Assistant Principal - Learning and Wellbeing - Happening Events

Students at O'Connor are becoming increasingly aware of our 3 rules for living. They are: I am safe, I am valued, respected and cared for and I am a learner. This is the basis of many conversations that take place at school. Students are aware (but at times forget) that these are also responsibilities placed upon them so that their words and actions ensure that the whole community is safe, valued, respected and cared for and that a learning culture prevails. This is part of the Living Well, Learning Well document which is the student support framework for the Diocese of Armidale. One of its themes is an acknowledgement of the holistic nature of education that takes place in a school setting.  Academic learning is very important but so too is learning that is associated with personal and community well being. Just as incorrect answers in maths present an opportunity for learning, so too do some of the interactions that take place at school.

Most importantly, this is not done in isolation but in partnership with our families, our students and the helpful adults that staff our schools. In terms of safety, families strengthen this partnership when they are;

• supporting policies, practices and protocols that keep people safe
• quickly informing the school when aware of a risk to safety
• supporting and teaching help-seeking strategies to children and young people
• Assisting children and young people in the replacement of unsafe behaviours

In regards to being valued, families strengthen the partnership through;

• Supporting policies, practices and protocols that ensure people are valued, respected and cared for
•  Quickly informing the school when aware of a risk to a child/young person’s sense of being valued, respected and cared for
• Modelling in the family the ways people are valued, respected and cared for
• Supporting and facilitating positive relationships with school staff and other families in the school community
• Recognising and supporting the link between strong school attendance and connection to school
• Understanding how family engagement in schooling contributes positively to the learning, wellbeing, faith development and life opportunities of children and young people

Families strengthen this partnership in fostering learning by

• Supporting policies, practices and protocols that enhance student learning
• Recognising and supporting the link between strong school attendance and successful learning
• Engaging in ongoing, productive conversations about learning with students, teachers and school leaders
• Recognising high family regard for learning, a literacy-rich home environment and a high regard for the work of the school as powerful positive influences on student learning and wellbeing outcomes

According to In the Living Well Learning Well framework, our families recognise that positive partnerships between families and school strengthen the school community and improve learning, wellbeing, faith development and life opportunitiesfor all children/young people in the school. 

Complimentary to this, our school, recognises that the partnership between family and school centres on the child/young person, who has voice in the partnership and whose learning, wellbeing and spiritual development are the reason for the partnership - as taught and modelled by Jesus, our children and young people are at the heart of the Kingdom of God (Luke 18: 16).

A conversation starter at home about school may well be along the lines of; I am safe, I am valued, respected and cared for and I am a learner and specifically how can all stakeholders in the partnership contribute to these areas.

Mr Damian Roff

Assistant Principal - Learning and Wellbeing

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