Minecraft Masters – Design Thinking

A small group of Middle Years students have been coming together to create designed solutions to real-world issues using Minecraft as the vehicle to build their prototypes. In a recent task, the students were challenged to create a new design for the old Myall 107 building that has been demolished by the Western Downs Regional Council. Their designs needed to include features including but not limited to:

• A cinema
• An art gallery
• A library
• An eating area and reception
• An indoor and outdoor recreation space
• A car park that could accommodate both cars and coaches

The designs that were submitted were all wonderful in a range of different ways, however, being a competition there needed to be a single winner. Luke Griffiths was judged by Miss Jacinta Willocks and myself to have edged out his competition and was awarded the best design. Well done to all of the competitors. Below are some images of the designs submitted by all entrants.

Attendance Matters

Term 1 certainly presented some challenges regarding attendance. The students listed below managed to have perfect attendance in Term 1, despite all of the challenges associated with illness, COVID-19 spikes and so on. For these students to get 100% attendance through this period shows a high level of dedication and commitment to their schooling. These students were invited to share a pizza lunch with me to acknowledge this fantastic achievement. Well done to the following students:

• Ryan Elder
• Madeleine Hemmings
• Kash Hunt
• Matthew Brennan
• Katie Parsons
• Luke Elder
• Kalina Riley
• Ava Bruce
• Miranda Child
• Marli Bruce
• Jack Gibson
• Lilly Nothdurft
• Henry Stephens
• Laney Werth
• Joaquin Mendez
• Brax Hunt

Why students should take drafting more seriously

Drafting is an important part of the writing process, however, I often hear students say “Well, it’s only the draft … that’ll do”. This is a dangerous mindset for students to possess.

Rarely does the first plan for anything end up being the best plan moving forward. Consequently, this may be the reason why some students feel like the draft of an assignment is of little value to the end product – how wrong hey are! Taking the drafting process seriously allows students to put their ideas on paper so they can rethink and rewrite them. By doing this they will be able to ask themselves whether the ideas they are presenting seem logical, whether their argument is clear, and where additional information and evidence is required.

Drafting is critical in terms of thinking the topic through; in fact, there are all sorts of questions students can ask themselves once they have written an initial draft. A draft also gives them something to show their teachers and to get vital feedback on.

Writing is a process that is made up of many steps. This process has been summarised in the diagram below. For some tasks, students will need to re-visit each step several times as they refine their ideas and enhance the quality of their written work.

Before students start their work
The first step in writing is to get some ideas down without attempting to structure or order them. This process is often called free-writing. At this point students should not attempt to edit but rather keep the ideas flowing. Brainstorming and creating concept maps are examples of simply getting some ideas out of the brain and down onto paper.

Organising Ideas
Once the ideas are down, now it is time to evaluate those ideas and to decide which ones would be best to use moving forward. Students should always double check the assessment at this point to remain aligned with the task at hand. Box plans are one structured way of organising ideas that are commonly used in the Middle Years. I encourage students to continue this process until it becomes second nature.

The First Draft
At this point, students need to follow their plan and write the first edition of their work. It is important to focus on the main idea and ensure that these are highlighted to the reader in a clear and succinct way. This step should focus on ensuring that the writing flows and that the necessary evidence is supplied to support the student’s argument. The editing does not happen at this stage.

Reviewing
Feedback is vital. It is great to have another person’s perspective on your work … especially if that person is the one who will eventually mark the assessment item. Student’s should not fear feedback form their teachers. It’s gold!

Editing
All too often, students re-submit their draft without taking on-board any of the feedback from the teacher. There is no logic in that decision. Instead, it is one of sheer laziness. Just imagine if inventors never considered feedback or modified/edited their inventions. Remember the first version of the motor car, aeroplane and mobile phone?

How can parents help?
Parents have an important role to play in the development of their child’s work. Encourage them to see the draft as a vital step on the journey to success. Do not accept that an incomplete draft is satisfactory. Do not let them think that “near enough is good enough” and ask them to read their work out load. If you cannot understand it, or they cannot even read it smoothly, then there is a great chance that it needs to be adjusted. Due dates are also deadlines.

As controversial as this next point may seem, if you want more evidence that an edited version of a written piece of work is better than the original, then consider Jimi Hendrix’s version of All Along the Watchtower and Jeff Buckley’s Hallelujah. With all due respect to Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, I feel that the newer versions are better than the originals.  

Uniform Reminder

As the cool weather approaches it serves as a timely reminder of the expectations around uniform in Term 2 and Term 3. Please see below some key points about general uniform:

• On formal days, the red jumper is the approved first layer of protection against the cold. The black sports jacket can only be worn on these days as an additional layer to the red jumper.
• Female students are permitted to wear black stockings under their formal uniform.
• Students are to wear a College hat when outside.
• Formal shoes need to be in accordance with the College diary (page27) - Black, leather, lace-up, dress shoe. Black joggers will not suffice as formal shoes
• Hair needs to be neat, tidy, out of the face, and off the collar. Long hair tied back with a red, white, or black ribbon or similar.

Craig Cullen

Assistant Principal Middle Years