Michelle Chaplin, Head of Junior School

As we complete Week 3 in the Junior School there is a sense of purpose, a feeling of excitement, an air of confidence and a positive energy that exudes from our learners and teachers. The first moments of anxiety and nervousness have evaporated and we are on the way to academic success  - 2020!

Our parent information sessions set the tone for a great year as we celebrate 20 years at AISM - a warm welcome to all parents and families and the sharing of important information to ensure the first term runs smoothly. I encourage any parents who could not attend the session to explore the presentation via Seesaw.

This week and next week are “Communication Weeks” in the Junior School - this means you will hear from your child’s teacher as to how they have settled, what’s going well and an informal update on their progress. Should you like more information please make an appointment with your child’s teacher.

2020 brings much technological excitement to the Junior School in the form of a number of advances. We welcome 96 School iPads into JS - 75% of which are brand new, including new covers, 3 new iPad trollies to house our iPads securely. Year 4 begin their BYO device program and have already explored a number of

learning tools. We have Created a “Makerspace” for student innovation and building that houses newly purchased various robotics for coding: 30 Edisons Robots, 18 Ozobots, 5 EV3 Mindstorms Lego robots - It’s all happening on Level 2 Junior School!

Across the school we have upgraded wifi infrastructure to support Year 4 BYOD program and the new laser and multifunction printers throughout the school. The Junior School teachers recently survived an IT workshop discussing the best apps, latest communication tools and classroom IT best practice run by Mrs Griffin - Upper Section Leader.

Today we inducted our Junior School Student Leadership Parliament - we recognised Year 5 as our leaders in the Junior School and congratulated those students who had nominated and been elected to particular roles.

AISM Junior School set for Semester 1 - we’re on a journey to be the best we can be - every day!