DEAR

Four mornings a week the school runs a DEAR program (Drop Everything and Read).  Our DEAR program has a number of components to suit every reader’s needs.  We participate in the Premier’s Reading Challenge and in Reading Circles, where students get together to discuss sophisticated texts they have all read.

TAFE Peer Tutoring

The TAFE Accredited Peer Tutoring Reading Program is for Year 7 students by Year 10 mentors.  It is one of the most successful literacy programs conducted at our school during DEAR.  Year 10 tutors help their tutees to improve their reading and comprehension skills through the use of authentic texts before they approach them in class.  This facilitates their learning process and promotes their literacy skills.  Year 10 are trained at Gymea TAFE.  The program has a direct impact on our excellent literacy results.

Targeted ESL (English as a Second Language) students

Specific targeted ESL student learning is supported by ESL staff in the classroom, with programs jointly developed by the ESL and all staff to specifically focus on student literacy needs.

What do our Literacy (ELLA) results tell us?

• Over 90% of Year 7 students are in the High/Proficient range across Reading, Writing and Language.
• By Year 8, our excellent range of reading programs including TAFE Peer Tutoring, Drop Everything and Read (DEAR), Reading Circles and the Premier’s Reading Challenge, mean that we have added significant value to students’ literacy levels.
• In Year 8, 95% of students are in the High Proficient range for Reading and Language.

“Students can enjoy lots of interesting activities here
and learn about many different cultures”

Sue
Year 8