Dear Parent/Guardian,

I am writeing to informe you abut the cross –curicular  speling progremme  we are impleemennting for years seven, ate and nine at Oxley College this year.

Would you hire the person who has written this?

Student’s literacy levels are often judged by others in terms of their ability to spell.  As individuals we are required to spell words correctly everyday in written communication, letters, notes, reports and application forms.  In recognition of this and to achieve the advantage of maintaining a pattern of thought when you can spell the majority of words automatically, the school has committed to implement the cross – curricular spelling programme again this year.

Words which students are frequently required to use across subjects will make up the weekly lists.  We have reviewed the research on successful programme implementation and adjusted the format of the spelling programme to suit current best practice.  The essence of the programme has been maintained.

Research demonstrates that for a programme to have maximum impact it should involve the home and school working together.  Your child will complete a pre–test each Monday at school.  These words will be marked in class and students will graph their result.  The students will be given a copy of the correct spelling words.  The student’s are expected to write the correct spelling of each word in the relevant weekly list section for homework.  During Tutor Group time the following day, your child’s Tutor will check that the words have been written correctly.  The cycle will be completed with the students completing a post test on Thursday or Friday.

We encourage you to support the spelling programme by checking that your Child has copied the words out correctly and graphed his/her results.  The current spelling lists will be available online at http://oxleylearning.org/learningenrichment. There is an area for your signature once the work has been completed.  If your child is having difficulty with the words in the weekly list and you would like some suggestions for supporting them in their quest to develop spelling strategies, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Yours in collaborative learning,

Liz Watson
Director of Learning Enrichment.