to teachers any
instances of poor behaviour.
Being on Time.
Another of the Mantras is being organised and thoughtful. It is important for your teacher
and other classmates that you are on time for class, reading and PLT. Please encourage
your students to be on time and to devise ways of remembering. As teaching staff we
are also accountable for being on time so please hold us to account if we are continually
late. Being on time demonstrates that we are being organised and thoughtful.
I look forward to catching up during Term 3 at minischools.
Tim Moes
TERM 3 SCHOOL ROUTINE
PREP YEAR 2017
Children who are born between 1 July 2011 and 30 June 2012 are eligible for Prep in 2017. If there are people in your
community with Prep aged children in 2017, could you please encourage them to contact the school to enrol.
Enrolment information is available from the school or at www.mtisasde.eq.edu.au. Could current families please enrol
2017 prep children as soon as possible. This makes planning for 2017 more effective.
ACTIVITY DAYS
th
There will be an activity day in Mount Isa attached to Rock Pop Mime in Term 4 Week 2, Wednesday October 12 . All are
invited to attend but you MUST let Bridoen or Selena know if you are planning on attending. Families are asked to bring a
shared smoko and lunch. Children will need a hat and water bottle. The day will commence at 9.00am and conclude at
3.00pm. Please contact Bridoen or Selena if you have any queries
GROUP DAYS
Thank you to all who hosted and attended group days in term 2. A fantastic time was had by all and it was lovely to see
students excited about both science and music. The glockenspiels were colourful and fun and we enjoyed learning about
chemical reactions by making slime and sherbet, launching rockets and making lemon and potato batteries. The second
round of group days will begin in term 4. If you would like to host one at your place please contact Bridoen or Selena. A
list of dates and locations will be sent out to families as soon as possible. As always, group days start at 9am and finish
3:00pm and you are asked to bring along shared smoko and lunch. Please contact Bridoen or Selena if you have any
queries.
MINISCHOOLS
This year's theme is "Lights…Camera…Action!!”. Our activities will focus on drama, film and the creation and study of
these through a range of mediums. This year we will be having a dress up night where everyone is encouraged to come
as a Film or TV star/character of their choice. This year we are extremely happy to be having the bright and talented
Helen Stevens back for Minischool from 'The Dead Puppets Society’. She will be running activities for students using
premade puppets to create their own dramatic performance.
Miss Georgia will be attending most Minischools as well. She will be there for one to two days, depending on numbers,
and will be offering sessions for e-Kindy children. Outside of these sessions the eKindy children will need to be under the
care of their parents or govies.
We will be conducting on air meetings in the coming weeks to discuss each Minischool. The meeting times are as follows:
 Normanton – 25 July – 3.15pm – Studio 1
st
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 Julia Creek – 1 August – 3.15pm – Studio 1
Meeting 2: 4 October 3.15pm – Studio 1
st
 Bedourie – 1 August – 3.15pm – Studio 3
nd
 Camooweal – 2 August – 3.15pm – Studio 1
th
 Cloncurry – 8 August – 3.15pm – Studio 1
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 Gregory – 15 August – 3.15pm – Studio 1
The Minischool order and dates are:
th
th
 Normanton Minischool ............................... August 7 – 12
...... (Selena Co-ordinating)
th
th
 Bedourie Minischool ................................... August 14 – 19 ......... (Selena Co-ordinating)
st
th
 Cloncurry Minischool .................................. August 21 – 26
... (Bridoen Co-ordinating
th
nd ...
 Camooweal Minischool .............................. August 28 – Sep 2
(Selena Co-ordinating
th
th
 Gregory Minischool .................................... September 4 – 9 ...... (Bridoen Co-ordinating)
Term 4
th
st
 Julia Creek Minischool .............................. October 16 – 21
...... (Bridoen Co-ordinating)
th
Please contact Bridoen or Selena if you have any questions or queries.
Unit 6 will coincide with our minischools in term 3. Teachers will accommodate the fact that students will miss a week of
C2C work whilst attending minischool. Teachers will explain how each year level will cater for minischool attendance
during the first half of the term.
SCHOOL MAGAZINE - GUMBUYA
Term 3 is the term that the magazine is compiled. Gumbuya is a whole school production requiring input from the whole
school community, so please if you have any property pictures, stories, poems, etc. and think they would be suitable for
the magazine, send them in to Anne Coleman via mail or email [email protected]. The more input we get the better the
magazine!
We are asking for P&C reps to help gather sponsorship for the school magazine. If you can help out, please give the
office a ring on 4744 8333. Sponsorship is $75 for a coloured page. Extra magazines can be ordered. Magazines will
cost $20 each.We are looking for ideas for the cover of Gumbuya this year. The theme is “Olympics.” Please send ideas
and thoughts to Anne Coleman by mail or email [email protected].
SCHOOL OPINION SURVEYS
The School Opinion Survey is undertaken each year during term 3 by Education Queensland to obtain the opinion of
parents, students and school staff about important aspects of schooling. The survey is designed to help schools identify
what they do well and what they can improve.
All parents with children enrolled in our school will receive their survey request via email from Education Queensland’s
central office. Please keep an eye out for it.
Students in Years 4-10 will also be invited to participate in the student opinion survey. Once we have been informed of
the process we will work with the children during class time in administering the survey.
These surveys are a really important measure for the school to ensure that we continue to meet your needs.
TECHNICAL TALK
Blackboard Collaborate launcher – Term 3 2016
The school is moving to a new platform Blackboard Collaborate in Term 3 from week 3 onwards. This means the way we
access iconnect sessions has changed. The new platform moves to the Blackboard Collaborate launcher and no longer
requires Java. DVD’s with the Blackboard Collaborate launcher have been sent out to all families.
MyStick USB/DVD’s.
Please avoid corrupting USBs, for instance not pulling the USB
from the computer until you click on the safe to remove icon.
Eject the USB by clicking the Icon on the taskbar and selecting
“Eject USB Flash drive” before removing the USB.
Phone issues
Please contact Luke to troubleshoot any phone issues 07 47448306 or email [email protected] if the phone is not
working and get the problems solved/fixed.
Purchasing New Computers for Schoolwork.
The school does not sell computers, I can give you recommendations.
Laptop Computer with the following are recommended.
 Windows 10
 Minimum 4 GB of RAM, 8 GB if possible.
 CD/DVD drive
Harvey Norman, JB-HIFI, Officeworks or Dell at www.dell.com.au would be places you could check to purchase a
computer. Most PC’s are used over a 3 year time span and then replaced.
It is normal for the computer to come with a 12 month warranty.
It is recommended you purchase extended warranty to 3 years.
Software is not required to be purchased with the PC as all required school applications are free to download and use.
 Office 2016
 Adobe reader
 Avast Anti-virus free edition
 Blackboard Collaborate Launcher
 Java
If you are having computer or phone issues, please email [email protected] and I will follow up with you ASAP.
.
Luke Hughes
NEW RESOURCE: WUSKA
Our school has subscribed to an online levelled reading program called WUSHKA. Several multiage families trialled the
site for us and it was found to be very beneficial for supplementary reading resources. The resources can be accessed
on your computer or mobile device.
Teachers will be undergoing an introduction session to the resource on the last day of Term 2, and will be touching base
with every student giving them a login code and password.
In the meantime, if you would like to visit the site to explore - http://wushka.com.au/
Janeen Fricke
Deputy Principal
TERM 2 IN REVIEW
CAMP NEWS
YEAR 4 CAMP – Magnetic Island
The year 4 students spent a fantastic week on Magnetic Island.
Students thoroughly enjoyed spending time on the beach swimming and making different creations out of sand. We
ventured over to Horseshoe Bay where the students were able to get up close to the wildlife at Bungalow Bay Koala
Village. A fascinating morning was spent at Reef HQ followed by the Museum in Townsville. Students had a great time
spending money on themselves and their family at Castle Town Shopping Centre.
Many wonderful memories were made.
Claire Goodall
YEAR 5 CAMP – ADELS GROVE
This term Year 5 students attended the Year 5 Leadership camp at Adels Grove. There were accompanied by Lisa Ward,
Alex Stewart, Chris Kuhne, Selena Courtice and Luke Hughes. The days were action packed with activities like canoeing,
bushwalking, snorkelling and a visit to the Riversleigh Fossil site. The students participated in exciting challenges like the
Tower of Terror, Burmese Bridge and a photo scavenger hunt. Our nights were finished off with damper and pancakes,
and of course Mr Kuhne’s famous hot chocolate. Year 5 students should be congratulated on an extremely successful
school camp due to their energy, enthusiasm and brilliant behaviour. Throughout the week we had many positive
comments about the manners and conduct of our students from other campers in the area. A fantastic time was had by
all!
Alex Stewart & Lisa Ward
YEAR 6 CAMP
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The Year 6 Camp to Canberra is not far away now! On Saturday 9 July, the year 6 students will be jetting off to chilly
Canberra for a week, along with Chris Kuhne, Katrina Kuhne, Janeen Fricke and Anne Coleman.
Students will participate in many interesting, educational and fun activities including visits to Parliament House, the
National Museum, Australian War Memorial, Australian Institute of Sport and Questacon. A day at the snow will be the
first time that most students will see the snow (outside of their freezers!) and give them an opportunity to experience
tobogganing.
The Year 6 Camp is an excellent opportunity to immerse the students in studies related to civics and citizenship. Our P&C
is very supportive of the camp, funding the cost of the flights and bus travel around Canberra. The Commonwealth
Government, through the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate (PACER) program, funds each student to allow them
to experience government in action first hand. With these significant contributions, the cost on families is reduced
significantly and each family contributes to accommodation and the food costs.
Mount Isa School of the Air wishes to acknowledge the support of the school’s P&C and the Commonwealth Government
for their invaluable financial support of these essential experiences for our students as, without this support, the costs
would be prohibitive to travel so far to study government and our national capital. This year we would also like to
recognise the special contribution from Connellan Airways Trust Fund for providing financial support to our camp.
To all the Year 6s . . . . . Don’t forget to pack your winter woollies!
Katrina & Chris Kuhne
HOME TUTOR SEMINAR WEEK FEEDBACK
Thank you all so much for your recent attendance at the seminar. It was very well patronised and all feedback has been
very positive with regard to our two consultants and also the workshops offered by staff and community organisations.
Invitational speakers were excellent – easy to listen to, very interactive – great cross section of information.
One of the most relevant cross sections in awhile!
The reasoning of workshops and invited presenters, is always done after careful consideration of the school’s priorities as
identified in the Quadrennial School Review, school wide data (A-E reporting, NAPLAN, diagnostic assessment), surveys
and feedback from the previous year by members of the school community. As we are focussing on building oral
language capabilities and have adopted the M100W packs in our school to help strengthen reading fluency and progress;
and vocabulary development, Marcella Reiter was invited to present sound classroom pedagogy in early literacy
development. Feedback has highlighted how very beneficial this was for our school community –
“Very informative, explanation of why it is so important. You need a focus
through spelling reading and writing – don’t do these in isolation. Purposely
introduce new words to increase vocabulary. Wonderful! Great refresher.
“Marcella was brilliant – I learnt so much in a short amount of time!”
Our invitation to Marg Buckle from LearningYou was targeted to introduce the Polya’s Problem Solving Board to maths
lessons solving in every classroom. Teachers and home tutors have commented that this is an area that is lacking in the
C2C papers, and Marg has presented the most practical tool for us to use successfully in our one hundred or more
isolated classrooms and for teachers to refer to when teaching maths online. Once again, participants found the session
very worthwhile –
“Brilliant maths instruction. Really great examples!”
I thought that the day was really beneficial. I am fortunate that I have a student
in the classroom who is quite confident with Maths. However, I was still able to
learn new strategies and skills to reinforce learning of new concepts. I particularly
liked Marg Buckle’s session in that it was a new tool to assist students and think
about how they problem solve.
All staff at Mount Isa School of the Air are always shown such kind and generous hospitality while on home visits and at
school events. Home Tutor Seminar is our opportunity to respond by personally catering for morning tea. So please know
that your morning tea is a combined effort by the many staff - teachers and ancillary - at our school, in return for the
wonderful outback hospitality offered by our MISOTA families.
Once again, Linda, Anne, Tim & myself are always open to your feedback and suggestions.
Janeen Fricke
&
Linda Ryan
NAPLAN
Like all schools nationwide, our Year 3 & 5 completed the National Assessment Program – Literacy & Numeracy
(NAPLAN) tests during our recent activity days in Mount Isa. MISOTA staff thanks families for bringing children in to
participate and helping with the preparation of our students for this event. Congratulations go to all the children for their
efforts over the three days. Year level teachers commented that all children worked to the best of their ability in a context
very different to their usual classroom environment. Year 7 & 9 participated in NAPLAN in a supportive online
environment the week following activity week with the Western Alliance. Some of our primary school families who were
unable to travel to Mount Isa were fortunate to be part of a Queensland trial for digital NAPLAN tests, and were able to
give valuable feedback for future implementation when families cannot attend their school for tests.
Next year we maybe a trial school for online NAPLAN. All Queensland schools will do NAPLAN online by 2019. We are
keen to trial NAPLAN online early as we have many considerations to ensure it runs smoothly in our context. It may
mean that we have to modify our calendar in term 2 to accommodate this testing. As we know more information we will
share it with you.
We expect that all test results will be sent to our school later this year, and an individual NAPLAN report for each student
will be sent home. These confidential reports will show your child’s results against key national information in each year
level. While NAPLAN reports are an important measure of how all students are progressing, it is important to remember
that it is only one aspect of the school’s assessment and reporting process. It does not replace the more extensive and
informed judgements made by our teachers everyday while working with children and families. We use the data at
MISOTA to inform curriculum changes and respond to individual needs.
SDE’s eTEACH PROJECT
A small project team in Brisbane, is developing the distance education materials for ‘below the line’ subjects of Health &
Physical Education (HPE), Business and Economics, Civics and Citizenship and The Arts. The materials are particularly
engaging visually, are on the whole digital (Blackboard) with paper materials as support. So far, the feedback from our
school community and others around the state, is very positive. However, suggestions for improvement can be made,
and please contact me if you have any ideas.
The team is currently developing units of work for Secondary subjects - The Arts and Technology and Design and as we
know this is a large task we do not want to rush this process - it will take time. Once these have been trialled and
developed in full, MISOTA, Charleville and Longreach schools will incorporate these into their subject offerings for
Western Alliance.
The eTEACH project is being managed by Judith Felton, an experienced lead educator based at BSDE. Judith has been
active in seeking input from schools and isolated families to ensure the success of the project. If you would like to be part
of future trial materials, please contact Tim or myself.
Janeen Fricke
WESTERN ALLIANCE – SECONDARY MULTISCHOOL
The first Multischool for 2016 has come and gone. Students came by bus and car, from as far north as Karumba and
Burketown, as far south as Thargomindah and right to the Northern Territory Border to make their way to Longreach for
Multischool in Week 1. For lots of our students it was their first ever Multischool experience. They were in for a week of
school, fun and activities with their friends and teachers.
Maths, Science and English wasn’t all that was on the week’s agenda. Artistic skills were tested, we all ate way too much
popcorn at the cinema, got a little rowdy down town during the scavenger hunt, and realised that the teachers are
perhaps more fun than we gave them credit for ;) After over a term of only knowing each other by voice, for many of our
new students, getting to meet each other and consolidate friendships was one of the most rewarding aspects of the week.
The week ended on a high (and loud) note, with the ‘Super Heroes Disco.’ The costumes all looked fantastic and students,
teachers and parents had a great night. A big thanks to Mr Morris’ cousin Clause who rocked the House. Friday morning,
the buses were packed, goodbyes were said and everyone started making their long journey home. Despite having to
catch up on some sleep, everyone was already starting to get excited for the next Multischool in Term 4, Week 4 which is
sure to be even bigger and better!
Chris McIntosh
SPORTS DAY
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SPORTS DAY Friday 15 May
What a wonderful jam packed busy week we had with Home Tutor Seminar, activity days and NAPLAN and then
ending with a fantastic sports day. A huge thanks to the Touch Association for providing the venue and running the
tuckshop throughout the day. Congratulations to all students for their participation, great efforts and enthusiasm on the
day. A big thank you to teachers, parents and govies for helping out with the events. The day couldn’t have run without
you. Flynn and O’Sullivan kept everyone’s spirits high with their war cries and encouragements throughout the day. Well
done to Flynn for taking out the winner’s trophy once again.
Sports Day Age Champions:
Year 1 Boys
Year 1 Girls
Archie Cameron
Ayla Munchenberg and
Ashaya Bruce-Moore
Harry Hacon
Emma Locke
Cooper Sedon
Emily Towne
Lachlan Johnson
Amy Bellingham and
Isabella Rasheed
Lauchlan Bishop
Annabelle Towne
Ben Hawkins
Georgia Pedler
Jack Towne
Chloe Towne
Riley Worlein
Imogen Bruce-Moore
Year 2 Boys
Year 2 Girls
Year 3 Boys
Year 3 Girls
2007 Boys
2007 Girls
2006 Boys
2006 Girls
2005 Boys
2005 Girls
2004 Boys
2004 Girls
Open Boys
Open Girls
And the successful division champions now have their names engraved on the Sports Day shields.
Open
Senior
Intermediate
Junior
Girls
Imogen Bruce-Moore
Chloe Towne
Annabelle Towne
Emma Locke and
Emily Towne
Boys
Riley Worlein
Ben Hawkins
Lachlan Johnson
Archie Cameron
These were the times for the adult races. Congratulations to our Mums, Dads and Govies.
Mums Race
Dads Race
Govies Race
1st
Jacqui Bishop
(Gallipoli)
Time: 9.00sec
Ryan Hacon
(Bunda)
Time: 7.72sec
Rachel Martin
(Arizona)
Time: 9.28sec
2nd
Steph Eckford
(Morella)
Time: 9.44sec
Rob Cameron
(Neumeuyer Valley)
Time: 8.25sec
Felicity Cameron
(Argyle)
Time: 9.78sec
3rd
Sarah Malloy
(Roxborough Downs)
Time: 9.69sec
Andrew Hacon
(Cubbaroo)
Time: 8.59sec
Sarah Doyle
(Taldora)
Time: 10.06sec
SPORTS NEWS
In Term 3, students born in 2004, 2005 and 2006 who received first or second in their event at Sports Day are eligible to
nd
compete in the Mount Isa District Athletics Carnival on Friday 22 July. Please contact me as soon as possible if you are
interested in nominating. We already have a number of families interested in attending this year. Contact me at
[email protected] or 4744 8342 if you would like to find out about district sport trials. There is often little time between
notifications of trials and when they are held in town.
EISTEDDFOD OF THE AIR 2016
2016 was a very special year for Eisteddfod in Mount Isa. The Mount Isa Eisteddfod Association proudly celebrated its
fiftieth year.
Despite a few phone problems, we ran another successful Mount Isa School of the Air Eisteddfod thanks to the
participation of many students who were encouraged and coached by parents, govies and teachers. Thank you to the
students in both the Poetry and in Music categories for your entertaining performances. Again this year, we welcomed
students from Richmond, Prairie and Barcaldine State Schools to our music section. The adjudicators of both sections
were impressed with the standard of the performers and thoroughly enjoyed their unique experience. This year, we had
two Brisbane-based adjudicators. Mrs Helen Smith provided encouraging feedback in the music section and Mrs Louise
Raben enjoyed listening to our poetry performers.
2016 MISOTA Eisteddfod Speech Awards
Year 2 & under Verse Award – Brodee Remfrey
Year 3 & 4 Verse Award – Emily Towne
Year 5 & 6 Verse Award – Joshua Hullock
Encouragement Award (poetry) – Amy Bellingham
The Adjudicators
Choice Award (poetry) – Cody Wockner
Prep – (non-competitive)
Emily Castle, Rylee Walsh, Rylie McDonald, Caitlin Fry
Set Verse - Year 1 & 2
st
1
Brodee Remfrey
Set Verse – Year 3 & 4
st
1
Emily Towne
nd
2
Amy Bellingham
rd
3
Annabelle Towne
HC Jesse Remfrey
Set Verse - Year 5 & 6
st
1
Cody Wockner
nd
2
Joshua Hullock
rd
3
Lilly Keats
Australian/humorous verse - Year 2 & under
st
1
Shayla McDonald
Australian/humorous verse - Year 3 & 4
st
1
Annabelle Towne
nd
2
Amy Bellingham
rd
3
Isabella Rasheed
HC Emily Towne
Australian/humorous verse - Year 5 & 6
st
1
Cody Wockner
nd
2
Joshua Hullock
rd
3
Olivia Rasheed
HC Archie Smith
2016 MISOTA Eisteddfod Music Results
Special Awards:
Encouragement Award (strings)
Cameron Dart, Prairie SS
Adjudicators Choice Award (strings)
Marthinus Farrell, Barcaldine SS
Recorder Solo – Year 4 & under (non-competitive)
Bridget Smith, Ashi Bruce-Moore, Isabelle Rasheed
Recorder Solo – Year 5 & 6
st
1
Marney Jones
nd
2
Joshua Hullock
Solo - Any other instrument – Year 7 & under
st
1
Chase Guy, keyboard
nd
2
Duet - Tayla Green and Grace Moloney, keyboard
rd
3
Connor Smith, keyboard
Strings – solo beginner players Year 7 & under
(non competitive)
Cameron Dart
Strings – solo Year 8 & under, own choice
st
1
Lucy Kennedy
nd
2
Marthinus Farrell
rd
3
Millie McDonald
HC Georgie Jonsson
Strings – Baroque or Classical composition
st
1
Marthinus Farrell
nd
2
Millie McDonald
rd
3
Josie Muston
HC Georgie Jonsson
Strings –solo - Beginner players
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20 Century composition (non-competitive)
Cameron Dart
Strings –solo Year 7 and under
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20 Century composition
st
1
Millie McDonald
nd
2
Josie Muston
rd
3
Georgie Jonsson
HC James Brown, Marthinus Farrell
Thank you … Our Eisteddfod happens each year with the assistance of many people. Sponsorship is also provided by
many of our families who were acknowledged on air. The Mount Isa Eisteddfod Committee provided wonderful support,
the adjudicators and all the prizes. This year a number of our staff members reciprocated by assisting the committee and
helped out at the local on stage eisteddfod. Thank you – Leah Allingham, Janeen Fricke, Raylene White, Michele Ridge,
Nikki Barlow, Yvonne Moore and Deb Cobden. Each year our teaching staff gives support to their students by phoning in
and providing an appreciative audience. This year, a huge thank you to Deb Cobden who volunteered her wonderful
calligraphy skills and many hours to writing of certificates. Janeen Fricke stepped in to do a wonderful job chairing both
Eisteddfod sections this year.
It is a pleasure to provide this cultural experience for our students.
Jo Mills - On behalf of the MISOTA Eisteddfod Co-ordination Team
CURRICULUM UPDATE
MID YEAR REPORTING
With report cards being completed for the end of semester 1, it is worthwhile to remember some important information
concerning grades. Our assessment and reporting framework provides that a “C” on the report card means that your child
is demonstrating learning at an age/grade appropriate level. Children develop socially, emotionally and academically at
different rates. Some children can work at an above year level standard one semester and a lower standard the next. This
occurs for a variety of reasons e.g. a developmental growth spurt, the work covered was an area of interest, standard of
work has increased in complexity etc.
This year at MISOTA considerable time and resources have been dedicated to reviewing our C2C materials and
assessment, to ensure that our lessons align with the National Curriculum and follow the improvement agenda of
Education Queensland. The new versions of curriculum materials now contain standardised criteria and exemplars to
assist us in making professional judgements that are consistent with other schools in Queensland. The materials have
been revised by Education Queensland to ensure adjustments made to the Australian Curriculum is reflected in our Guide
to Making Judgements, exemplars, and lessons.
As distance education schools and mainstream schools work together for moderation processes, we can be more
confident now that a “C” at MISOTA is comparable with a “C” at any other school. This is reassuring for teachers and
parents and in the future will create a smoother transition for students moving to other schools within our state and federal
systems. Please speak with your class teacher about their involvement in moderation, as it is an important part of our
teaching and learning process.
Janeen Fricke
LIBRARY NEWS
Book Club: A big THANK YOU to all families who have purchased items from Book Club. These purchases allow the Library to earn
reward points, which then enable us to buy great resources for families to borrow.
Book Week is not far away and this year’s theme is:
Australia: Story Country
We have some great competitions requiring students to use
their imaginations - details will be forwarded out by mail. All
competition entries need to be returned to school by Friday
th
12 August (Week 5) to allow for selection of level category
winners. Entries will then be displayed at school for Book
Week, 20-26 August.
Premier’s Reading Challenge details have been sent out to those families with students in Prep through to Year 9. All
students have been registered - so keep reading! Fill out the student record sheet and when you have completed your
allocated challenge, you can mail/email/fax your completed sheet back to the Library or [email protected]
Book Fairs will operate at each of the Mini-Schools. We hope you enjoy the opportunity to browse through the selection.
Just a reminder, when returning library books, please ensure they are sent in a named library bag - this protects the books
while being mailed. New library bags are available from the Library for $6.00.
QSS eBooks Digital Library is now available for students to access. You can start reading eBooks in 4 easy steps:
1. Go to http://educationqld.lib.overdrive.com and enter you MIS ID
2. Search or browse for eBooks
3. Sample before you borrow
4. You can read your book online using OverDrive Read click on “Read in your browser.” The book can then be read
on your computer. If you want to download a book you will need to install Adobe Digital Editions programme and
create an account with Adobe Digital Editions. There are step-by-step instructions on the site, otherwise please
don’t hesitate to call Luke for instructions on 07 4744 3306
Raylene White
MAILROOM NEWS
To assist with the smooth running of your classrooms, please keep all C2C discs and USBs. Sometimes a unit on the disc
or USB will not be needed immediately but will be required at a future date.
When visiting Mount Isa please come into the mailroom to collect your mail. If possible, please let me know that you will
be visiting. I can hold sending any mail for a couple of days before to assist you with receiving your mail faster.
If you feel it is taking too long to receive mail from school and I can make a difference by sending out your mail on a
different day, please contact me so a solution can be worked on.
There may be times when you don’t have a blue bag at home or have too much mail (eg. library books) to fit in a bag.
Please place the mail in a postpack or box and use the following Reply Paid address:
The Principal
Mount Isa School of the Air
Reply Paid No 1683
PO Box 1683
MOUNT ISA QLD 4825
If you do not often send mail to school and have three or more blue satchels at home, please keep one and return the
rest, some packed inside one satchel. The satchels are easily identifiable by Australia Post and save the cost of tough
bag purchases.
Leah Allingham
GENERAL INTEREST
ICPA & SFBK
If you’re not already a Mount Isa ICPA Branch Of The Air (BOTA) member, you are encouraged to join and attend our
monthly teleconference - usually held on the third Tuesday of each month at 3pm.
As the ICPA Australia website explains “ICPA … is a voluntary, non-profit, apolitical parent body dedicated to ensuring
that all rural and remote students have equity of access to a continuing and appropriate education.” ICPA are responsible
for things such as the recent increase to hardware and software subsidies received by distance education families, and
locally, the ICPA BOTA coordinates the annual Sports For Bush Kids (SFBK), sponsors the Mount Isa Eisteddfod of the
Air and is involved in various other school related activities.
Whilst we are a local branch, ICPA BOTA has very strong involvement with Federal and State Council; Wendy Hick is
Federal President, and associate member Kim Hughes is State President. Kylie Camp – who is our standing Branch VicePresident – is a State Councillor. In addition, some of our branch members have been actively involved in the C2C
reference group, advising Education Queensland on the new curriculum content as it is developed.
SFBK is our biggest annual event. SFBK is held in Mount Isa at the end of term four & coincides with school break -up.
Coaches provide intense but worthy sports development skills which, because of their geographical isolation to such
activities, children might not otherwise learn during their primary school years. Swimming is a huge focus, as well as
sports instruction sessions (and games on the last day) for up to nine different sports.
The SFBK dates for 2016 are 28 Nov – 2 Dec.
Please contact the executive listed below if you would like to become involved or have any enquiries.
Executive for 2016
President:
Sancia Fegan
Kelloshiel Station, Julia Creek
ph 07 4746 8850
email [email protected]
Secretary:
Jacki Bishop
Gallipoli, Mount Isa
ph 08 8964 5560
email [email protected]
Treasurer:
Tina Barrett
Avon Downs, Mount Isa
ph 08 8964 5551
email [email protected]
SFBK
Shelly Hawkins
Herbertvale Station, Mount Isa
Co-ordinators: ph 07 4748 4998
email [email protected]
Wendy Wockner
Glenore Station, Normanton
ph 07 4745 3488
email [email protected]
BULLYING
Fortunately, in our school, bullying is a rare occurrence. However from time to time it does occur at some of our field
events and in online situations. It is important when it does occur for it to be reported and appropriately dealt with.
Please report any instances of bullying to the teachers in charge of the field event or, if online, to the principal.
As our children go off to boarding schools, the incidence of encountering bullying is more likely. A wonderful resource for
students and families, Bullying. No Way! focuses on bullying between students. This site gives information on how to
spot the signs your child is being bullied, tips on dealing with bullying and how to keep your child safe.
http://bullyingnoway.gov.au/
STAFF PROFILES
Robyn Wade
Hi, my name is Robyn Wade, I am currently the relief teacher at MISOTA filling in for
teachers who are on leave. I arrived in Australia in January this year, all the way from South Africa. My
husband’s family lives in Australia which is why we decided to come here. My husband has a job at a
local school. Before that, we didn’t know this amazing town, Mount Isa, even existed. I have taught
grades 3 – 6 and tutored grades 1 – 12! I love languages and literature. So obviously my “hobbies” are
reading and writing. I love teaching, I can’t think of a better job! So far, the year 3s, 5s and year 8s have
had a lesson with me. I can’t wait to have lessons with all the children of MISOTA!
Nikki Barlow
Hi! My name is Nikki Barlow and I am currently the Master Teacher and Teacher
Mentor at MISOTA. I have enjoyed a variety of roles in my last 8 years including everything from class
positions to support and reading teacher. I was born and bred in Cloncurry, so working at MISOTA
provides me the privileged position of sharing the education of children with their families. Most who
know me will say that I have a passion for teaching, and it is true, but truthfully, I just love learning and
enjoy seeing others succeed through education, whatever form that takes. I think that we at MISOTA
are very fortunate to be involved in such a unique schooling system and look forward to the continued
growth of our school community in the years to come.
Liz Bailey
Hi my name is Liz Bailey and I am the Support Teacher: Literacy and Numeracy. I was
transferred from Brisbane to MISOTA way back in 1996 and have never looked back. My husband
works at the mines and I have two daughters, 14 years and 10 years. At MISOTA I have taught grades
2, 4, 5, 6, 7, WA and have been the reading teacher, but I believe being a Mum has been my hardest
role to date and I have so much admiration for our hardworking home tutors, mums, dads and
students. I am honoured to be working here with dedicated staff and families, all with the same goal of
providing the best education for our students.
ASG INSPIRATIONAL TEACHING AWARDS NEITA
Our school is fortunate to have a quality staff. I know from numerous comments, that many children, govies and parents
hold a staff member in high regard. These National Excellence in Teaching Awards are an opportunity to nominate a staff
member and give them special recognition for their effort and commitment. If a staff member is nominated, we make a
presentation to them at our graduation night at the end of the year. It has an amazingly powerful effect on the staff
member and is valuable encouragement for them to continue to do a great job.
I would encourage you to nominate a staff member, prior to the closing date of 31 July 2016, by completing the online
nomination form at https://www.asg.com.au/asg-neita/nominations
~ It’s always easy to find fault, but it is more productive to reward success.
PEACH ONLINE
This Queensland Government-funded program, delivered by the Queensland University of Technology, is FREE and
available to all Queensland families with primary school-aged children.
The PEACH™ (Parenting, Eating and Activity for Child Health) Online program is in a specially developed online
format and based on the internationally recognised PEACH™ healthy lifestyle program. PEACH™ has been running
across Queensland since September 2013.
 PEACH™ Online is designed to give families the information, tools and support they need to make healthy eating and
activity a part of everyday life.
 The program consists of 10 interactive sessions which can be completed by families at home, in their own time, at
their own pace.
 Families registered for PEACH™ Online can join weekly ‘live’ online chats with our the Project Dietitian, ask the
Project Dietitian a private question, and join the online Group Forum to interact with other families.
 Some of the topics covered in the program include nutrition skills, reading ingredients labels, relationships with food
and eating, dealing with fussy eaters, changing family lifestyle behaviours and making healthy eating affordable.
Families can find out more about PEACH™ Online and register for the program by free calling 1800 263 519 or visiting
www.peachqld.com.au
GUITAR TUITION
The school has been successful in finding a private tutor for guitar. If you are interested in your child receiving guitar
tuition, please contact Kerry Melamed on 0412 900 609 or [email protected]. The fees charged depend on the
size of the grouping, ranging between $18-25. The school is happy to coordinate and provide the facilities for instruction,
but families will need to pay the professional fees for the tutor.
E-KINDY PROGRAM
Hello everyone!
We have been very busy in eKindy with many face to face opportunities throughout the terms and with most families now
up to Unit 4 – My Family, My Friends. This unit explores the eKindy child’s family, what different families look like in
identifying similarities and differences between families. In this they become aware of their family, their culture, language
and heritage. This develops skills for relating to others, their sense of pride in who they are and throughout the unit offers
opportunities for developing their social skills. A child learns about themselves and constructs their own identity within the
context of their families and communities through their relationships with people, places and things and the actions and
responses of others. Relationships are the foundations for the construction of identity. As children are developing their
sense of identity, they explore different aspects of it through their play and their relationships. When children feel safe,
secure and supported they grow in confidence to explore and learn.
It has been wonderful getting to know the eKindy families and children and learning alongside the children in various
settings. I have enjoyed seeing all the feedback coming through and the various ways in which eKindy has been
embraced in each setting.
This term most children were able to participate in two Activity Day’s during Home Tutor Week and a School Sports Day.
We were very fortunate to have Miss Mon join us for these days again this year and really enjoyed her help during this
time. Home Tutor week was a wonderful opportunity for us to be able to develop our relationships with our peers, practice
our social skills and flex our creativity and planning skills!
Through our individual and group web sessions, we have been building our confidence as learners and practicing our on
air routines. During our group web sessions we have been exploring different texts such as “My Country” and “You’ll soon
grow into them Titch”. Through the children’s book “My Country” we were able to explore our different settings and what
makes them the same and different. We created beautiful artworks to display using the colours we see in our country. We
took great pride in our creations!
Our final semester sees many minischool opportunities. I am keen to hear from the eKindy families which minischools
they will be attending - please contact me as soon as possible with these details. I would like to offer up to two days for
eKindy sessions; however this is dependent on numbers at each minischool setting.
The next term sees us continuing our learning and development with the opportunity to add another group session into
the mix! We will be working our way up to having three group web sessions a week by term 4! These web sessions will be
exploring music and movement, literacy and numeracy skills and learning through investigation.
The waiting list for eKindy 2017 is now open and can be found on the Brisbane School of Distance Education web page:
https://brisbanesde.eq.edu.au/Curriculum/ekindy/Pages/ekindy.aspx
If you are interested, or know of anyone interested in registering a child for eKindy in 2017, please feel free to contact
myself or Janelle Engel at BSDE. Janelle can be contacted via phone (07) 3727 2860 or email
[email protected]
I am looking forward to the next two terms and all the exciting things happening in the school as well as eKindy!
Miss Georgia Plant
P&C News & Views
P & C Executive 2016
PRESIDENT
SECRETARY
TREASURER
Annie Hacon – Cubbaroo Station, Cloncurry 4824
07 4742 5933 [email protected]
Debra Keats - Bow Park, Julia Creek
07 4746 8603 [email protected]
Nic Kennedy – Ardmore Station, Mount Isa 4825
07 4748 4858 [email protected]
VICE PRESIDENTS
Souvenirs
Home Tutor Seminar
Fundraising
Bush Kids Calendar & Facebook Admin
SODEA REPRESENTATIVE
Margaret Jones - Austral Downs, Mount Isa
07 4748 4811
[email protected]
Tina Barrett – Avon Downs, Mount Isa
08 8964 5551 [email protected]
Sally Towne - Helen Springs, Tennant Creek
08 8964 4503 [email protected]
Kristy Lavis [email protected]
Shelly Hawkins - Herbertvale Station, Mount Isa
07 4748 4910
[email protected]
We had a successful HT week this year, the highlight being finalising our current team for the P&C. I am very excited
about working with these women and there have already been some fabulous ideas and initiatives acted upon.
For those of you who are new to the school, the P&C is a devoted group of everyday mums, home tutors, teachers and
govies who all have a commitment and passion for education. The best way to become involved is to attend the monthly
meetings. If you can‘t attend meetings, feel free to email or ring any of the executive to table issues at the meetings. The
P&C are asking that families fill out the registration for membership form. Please contact the school for this form.
Don’t be scared! Please feel free to dial into meetings and be a fly on the wall participant for
the first couple of meetings if you don’t feel comfortable straight up!
The Facebook page is keeping members up to date with the happenings of the P&C. It is a good place for discussion of
relevant issues and topics.
The Hamilton Island fundraiser has been a success with the winner drawn at Sports Day. There are some great events
planned for the rest of the year and we look forward to hearing more about those at our monthly meetings. The year 4s
and 5s have both been on their Magnetic Island and Adels Grove camps respectively, and the teachers have said how
well the kids enjoyed and conducted themselves. The year 6s will be on their way to Canberra very soon and I have to
commend the kids on their fundraising efforts so far. They have shown great initiative and enthusiasm which has been
reflected in their results.
I hope to have a positive and successful year in the P&C and look forward to seeing and hearing some new members in
our monthly meetings and also at school activities. If you have any queries you would not like discussed at meetings,
please don’t hesitate to ring me on 07 4742 5933 or my email [email protected].
Thank you,
Annie Hacon
P&C President
NEW FAMILY CONTACTS FOR 2016
P&C are currently calling for members of our school community (don’t have to be a member of the P&C) to be
the contact/resource person in their local area, for new families.
If you wish to be available to make contact with new families who enroll in our school in your area or need
further information, please contact Kym Cairns. Please see the related areas listed below.
Boulia
Currently vacant
Annie Hacon - Cubbaroo Downs Station, Cloncurry 07 4742 5933
Cloncurry
[email protected]
Gregory/Burketown
Currently vacant
Megan Folker - Pelham Station, Nelia 0747418588 [email protected]
Julia Creek
Deborah Keats – Bow Park, Julia Creek 07 4746 8603 [email protected]
Mount Isa
Currently vacant
Normanton
Currently vacant
Margaret Jones – Anthony Lagoon Station, Mount Isa 08 8964 4665
Northern Territory
[email protected]
VISE LOCAL AREA COORDINATOR (Volunteers For Isolated Students’ Education)
Shelly Hawkins- Herbertvale Station, Mount Isa 07 4748 4910 [email protected]
2016 STAFF CONTACT EXTENSION NUMBER & EMAIL ADDRESS
NAME
Alex Stewart
Anne Coleman
Bridoen Schloss
Chris Kuhne
Chris McIntosh
Claire Goodall
Corlia Pienaar
Danya Benson
Debbie Cobden
Debby Bishop
Di Knudson
Donna Carr
Georgia Plant
Graeme Foster
Janeen Fricke
Jo Mills
Kara Thompson
Katrina Kuhne
Kelly Green
Kim Shelley
Leah Allingham
Linda Ryan
Lisa Ward
Liz Bailey
Liz Lindenmayer
Loida Genc
Luke Hughes
Mathew Whitney
Michele Ridge
Moniqua Gorman
Nikki Barlow
Peta Wirth
Raylene White
Renee Moore
Robyn Wade
Selena Courtice
Tanya Pollard
Tiarna Rogers
Tim Moes
Yvonne Moore
EXT
EMAIL ADDRESS
POSITION
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333
360
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Year 5
Business Services Manager
Field Services
Year 6
Secondary
Year 4
School Chappy
Year 1
Admin Officer
Teacher Aide – Reading Room
Year 1
Teacher Aide – Learning Support
eKindy
Year 4
Deputy Principal
Prep
C2C Modified Program
Year 6
Year 3
Scouts of the Air – Leader
Teacher Aide - Mail/Curriculum/Printroom
Parent Liaison Officer
Year 5
Learning Support
Year 2/New HT C2C Induction
cleaner
Technical Officer
Year 3
Secondary
Teacher Aide – Printroom/Reading
Master Teacher/Teacher Coach
Reading/Library
Teacher Aide - Library
Secondary
Relief teacher
Field Services
Year 2
Prep
Principal
Instrumental Music
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2016 MISOTA Reading Framework
Dear Home Tutor
The new Queensland Curriculum has reading written into daily English lessons, however
reading is a skill which is used and should be taught in all subjects of our curriculum.
The attached descriptions of reading illustrate the various methods used to teach
reading in schools. Research has shown that children need to practise their reading
daily on books they have read before (familiar reading/independent reading), while at the
same time having access to reading material at an appropriate level where they will be
able to use what they know to learn a little more on texts that are progressively more
challenging. This is called guided reading. It is important that students get these
opportunities on a daily basis, and we support this through the following processes.

Teachers at Mount Isa School of the Air will continue to monitor and assess the
progress of every student via modelled reading lessons and lessons structured
specifically to conduct Running Records to analyse reading strategies used to
decode text and the levels of comprehension embedded in texts.

The teacher will model a guided reading lesson each week with a student/a small
group of students. It is an expectation that home tutors will also sit or listen in
with the student during this time to identify the reading strategy that the student
will be learning in the following daily guided reading lessons they will conduct at
home with their child.

Where required, support materials have been developed to assist the home tutor
in understanding the strategy that the student is required to learn

As teachers monitor progress they will give ongoing feedback to home tutors in
an endeavour to meet the individual needs of the student.

A set of reading materials (levelled or lexiled books) will be sent home on a
regular basis starting in early Term 1. These will be in response to student
progress determined in Term 3/4 of the previous year. New materials will be sent
out as required. Teachers will also use materials from the C2C subjects to teach
reading skills across curriculum areas including Science, History, Maths etc..

Prep and Year 1 will focus on oral language development & vocabulary together
with early reading strategies encompassing concepts about print, phonemic
awareness, phonological awareness, and phonics and decoding the meaning
invested in printed text. The Early Years Reading Cards will be used to help
direct Home Tutors as they use levelled texts. Collaborate and video cameras will
be used to support the reading lesson when necessary.
Mount Isa School of the Air 2016

Year 2 and 3 teachers will also access the Early Years Reading Cards for young
readers but will progress further into comprehension strategies as decoding
strategies and fluency develops. A focus on Vocabulary development and text
appreciation will also be evident across different text types. Blackboard
Collaborate and video cameras will be used to support the reading lesson when
necessary.
 In years 4-10 students will focus on a common bank of strategies to be used
across different text types. These focus upon fluency, comprehension strategies,
vocabulary development, language devices and text appreciation. Strategies will
be taught via Blackboard Collaborate lessons and book based lessons.
We are focussed on improving the reading ability of every student in our school by
examining the Big 6 of Reading –

Oral Language

Phonological awareness and phonemic awareness

Letter/sound (phonics) and word knowledge

Vocabulary knowledge

Fluency (including accuracy, rate, phrasing, intonation, rhythm & stress)

and Comprehension strategies and skills across text types
This requires supporting the Home Tutor in understanding how to teach daily guided
reading and also how to respond to student’s individual needs. We endeavour to make
this a focus through –

Regular Home Tutor sessions

Weekly Modelled Guided Reading phone lessons

Regular feedback on student progress

The New Home Tutor & Governess In-services

Home Tutor Seminar
Staff at Mount Isa School of the Air are looking forward to the remainder of the year with
high expectations and know that our approach is responsive to student need reflected in
teacher/home tutor observations and school wide data. We are looking forward to
strengthening our partnership in teaching our children, knowing they will benefit from our
combined expertise.
Tim Moes
Principal
Mount Isa School of the Air
Janeen Fricke
Deputy Principal
Mount Isa School of the Air
Mount Isa School of the Air 2016
MISOTA Reading Roles
Class Teachers & Teacher Aides
 Read with a student or group of students weekly, with 1 or 2 specific foci from the
following categories found in the MISOTA Reading Framework o Phonemic Awareness
o Phonological Awareness
o Phonics
o Early years reading cards - strategies & behaviours
o Fluency
o Vocabulary
o Comprehension
 Strategies will be identified prior to each term and support materials will be
forwarded to families. Class Teacher is to inform the Teacher Aide working with
their students the strategy/ies that are being taught.
 Teachers will keep on file reading notes, lesson progress, running records etc. in the
student folio.
 A record of materials sent to a family is kept in the student file for reference.
 A record of student attendance to lessons is necessary to assist reporting at end of
semester and is to be kept on file.
 At least one formal running record will be taken each Term, with retell,
comprehension and analysis completed. This will be kept on file.
 New reading materials will be sent out a week/fortnight prior to a unit starting (after
running record confirms progress). Resources will be a mix of paperbased and digital
materials.
 If a student is also working with a teacher aide, the teacher aide and class teacher
meet regularly to discuss student progress.
 If a student is also working with the Support Teacher – Literacy and Numeracy
(STLN), the specialist teacher and class teacher meet regularly to update on student
progress to ensure focus of intensive teaching is achieving desired goals. Formally,
once a term.
 Class teachers and teacher aides are to wait for students for a period of 5 minutes
before hanging up. Home tutors will also apply this rule of courtesy.
 If a student is not making regular progress or successfully applying strategies, the
class teacher needs to make a time to discuss the student with STLN to target support
by the class teacher and to identify if there is a need to nominate the student to be
considered for intensive teaching and learning support.
 Data collection of reading running records will be entered onto One School each term.
Home Tutors
 Home Tutors are responsible for teaching 2/3 guided reading lessons a week, written
into the English lessons. The strategy being taught will be modelled by the class
teacher in a weekly lesson with the student.
 Home tutors will be present at the weekly reading lesson allocated to a student with a
class teacher to learn about the reading strategy being taught in daily lessons by the
home tutor.
 Home tutors should expect students to learn the language and names of reading
strategies so that the student develops a vocabulary for speaking about reading.
 Home tutors are to model reading to students several times a week.
 Home tutors should communicate with teachers regularly by phone or email with
regard to student progress.
 Home Tutors will organise reading materials so that students have –
o The books allocated for reading lessons with the class teacher (these are not to
be read prior to the lesson).
o A container that students can access easily for familiar reading books (books
read before)
o A variety of books for independent reading – levelled readers, library books,
newspapers, magazines, calendars, daily writing, unit materials etc.
o Books allocated for Running Records set aside for the class teacher to
administer for assessment each English Unit.
 Home tutors will regularly access community or school library to access a broad
range of reading materials for students, and exchange these regularly. Readers
become good readers by reading a variety of texts daily.
 Class teachers and teacher aides are to wait for students for a period of 5 minutes
before hanging up. Home tutors will also apply this rule of courtesy.
Students
 Students must be prepared for reading lessons on air with their teacher.
 Students must practise their reading strategies daily with their Home Tutor and on
familiar reading materials.
 Students treat their reading books with care and return books in the same condition as
they were received in.
 Students should be prepared to talk about their reading strategies during reading
lessons and daily class lessons.
 Students are to use appropriate on air etiquette during lessons.
Working together…
Everyday
Reading
Practices
Prep-10
Familiar
Reading
Benefits & Focus
Focus: Is the opportunity for the student to
practice a reading strategy with books they
have read many times before. Research has
proven that a reader attends to many different
& new items in a text that has been read
before.
 It promotes phrasing, fluency, intonation &
expression.
 A book can be read many times and still
be very influential to the learning process.
 Allows practise of new reading strategies
learnt in guided reading.
MISOTA context
Home Tutors do this with students every
day prior to a Guided Reading lesson with
levelled texts. MISOTA teacher models
this with a familiar text prior to the Guided
Reading lesson. Home Tutors can use
levelled texts along with –
 English Unit books
 picture books
 reference texts
 magazines
 websites/Apps
 students own daily writing
 library books
Modelled/Shared
Reading
Focus: an adult models how to use known
and unknown strategies.
The prime opportunity for the MISOTA
Teacher/Home Tutor to model a new strategy.
MISOTA Teacher/Home Tutor thinks aloud to
demonstrate strategies for problem solving,
decoding, vocabulary exploration &
comprehension.
This occurs in a variety of contexts.
Daily
. at times in iConnect lessons with the
MISOTA teacher
. Home Tutor lessons in the home
During –
. Activity Days
. Group Days
. Minischools
Guided Reading
Focus: Is the time when reading strategies
are taught to promote –
This forms the basis of phone reading .
Student & Home Tutor attend a lesson
each week with a MISOTA teacher to
model the strategy that needs to be taught
by the Home Tutor at least 2 other times in
the week.
P-3
. rereading a familiar book first
. a book walk with the new book
. identifying known words or letters
. identifying unknown words
. identifying and using a strategy to
problem solve
. reflection of story and strategy used
. one or two comprehension questions
. linking M100W sightwords to the book
 Effective use of information in the text
including –

meaning (including pictures)

syntax (grammar)

& visual information
(phonics/chunking)
 problem solving independently
 successful use of a strategy
 that meaning is being maintained to
enhance comprehension
 use of letters and M100W sightwords in
context
 examination of new vocabulary and
consolidation of known vocabulary.
Mount Isa School of the Air 2016
Y3-7
. reading a text of high interest so that the
focus is on the comprehension of text at
word level
sentence level
text level
. teachers will explicitly teach a
comprehension strategy –
Independent
Reading
Focus: for enjoyment, discussion about how
texts work (concepts of print), to seek
information.


Where students self-select books or
written materials of interest to view or
read
This can be a time shared with a peer or
adult or spent alone
Mount Isa School of the Air 2016
-
a broad and deep vocabulary
-
chunking
activation of prior knowledge
prioritising information
questioning the author and the text
Visualising
Inferencing
retelling, summarising & synthesising
skimming & scanning
reading for notetaking
using fix-up strategies to aid
comprehension.
This occurs in a variety of contexts during . daily reading lessons in the home
. the teaching of English.
. use of materials mentioned in Familiar
Reading section.
. during time outside the classroom
timetable
Everyday
Reading
Practices
P-10
Familiar
Reading
Support Resource
Times this practice needs to occur
a week
Reading Framework for Home Tutor
(card and DVD)
Daily practise monitored by home
tutor
Early Years Reading Card (1-6)
Supplementary Readers
Library Books
Home Tutor/Govie Seminars
Modelled/Shared
Reading
Reading Framework for Home Tutor
(card and DVD)
Daily across many types of materials
by home tutor
Mem Fox’s book “Reading Magic”
(available for loan from the school
library)
C2C Unit materials
Library Books
Home Tutor/Govie Seminars
Guided Reading
Reading Framework for Home Tutor
(card and DVD)
1 x lesson per week modelled by
MISOTA teacher
3 x week by the home tutor
MISOTA teacher models a lesson
with the student for the Home Tutor
(weekly or fortnightly)
Phone Readers (which after the
lesson on air with the class teacher,
become a familiar book for daily
Familiar Reading practise of taught
strategies)
Early Years Reading Cards (1-6)
A description of the Comprehension
Strategy sent by the Class Teacher
on request.
Independent
Reading
Library Books
Librarian
Community Library
Mount Isa School of the Air 2016
Daily (School time & free time)