From the Principal

SCHOOL COUNCIL ELECTION RESULTS

The result of the School Council Elections are:

Parent Category

3 nominations for 3 positions

Mark Schramm – father of Lily
Julie Mouzis – mother of Zac
Alex Tsitsikas – mother of Yianni

DET category

1 nomination for 1 position

Cian Hassett

I would like to thank the candidates for volunteering to become part of our School Council which is a valued and important part of our school community and functioning.

2023 ENROLMENTS

It is time again for me to invite our community to enrol for the next year’s Foundation classes. This also applies to families who attend our kindergarten and those who already have siblings at the school. If you wish to organise a School Tour please ring the office to book in a time. There is a list of scheduled tours on our website. However, if these times don’t suit please ring to schedule an alternate time.

An Enrolment Form can be downloaded from our website: www.oakleighps.vic.edu.au

Completed documents can be posted, hand delivered to the office or emailed to susan.close@education.vic.gov.au.

STUDENT GOAL SETTING

Student goal setting is an important part of school life and will be a focus at Oakleigh Primary School this semester. As well as clearly articulating the goal or learning intentions of a unit of work, students will also be setting personal learning goals (SMART goals). These will become more complex as they move through the school. Goal setting, particularly in the senior years, involves students reviewing their results and work samples, in consultation with their teachers, to set reasonable but aspirational goals for improvement. These goals are modified or new goals set as students make progress or achieve success.

What is a SMART Goal?

A SMART Goal is an acronym which is used to help student goal setting. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely. Therefore a SMART goal incorporates all of these criteria to help them focus their efforts and increase their chances of achieving that goal. Setting SMART goals enables students to create an action plan for improvement to set and identify enablers and possible barriers to success.

SMART GOALS ARE SPECIFIC

This means that your goal should usually be number based or have an explicit outcome. A smart goal may be:

I will improve my results from 60% in my Essential Assessment Place Value Pretest to 90 percent in my Post Test.
I will be able to do 20 push ups in 1 minute.
In 5 weeks I will be able to catch a tennis ball when my classmate throws it to me from 5 metres away at least 4 out of 5 times.

These goals are specific goals without any vague phrasing left open to interpretation. The more specific your goals are the clearer it will be when you finally achieve them.

Being able to measure your progress is really important in goal setting and goal achievement. It helps you determine whether or not you’re moving in the right direction, since you can clearly track and measure both positive steps and things that are hindering your progress along the way.

SMART GOALS ARE ATTAINABLE

Smart goals are goals that you can actually attain. They are not farfetched goals like: I will not make any spelling mistakes when I write a story.

SMART goals are goals that you’re physically and mentally capable of achieving.

SMART GOALS ARE REALISTIC

SMART goals are not only attainable, but they are realistically attainable. They are a combination between a specific achievement that you can reach and a time frame that realistically coordinates with that achievement.

For example, a SMART goal would be: By the end of April I will have read independently for at least 15 minutes, 5 days a week before watching television.

SMART GOALS ARE TIMELY

Smart goals have time frames, and realistic ones at that. When you put a realistic time frame or target date on your goal, it gives you something to work for. To simply Read 10 books without a time frame lacks motivation. A time-bound goal would be Read 10 books by the end of this term. This has a realistic time frame that gives your student something to work for and a date for completion.

Setting SMART goals are a great way for students to create an action plan to reach their own goals. It is a useful skill for academic goals as well as the best way to guarantee success for learning how to set goals for what you want in life. By setting goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely, your students can and will achieve the success they deserve!

Michele Nolan

Principal

michele.nolan@education.vic.gov.au