School+and+Student+Context


 * //Characteristics of the school//**

Manor Lakes P-12 / Specialist College is a new college, opened in 2009 and is located in Minindee Road, Wyndham Vale. The College is being developed for a long term enrollment of 650 Prep - Year 9 students, 1100 Year 10 - 12 students and 144 special / special development school students. It is planned as a four to five stage construction.

Wyndham Vale is a rapidly developing suburb, within the City of Wyndham, to the south west of Melbourne. Planning Data prepared by the DEECD in 2006 indicated that at full development there will be 20,869 residents living in dwellings in the area. Demographic data from the City of Wyndham indicated that by 2021 there will be around 8,779 households and a population of 22,972. With the extension of the Government’s Urban Growth Boundary development these numbers will be significantly increased.

The design of Manor Lakes College has been planned to create a genuine learning community, and has a village concept to it’s layout. The College facilities will lend itself to offer flexibility in curriculum delivery, and supports open learning experiences and team teaching opportunities that will enable students to move with confidence through the stages of learning in a seamless manner. ICT will be flexible and integrated into all learning areas.

It is our intention that student graduates from Manor Lakes P-12 / Specialist College will be inquisitive, highly literate and numerate, socially competent and engaged and responsible citizens (both locally and globally). Our student learning programs are supported by Information and Communication Technologies and both students and teachers learn alongside each other. We have a 1:1 laptop program in our Year 7 and 8 and will have an IPad trial program for our Specialist Learning Centre students and Year 5s commencing in term 3, 2010.


 * //Characteristics of Students that may affect their learning//**

The student cohort relevant to this learning sequence is diverse in nature. Including: - students with an ESL background - Reading abilities ranging from 3.25 to 5.00 as marked against the VELS - Writing abilities ranging from 3.00 to 5.25 as marked against the VELS - Speaking and Listening abilities ranging from 3.25 to 5.00 as marked against the VELS - Many students live in a single-parent home - A number of students have learning disorders including (ADHD, ADD, ASD, Selective Mute and Autism)


 * //Teaching Challenges presented by the class of students//**

The biggest challenge presented by this cohort of students is the wife range of literacy abilities that the students have. It requires for a large range in differentiation with regard to content, expectations and time spent working with students. The large range of abilities lead to a decision to stream reading groups across two grade levels to create a narrower range in classrooms. This has allowed learning foci to be more tailored to student's learning needs.

Some students present with low levels of engagement for learning. This creates the challenge of designing learning activities that are fun and engaging to encourage students to be enthusiastic participants. A learning sequence such as that on digital stories is ideal for these sorts of students as it is hands on and offers an engaging creative process for them to partake in.


 * //Physical Learning Environment//**

The majority of this learning sequence takes place in a team teaching setting. This involves opening a concertina between two classrooms to create an open area learning space. In the centre of this learning space there is a space setup for a data projector to be projected onto a wall where students can sit on the floor to view this. Tables are setup to create workstations of 4-6 students. Generally, students are given the freedom to choose where they sit. Students are sometimes allowed to sit on cushions and rugs on the floor when suitable to create a relaxed environment. Each session the whiteboards in the classroom display lesson focus, while there are literacy walls which also contain information relevant to work being conducted.