For those who are not aware, we have a Learning Hub space set up within our school which can be used for a variety of reasons. The space is split into three spaces known as the Junior Learning Hub, Senior Learning Hub, and a back study area for senior students. In addition to this, we have a bathroom and a kitchenette area, for students who may not have had breakfast or do not have any recess or lunch.

The Junior Learning Hub, similar to last year, is designed to support all students and staff to deliver high quality instruction and intervention programs for students. This area is staffed in all lessons with a teacher, and students can come into the space, on direction from their teacher, for a number of reasons. Some of these may include:

• Sitting a test under supervision
• Extra time for completion of an assignment if students have been absent from school
• A quiet space for students to work on extension work provided by the class teacher
• Students to complete a variety of online literacy and numeracy intervention programs, including Lexia (literacy), Maths Online (numeracy) and BKSB (literacy and numeracy)
• Weekly English zones for students in years 7-9
• Weekly Maths zones for students in year 7
• Fortnightly Maths zones for students in year 8-9
• A place for students who need alternate timetables for social development or mental health
• The Learning Hub teacher delivering small group activities for students to improve their skills in a specific focused area, based on the class teacher recommendation, e.g. Developing comprehension skills or to improve their reading

The Learning Hub staff do not replace the role of class teachers, rather they support students to meet intended learning by designing SMARTA goals and supporting, through quality instruction, students to meet those goals.

With the Maths and English zones however, the Learning Hub Teacher does explicitly teach a group of students that lesson, based around thinking multiplicatively (Maths) and comprehension understanding (English). The zone groups that come to the Hub can vary from the very high groups, where the teacher extends the students, or a lower group, where the Teacher assists students to grasp the basic understandings.

A typical lesson in the Learning Hub often looks similar to the following: Learning Hub staff member explicitly teaching a small group of students’ literacy, in particular the concept of comprehension. Teacher and students sitting together reading and following a passage of a story, at their pace, the teacher checking for understanding and asking questions related to the text. An SSO may be watching over three students at the computers who are working through online intervention programs, one on Maths Online, and two on Lexia. There may also be two students sitting in a different space in the room working on extension work given by their class teacher. The Learning Hub teacher and SSO check in and assist with questions during the lesson.

Our Senior Learning Hub is set up differently, and is seen as a standard classroom if you were to walk into this space. The Senior Learning Hub is staffed 4 out of 7 lines with a teacher and an SSO, and each teacher has an area of expertise to teach the students to gain SACE points. This semester students are working on a variety of Stage 1 and 2 Essential English, Stage 1 and 2 Essential Maths, Research Project and Community Studies (cooking).

An extra for the Learning Hub this year is the addition of senior students using the back senior area for Academic Recovery, where students come during their study lessons, as directed by their teacher, to work on drafts that have not been submitted by the due date. We are optimistic that the quiet space gives students time to complete their work and keep up to date with due dates.

If you have any questions regarding the Learning Hubs, please don’t hesitate to contact me at the school.

Lori Sandland

Learning Hub Leader