David's Message

Dear Sunshine Heights Parents and Carers,

As we near the end of term and look towards reports, I’ve been thinking a lot about progress—how we measure it, how we support it, and how we celebrate it. This week, while dangling somewhat ungracefully from a rock wall (as one does), I was reminded how climbing is rarely about dramatic leaps. It’s a slow, deliberate process - reaching for the next handhold, pausing, reassessing, sometimes slipping, then trying again. It struck me how similar this is to the way our students learn. The most meaningful growth is often quiet and steady, based on a clear understanding of where we are coming from and where we need to move to next. Just like in climbing, each small grip gained is worth recognising. Sometimes I do a partner climb, especially in bouldering; in the same way we recognise that progress in school is an essential partnership, and without the effort of students, teachers and parents working together, we simply cannot make the same progress. (And if your child’s end-of-semester report shows this kind of determined progress, I’d say they’re doing wonderfully—no helmet or harness required!)

Behind the scenes, our leadership team has also been scaling a bit of a mountain—working hard on a grant application to upgrade our school oval. As many of you know, our current oval is in need of a transformation to become a safe, inclusive, and functional space for all students to learn and play. We are doing everything we can to advocate for this improvement, and if any families are interested in writing a short letter of support, it would add real strength to our application. Please feel free to get in touch if you’d like to help. The deadline for our submission is Friday 4th July, and if you would like to speak with Sarah Connolly as our elected local member, I am sure she is keen to hear how she can further support our school with lobbying for this much needed upgrade.

Finally, today I had the pleasure of visiting Templestowe Heights Primary School (THPS), where I observed some excellent classroom practice alongside renowned international education researcher and academic Dr Carl Hendrick. Dr Carl shared some research and implementation approaches with us, noting it is not about painting by numbers but creating a nuanced approach to ensure teachers feel empowered to use evidence and research meaningfully. It was energising to see how much alignment there is between the approaches they are using, and the work our own talented teachers have been embedding here at Sunshine Heights. It was a powerful reminder that we are not only on the right path, we are leading the way.

Best wishes,

David and the Sunny Heights Team