Principal's Welcome Message
Dear Parents and Carers,
To live by faith means to put our lives in the hands of God, especially in our most difficult moments.
Pope Francis’ Little Book of Wisdom
At the moment across our school community, we have many who have been unwell and others who are facing some of these ‘difficult moments’. May we all keep each other in our thoughts and prayers and be reassured by God’s loving embrace.
In education, as in so many other areas of life these days, there are always changes in trends and how best to go about things. One thing that has changed significantly in education though, is the opportunity for students to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways. We will all remember our own schooling when we were taught a particular way and then expected to show our learning in a single, uniform manner – usually writing it down, answering questions in a test, doing a poster perhaps or maybe just responding by rote.
In our classrooms today, the learning and the teaching is significantly different. Students are encouraged to take ownership for their learning, engage with the teaching and then find ways to best respond to demonstrate their understanding. There are, of course, plenty of times that students will have to show their ability in a particular way, using learned skills or knowledge. However at other times, teachers will want the students to find their own way to respond to what they are learning. This often requires teachers to say, ‘yes’ to ideas that the students have about ways they want to make connections in their learning, which can be challenging for the teacher who has to think, ‘how do I know they get this concept?’ Saying ‘yes’ at the right time, empowers the student and allows them to use their talents and to find ways to demonstrate their learning in a way that makes sense to them. They have to take responsibility for their own learning.
As parents, there is also power in saying ‘yes’… at the right time. This week I have included a link to an article from Parenting Ideas that looks at the importance of saying ‘yes’ as a parent.
"Being a parent places you in a position of power. It’s easy to use that power to say no. It’s harder, but more effective in the long run to seek a balance between no and yes, and in doing so, develop greater autonomy in kids."
Last Thursday it was wonderful to see the hall full of colour, laughter and happy conversations at our Mother’s Day Breakfast. We had almost 100 families attending, with mums, grandmothers, aunties and special friends coming along and enjoying a lovely breakfast of pastries and other treats, and viewing the incredible portraits that were on display. Following this, our Year 3 and ELC students led the Prayer Celebration highlighting just how important our mums are to all of us. Many of our ELC parents were even treated to a pamper back at the ELC. Thank you to everyone who was able to join this special event.
Unfortunately our Athletics Carnival had to be postposed last Friday due to the very poor weather. This has now been rescheduled for Wednesday 22 May. It will again be held at Merici College. Further information was sent out today. Thank you to those volunteers who still came along on Friday to cook the sausage sizzle for the students – a great way to warm up on a cold and rainy day!
Enrolment Period
We are now accepting enrolment applications for the 2020 school year.
You are invited to join us for a tour of our wonderful school to learn more about what we have to offer your child. Open Day Thursday 23 May 9.30 – 11.00am.
Cameron Tarrant
Principal
