Assistant Principal's Report

Student Voice Team

The Student Voice Team was first created at Fairfield Primary School in 2020 with the purpose of giving students across the school a forum to share their ideas and have input into their education and school life. The Student Voice Team promotes student empowerment by giving students the opportunity to have a voice and be involved in decisions about their school.

In term one, the 2020 Student Voice Team met every week during their lunch break, to discuss important issues that arose from students in all classes across the school. After every Student Voice Team meeting, the members met with their class mates during a class meeting and delivered relevant information. They then took any ideas from these class meetings to the next Student Voice Team meeting. 

Last week, our 2021 Student Voice Team met for the first time. Some members had already met with their classes and had ideas to bring to the meeting, which we were able to discuss as a new team. The 2021 Student Voice Team is very excited to make a difference at Fairfield Primary School and I am very excited to hear their ideas! I will share more with you as we move forward.

Rights, Resilience and Respectful Relationships

You may have heard your child mention a program called ‘4Rs’. This stands for Rights, Resilience and Respectful Relationships, a program that supports students to build resilience, develop a sense of purpose and agency, enhance life skills such as positive coping and problem solving and develop the attitudes and abilities that support healthy relationships. The whole school approach to Respectful Relationships recognises that schools are a place of learning, a workplace, and a community hub. 

Respectful Relationships provides the resources and tools to promote and model positive behaviours, values and inclusivity to embed a culture of respect and gender equality across entire school communities. A whole school approach is the best way to change a school culture and leads to positive impacts on attitudes, behaviour, resilience, relationships and academic outcomes for all students. 

When students are actively engaged in meaningful ways at school, it supports the development of skills needed for leadership, problem solving and respectful relationships, and works towards school connectedness. These skills not only support students to contribute to a more inclusive school culture, we also know that positive attitudes towards school are related to better learning outcomes, greater attendance and the building of school pride. Schools can empower students by ensuring they have a positive climate for learning that amplifies student voice, agency and leadership.

What does Student Agency, Leadership and Voice Mean?

• Student Agency: is having the power to direct and take responsibility.
• Student Leadership: is helping others and to model leadership, school values and respectful relationships
• Student Voice: is having the power to influence change

How can students be empowered?

• Student Empowerment: is when student agency, leadership and voice come together to enable students to be partners in decision making; ‘owning’ their learning and playing an authentic role in improving their schools and wider communities

The Student Voice Team empowers students by giving them a voice, providing leadership opportunities and being involved in decision making within their school. 

~ Sarah Abbott, Assistant Principal