Alana Moore BA BEd is a specialist infants teacher whose catchwords are literacy and technology. For the last four years she has taught Kindergarten and Year 1 in Del Monte. In 2020 she is responsible for 24 boys and girls, mostly six years old, who are blossoming in her classroom.
Year 1 Moore is a busy place where the unexpected and the exciting seem to happen often. Recently Ms Moore brought in her dog Cooper for a visit – an immensely exciting day for the students! This week, as part of the student led conferences, the Year 1 parents have been visiting and many had their first lesson in coding. Their sons and daughters, the students of Year 1, have been their teachers!
Bringing technology into the classroom is important to Ms Moore whose teaching methods include robotics in students’ Vivid displays to show light and sound and QR codes for students to access books in the classroom library. She is a regular on Twitter too, using social media to celebrate and collaborate.
‘People with digital technology skills will be the people who support us in the future’, she says.
As well as teaching Year 1, Ms Moore team teaches with Ms Chalich in the K–2 Enrichment Program and is the secretary of the K–2 umbrella group for IPSHA (Independent Primary School Heads of Australia), organising professional development activities across independent schools. As a former casual teacher at MLC, Meriden and Trinity, Ms Moore’s education networks are strong and an abiding interest for her.
Outside of school and ‘hanging out’ with her dog Cooper, Ms Moore is keeping busy planning her wedding and getting outdoors as much as possible.
Where does she see herself in 10 years’ time?
‘Still teaching infants and hopefully with an additional pastoral care role’, she says. ‘I loved the feel of this school the minute I came here. I felt part of a community and felt supported right from the beginning’.
Our infants students are fortunate indeed to have Ms Moore looking after them. Her recent tweet sums up the impact: ‘Y1 brainstormed and recorded what they had harvested since starting at #SSC. Students have blossomed with love, joy, happiness, friendship, tolerance and compassion’.
