From the Deputy Principal

A key challenge in education is the concept of student engagement and student motivation. We are always striving to make Great Southern Grammar not only a safe space, but a place where students want to be. There are two types of motivation. Extrinsic motivation is where students are motivated by either the reward they might receive, or the negative consequence they might receive by engaging in some type of behaviour, “the carrot or the stick” approach. Intrinsic motivation is where students are motivated to do something by their own desire and sense of achievement. 

A part of what we do here at Great Southern Grammar is to provide opportunities for students to try different things, to step outside of their comfort zone and have a broad range of experiences. The hope is that, as something piques their interest, they develop the intrinsic motivation to pursue it and that there are people here in our community who can continue that journey with them. This can be done through subject electives or cocurricular opportunities.  

We also provide learning experiences, whether inside or outside the classroom, where students can delve deeper into a topic and develop their expertise through increased knowledge and experience. This can be done by expert teaching, collaboration or experiences such as excursions and camps. 

Schools need to be a place of inspiration as well as a community built on safe and trusting relationships. Students need to see the joy in school. It can be a place where they go on adventures, try new things, fail and learn lessons, grow and develop. It is incumbent upon us to use extrinsic motivation to guide students and to reward the desired behaviour. Still, the real key is to plant a few seeds and nurture them so that students grow intrinsic motivation, to pursue their goals and to find satisfaction in achieving their personal best. 

To that end, we are initiating a few reviews of what we offer at GSG and our approach.  

• We continue to run professional development workshops for our teachers called High Impact Practice. This empowers our teachers, too.
• We are reviewing our cocurricular offerings at the school, including service and sport, amongst others.
• We are focusing on milestones, so that students can more easily reflect on their development in stages, which will add clarity, purpose and engagement. It also helps us celebrate achievements and develop leadership opportunities for students. 
• We continue to seek student and parent voices in these reviews so that we can gather vital data to inform our practice and we can foster engagement and a sense of community from all of our stakeholders. 

As we continue to review, reflect and learn ourselves, we show that we are worthy role models for our students and families.  

Mr Jordan Owenell | Deputy Principal - Head of Secondary