Acting Principal's Message
Last Thursday we celebrated Japanese Day. It is always exciting to deviate from a typical day of learning to be immersed in different learning experiences. We were fortunate to watch a Wadaiko Tenshi performance from St Therese's students with some St John's students even getting to have a go at drumming. Along with Japanese art activities, students made hachimaki to wear for the performance, participated in a mini workshop with Kenshi Karate, made a Japanese hand drum and participated in a Japanese scavenger hunt. From all accounts the students had an excellent day. A big thank you and congratulations to Sensei Wheeler for organising the day and especially the sushi lunches.
Our Foundation students celebrated an amazing milestone last Friday by reaching 100 days of school. They celebrated by dressing up, counting objects and food and having a 100 days of school party.
Watching the athletes at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris has sparked reflections on grit and determination. Each athlete invests four years or more of intense physical and mental training to achieve the honor of representing their country—an achievement that parallels the perseverance required of our students as they learn to read, write, spell, and compute.
As a staff, we've been delving into the Science of Learning, exploring concepts like biologically primary knowledge and biologically secondary knowledge. Biologically primary knowledge includes skills such as learning our native language, recognizing faces, and basic social interactions. These skills develop naturally with minimal conscious effort and do not impose a heavy cognitive load because they have been part of human evolution for thousands of years.
In contrast, biologically secondary knowledge involves skills that are culturally acquired and not part of our evolutionary history. These include reading, writing, and mathematical computation. Acquiring these skills requires conscious mental effort, imposes a significant cognitive load, and often necessitates explicit instruction. Secondary knowledge is more challenging to learn because it builds on primary knowledge but extends beyond our innate abilities.
I recently read an article by Daniel T. Willingham titled "Why Don't Students Like School?" So why is it difficult to get some children to enjoy school? Contrary to popular belief, the brain is not designed for thinking; it's designed to save us from having to think. The brain is actually not very good at thinking—thinking is slow and unreliable. Nevertheless, people enjoy mental work when it is successful. They like solving problems but not working on unsolvable ones. While people are naturally curious, they are not naturally good thinkers. Unless the cognitive conditions are right, people will avoid thinking.
Given this understanding, how can we foster grit and determination in our children while helping them enbrace the challenges inherent in learning secondary learning? Maybe the athletes in Paris could insipire our students in their learning endeavours.
On Thursday we celebrate the Feast day of St Mary MacKillop, Australia's first saint.
We pray,
God of compassion, God of all people, we praise you for your servant, Mary MacKillop, who gave her life to serve you in the poor and oppressed.As she is honoured in our world, may we continue to learn to share her vision.Help us to recognise, as she did, that the poor of our time will hear the gospel in the way we serve them. Be with us as we strive to follow her and carry out our mission of service and care. Amen
IMPORTANT REMINDERS
Drop Off/Pick up
Please drive slowly and carefully through the school carpark, before and after you have dropped off or picked up your child.
When parking in the 'kiss and go' parking bay on the right hand side students must follow the pathway and cross at the manned crossing. Parents must not exit their car and walk their child across the road or through the carpark as this puts people, especially our students, at risk.
Beginning of the school day is 8:45am
It is cold and miserable but also important that students get to school, ready to start the school day on time. Please ensure that your child is at school between 8:30 am and 8:45 am.
Enjoy your weekend.
Maree Summers