Hundreds of chocolate frogs are hitting the learning sweet spot for students at Glenroy College this term.
Principal Andrew Arney has introduced ‘Freddo Fridays’ to encourage and reward students who come to class prepared to learn.
Chocolate frogs for the learning win
The first Freddo Friday foray into classrooms last week proved a resounding success, with dozens of students across the junior school rewarded when Mr Arney made surprise visits to their classrooms.
The sweet treats went to students who had remembered to bring their student planners to class. Students use the planners to record homework tasks and to communicate with teachers and sub-school. Families can check the planners to see what their teens have been up to at school – and what they need to tackle at home.
It’s the little things that matter
“Freddo Fridays is the way that we’re going to be recognising the students who do the little, important things that support their learning,” Mr Arney said. “Things like bringing their diary, writing in their homework, bringing a charged laptop to class, the little one-percenters that mean they can get into class and do their best every day.
He said the reaction to the first Freddo Friday had been “fabulous”.
“The students have been very keen to demonstrate all the good things they’re doing in the classroom,” Mr Arney said.
“We’re trying to make sure that students understand the importance of those things, that they are actively thinking about how important it is and that there’s a little tangible something they can walk away with to say ‘this is an important part about what makes you a good learner’.”
Be ready for more sweet surprises
Mr Arney and Assistant Principal Jennifer Arney (pictured at top) will visit classrooms at random in coming Fridays to reward other good learning behaviours.
We’re doing a lot of work as a school at the moment about having students ready to learn in class. These are learning attributes that help them to grow, whether they are a highly capable student or a student who needs more support,” Mr Arney said.
“We are just making sure that those attributes are the key learnings that every student walks away with to use in the workplace. Things like being on time, things like being prepared for class. And once they’ve done those things, they can then focus on learning and growing.”
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