Reading news from Australia

Bancroft-Rosalie is a Phonics Based reading school, as opposed to a Whole Language/Guided Reading school.
I am attaching a news article from Australia (Sydney Daily Telegraph) reporting on Reading instruction in Australia. 

STUDENT teachers will be forced to learn the phonics method of teaching children how to read as the state government moves to override university programs.
In a move set to trigger a showdown between the government and the State’s universities, the Board of Studies and Educational Standards NSW has declared it will strip institutions of accreditation unless teaching courses return to the more traditional literacy learning method.
Phonics involves children being taught to read by sounding out letters in words.
The system was sidelined in the 1980s by a more whole-language, word recognition approach, which continues to be taught as part of Bachelor of Education courses.
However, State Education Minister Adrian Piccoli said paying lip service to the method was no longer good enough.
“Some unis are just paying lip service while others are doing it thoroughly,” he said. “It will become a requirement they teach phonics and we are going to enforce it.
“It is a must do, not a might do.”
The edict follows an audit of universities that found many Bachelor of Education programs adopted a holistic, word recognition-based approach in teaching children how to read.
The approach has been described by some education bureaucrats as a legacy from the 1970s with teaching students from that era taking the more free-spirited approach into the classroom.
However, the majority of State schools require teachers to have students sound out words as one of the key methods used in the classroom.
The move by the State Government to force universities to place a greater emphasis on the teaching of phonics follows the results of a recent school survey which found thousands of primary school students recorded stunning improvements in literacy after using a cutting-edge phonics-based program.
BOSTES president Tom Alegounarias said the phonics approach to teaching reading had been demonstrated to work effectively.
However, he acknowledged the strong opposition to the approach among some academics and teachers.
“The fact is it works and it is the approach adopted in our schools,” Mr Alegounarias said.
“Should the universities ignore it, they will face losing their accreditation.
“The accreditation allow students to go from university to teaching positions in our schools.”
Learning support teacher Jill Ryman said she had been successfully teaching children from Kindergarten to Year 6 how to read via a phonics-based approach for the past 20 years.
Ms Ryman, who teaches at William Clarke College in Kellyville, said she had been handed children in Year 5 who had come from other schools where other methods had been taught with serious reading difficulties.
She said allowing children to sound out words dramatically improved their reading abilities.
“The people against it think the children miss out but we include books where they can sound out words and those with more difficult words which we read and talk about,” Ms Ryman said.
“The children are restricted to Dick and Jane-type boring books.
“We screen all our kindy kids and pull out those who aren’t quite there. The key to learning to read is to intervene early and that’s what we do.”
The Board will meet with the universities to discuss its decision to determine the way forward.

Bancroft-Rosalie School Board meeting summary

The Bancroft-Rosalie Board of Education met Monday, August 11, 2014 at 7:30 pm in Bancroft.

Superintendent Cerny presented the July transportation report, library report, and the Data Dashboard Pilot School program.

In old business final approval was given to board policy 0444.4 Use of Physical Restraint/Seclusion Techniques. Seven staff members have been certified in Crisis Prevention Intervention techniques.

In new business Marjorie Vogt voiced a concern about trash being thrown in the school parking lot. Nikki Peirce gave a report on the Teammates program and is looking for more adult mentors for Bancroft-Rosalie students. The board reviewed the 2014-15 budget and set the substitute teacher rate at $110, and kept the same activity admission rates.  

The board approved the 2014-15 handbooks; accepted the bid form Magnum Builders to repair the roof of the Rosalie gym; and approved the hiring of Virginia Frisch as a paraprofessional.

Dropping off and Picking up students before/after school

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Dropping off and picking up students at school.

All students must enter the school through the Main doors on the west side of the building.

The morning bus route will be parked and unloaded in the south parking lot where the green footprints are on the map below.

Students can be dropped off and picked up in the south parking lot. When you line up after school to pick up students, leave enough room on the west end of the parking lot for a passing lane. We will try to have this marked in some way the first day of school.

The afterschool bus will load in front of the school in the same place it has in the past. This will decrease any congestion in the south lot when parents are picking up their students after school.

If you want to enter the school with your students, you can park in front of the school in the old bus drop off area for a short period of time.

Bancroft-Rosalie School Board Meeting Agenda

August Bancroft Community Calendar

Bancroft-Rosalie School receives $10,000 Monsanto grant

From Monsanto- "Hello, 2014 America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education winning school districts! Congratulations on your grant! It is our pleasure to work with you as you implement your projects to improve math and/or science education for your students. We know that by working together we can make a positive impact on students across rural America!" Bancroft-rosalie Comm Schools Cuming County Bancroft, NE Discovery Education Elementary Science Program $10,000 Funds will be used to purchase 20 IPads for use in elementary science education

Volleyball and Softball Sub Districts

Volleyball Subdistrict D2-3: Schools Assigned: Bancroft-Rosalie Lyons-Decatur Northeast Wausa Winside Wynot Subdistrict D2-4: Schools Assigned: Elkhorn Valley Ewing Santee Stuart Softball District B-4: Dates: Oct 9, Oct 10, 2014 Site: Wisner River Park Host School: Wisner-Pilger Director: Chuck Ross Schools Assigned: Blair DC West/Concordia David City/East Butler Madison/Humphrey/Lindsay O'Neill Schuyler Wisner-Pilger