Boroondara Gifted Network Junior

Camberwell Primary School

Minutes: Tuesday 15 May 2017

Attendees: Emily Benson, Kate Lafferty, Martin Holt, Charlotte Forwood, Caitlin
Faiman, Chris Barcham, Jacinta Grigg, Dinah Waldie

Apologies: Octavia Rae, Ed Schaepman

Item Time Notes
Welcome 5
Introductions 10 Emily- Camberwell- worked with John Munro three years ago.
Varied understandings amongst staff. School in process of
school context,
formalising processes and building staff capacity in identification
current status of and catering to students
Martin- (Camberwell parent)- working with Maths Association of
G&T in your school
Victoria. Interested in policy development in schools
F-6
Chris- Deepdene- one additional teacher for extension in maths.
STEM room with robotics just beginning. Teachers becoming more
aware of student needs. GATEWays. Maths Olympiad

Kate- MLC- started at MLC this year. Three 0.6 teachers for gifted ed
programs. Withdrawal for some students.

Dinah- Scotch- Learning support- in role of enrichment. Withdrawal

groups- grade levels. Prep and grade one reading program. Thinking
skills. Previously at Ashburton. Previously ran Boroondara Gifted
Network- at that time was more focused on staff PD and parent
support.

Jacinta- Balwyn- school in process of identification of students.

Developed a register to track students and opportunities. Two
approaches- what can be done for the students outside of the
classroom? What can be done to support teachers in the classroom
to cater for all students? School pays for an external provider for
support. Big staff turnover has lowered overall staff understanding.

Charlotte- Strathcona- Overseeing student learning and within that

G&T. 0.5 senior school- gifted and two support staff in gifted ed.
Maths problem solving and helping teachers with differentiation in
the classroom. Helping teachers to plan and resource. Building trust.
Eg. sometimes taking class while teacher takes extension group.

Caitlin- Bialik- Rosencrantz Centre- Primary school- less

withdrawal, more working with teachers to plan and support in the
classroom. GATEWays, writers festival, science talent search, chess-
grade two. Afterschool enrichment offered outside of school hours-
opt in. Maths Year 4 and 5- Number & non Number. Flexible
groups. Year 3- compacted curriculum- 3 periods per fortnight
withdrawal. Mentoring by secondary students.
Purpose & mission 10 - Student needs- cognitive, academic & wellbeing
- Assisting parents to advocate for their children
statement
- Supporting teachers
Website Charlotte 10 Charlotte has made a website for Year 7-10 workshops.
Members area with guidelines for workshops, proformas,
Forwood,
workshop outlines
Strathcona Opportunity for a junior section that is separate but attached.
Sharing of ideas 10 - Community service from secondary students
- Swinburne school relationships
(brainstorm)
- Parent & grandparent community as a resource
- School based - Compressing literacy/numeracy time to challenge students and
then free up time for enrichment
opportunities for
students
- PD topics for
teachers
- Parent information
topics
- Logistics
Next meetings Term Three
Topic: Identification processes- bring questions and examples
Host school: Balwyn Primary School
Date: Thursday 17th August
Time: 4:00pm-5:00pm
Note: As per this term, this will not be advertised as a network
meeting to the Riversdale Network. This will be considered for
future meetings when the group is more established and has PD
opportunities for other teachers.

Term Four meeting: Bialik College