Principal's Message

Dear Families,

A number of our students have represented the school with pride recently, with opportunities to compete in the All Schools Cross Country Carnival at Symmons Plains, to take part in our Sacramental Program and to perform as part of the Junior Band at the MacKillop Winter Concert on offer. We are really proud of the effort shown by students involved as they have been training and rehearsing tirelessly over the past few months.

We can’t always be the best, but we can be ‘our’ best, which comes directly from the effort we put in. At John Paul II we often talk about the importance of a growth mindset. Maths is an area where we often see a closed mindset in both students and adults. If we say to our children, “Don’t worry, I’m not a Maths person either,” it can lead to a very closed mindset. But also, telling a child they are ‘smart’ when they get a question correct can also lead to a closed mindset. This is because when they inevitably experience failure they may start to believe that they are not ‘smart’. The best approach is to praise the amount of effort they are putting into the work or skill they are trying to improve. “I’m proud you didn’t give up when things got tough” is more valuable than “good job”.

We are incredibly proud of the effort of all of our students and staff as we near the end of Term 2. I hope to see you all on Monday morning at Breakfast with our Loved Ones.

Ben Morgan

Principal