From the Principal
Dear Parents & Carers
World Teachers' Day was celebrated in Victoria on Friday October 25th. It was a very low key celebration at Queen of Peace with a last minute (due to the business of the day), shared lunch organised for staff. The work that teachers do is often immeasurable and the teachers at this school are of the highest standard.
We do not take it lightly that you entrust us with your precious children. At Queen of Peace, staff work rigorously to make sure every child is able to thrive. We plan for every child’s learning needs and we think carefully about the best way to make sure every child is achieving success along the way.
John Hattie is Professor of Education and Director of the Melbourne Educational Research. John has written many books guiding countries on how to manage their education systems to get the best learning for children. One of his books, Visible Learning compares literally thousands of pieces of research to discover the things that schools were doing that made a difference, as well as the things that schools were doing that had no effect on the student’s learning.
Interestingly, his work is not aimed at parents but it should be. He says very clearly that parents shop around for schools comparing things that they think matter a great deal but actually most of the things that they think matter, don’t. Many things parents value as important do not have any effect on student learning.
Recent research in Australia investigated what parents believed made a difference for their children’s learning. Parents in Australia nominated the number of support staff employed, the level of autonomy a Principal has to run their own school and how much money a school receives. Hattie’s research shows these are not major factors at all. It is the teacher that makes the difference and that difference can be huge.
Parents surveyed in Melbourne believed that private schools made a difference, as did making children do their homework and wearing a uniform. Some parents believed a school being single sex or co-ed made a difference, but actually, it doesn’t. All these things are factors but they don’t make much, if any, difference to the success of the students.
What makes a huge difference is the quality of the teacher, the passion, the knowledge, the skills and commitment of the teacher that makes the MOST difference of all. You cannot buy passion. You cannot train people to be passionate about making a difference in the lives of our students. You cannot buy an interest in children’s wellbeing. You cannot replace excellent teachers with computers, with software programs or with any other device. Teachers are the single biggest factor in every student’s learning progress.
The staff at Queen of Peace believe that every child can learn given the right amount of support and resources and they are always working to improve what they do so that every one of our students can achieve their potential. They work passionately together every day to make a difference.
In the recent CEMSIS Parent survey, 96% of our surveyed parents said that they would recommend Queen of Peace to prospective families. This is well above the average of other Catholic schools in Melbourne.
Parents and children in our school community of QOP are blessed to have dedicated professionals working for us. On your behalf, I want to thank them for what they do every day with effort and passion, to enable our children to become the very best people that they can be.
Parents and Friends
The next P&F committee meeting is on Monday 18 November at 7pm in the staff room and everyone is welcome to attend. This is a very important meeting as it will not only be the last General Meeting of 2019 but also the Annual General Meeting (AGM) where 2020 roles and responsibilities will be discussed and appointed. Please consider a role (or sharing a role) on the Executive Committee. If you have questions about the following positions please don’t hesitate to send an email to pandf@qopaltonameadows.catholic.edu.au or speak to the office.
Important Upcoming Dates
Wednesday 4 December - Staff Planning Day (Pupil Free Day). On this day staff will reflect on Teaching and Learning, Catholic Identity and our Faith Life Inquiry units during 2019. Staff will be informed by current academic school data, input by students and educational research to begin planning for 2020.
Tuesday 10 December – End of Year Celebration, "The Spirit of Christmas" 5:30 – 8:30pm *Details to be advised via CareMonkey note.
Wednesday 18 December – Final day of term 1:30pm finish
Important Dates for 2020
The dates for school beginning next year are as follows:
*Prep: Thursday 30 January & Friday 31 January 9am – 1pm
( No school for Preps on all Wednesdays in February)
*Years 1-6: Classes begin on Friday 31 January
Term 1: Friday 31 January* – Friday 27 March
Term 2: Tuesday 14 April – Friday 26 June
Term 3: Monday 13 July – Friday 18 September
Term 4: Monday 5 October – Wednesday 16 December
We can also confirm a Pupil Free Day on Tuesday 25 February for Staff Professional Learning in Literacy.
Darren Gibbons