A message from Margie
Grit and Growth Mindset
Our next concept in our 'Gritty' term is a growth mindset. This is the idea that our abilities can develop through effort and persistence, made famous by psychologist Carol Dweck Developing a Growth Mindset with Carol Dweck (youtube.com) This is an important concept for us at school and teachers work hard to foster this in all of the students from Reception through to Year 6. You can help at home too! By encouraging a growth mindset in your child, you can empower them to approach life's challenges with confidence and resilience. Here's a video that the students watched this week in their Monday morning wellbeing session, in case you'd like to discuss it with them: Developing a Growth Mindset (youtube.com)
Here are some key strategies to help your child to develop a growth mindset:
- Acknowledge Effort: When your child is working toward a goal, encourage and recognise the hard work and dedication they show, rather than just focusing on outcomes.
- Embrace Mistakes: Help your child understand that making mistakes is a natural part of the learning process and an opportunity for growth and improvement.
- Encourage Challenges: Motivate your child to step out of their comfort zone and tackle new challenges.
- Foster Positivity: Encourage your child to maintain a positive attitude, reframing setbacks as opportunities for growth and learning.
- Set an Example: Lead by example by demonstrating a growth mindset in your own actions and attitudes, and sharing stories of when you have had to persevere to achieve a goal.
Were you lucky enough to be able to attend Troy's Acquaintance Night session on mindsets in maths? Here are the main messages:
- All students can learn maths to a high level, no matter what their current ability.
- Negative stereotypes make students more reluctant to be gritty and persevere in maths.
- Maths isn't about knowing a formula to solve a problem; it requires conceptual thinking and multiple ways to demonstrate their learning.
- Maths isn't about speed, it requires understanding, problem-solving and reasoning skills to demonstrate learning new and challenging concepts.
- Grit and a growth mindset are essential for positive mathematical experiences in everyday classrooms.
Thank you for working together with us to help develop grit in our students. 💪😊
Our Mural is Taking Shape!
We were so happy to welcome David Booth back this week to work with the children on creating a school mural to be installed in our gym. All of the children have painted their hands onto the mural background, and have designed symbols that David will now add on to the mural to complete it. Watch for the completed product to be installed in time for Reconciliation Week next term!
Congratulations 2024 House Captains!
Yesterday we voted on our House Captains, who will have a major role in organising and running our upcoming Sports Day. Congratulations to all of the senior students who volunteered to run for Captian and gave excellent speeches, and especially to our successful Captains:
Eyre- Ila Sanders and Edith Comey
Light- Sammy Moreira Cristofali and Kayla Sparrow
Flinders- Nilah Lochhead and Chloe Crabb
Welcomes and Farewells
Today is Katie Martin's last day at work before leaving on maternity leave. I know you will join me in wishing her all the best. We can't wait to meet your new baby Katie! 🎈
We would like to welcome Jess Rogers who will be teaching in Katie's class until the beginning of Term 4. Jess has just moved into the local area and we also welcome her boys starting at our school next week, Harry in Year 5 (Alex's class) and Eddie in Year 2 (Sam's class).
Here is some information about Jess:
Hello, my name is Jess and I am excited to embark on this incredible journey as a teacher at Uraidla Primary School. I am absolutely thrilled to be teaching the Reception class while Katie is on maternity leave, with a passion for education and wellbeing I am here to guide, support and inspire the children every step of the way. I look forward to having a whole lot of fun exploring, and learning new things together. I have been a teacher for over 12 years and have had some wonderful experiences working at many different schools across Adelaide. I have worked the past few years at Stradbroke Primary School and before that as a Wellbeing Leader at Modbury West. These roles have allowed me to grow as an educator and learn that healthy well-being goes hand in hand with success in learning.
My family have just moved to the hills and so, we look forward to exploring the area and being involved in the community. So please feel free to say 'G’day' when you see me around the place.
I wish Katie all the very best for her maternity leave.
Thank you
Jess Rogers
Learning Discussions
During week 8 this term (18-21 March) we will be holding Learning Discussions. A Learning Discussion is an opportunity for you to meet with your child's class teacher to discuss their social and academic learning. Feedback has been that parents and carers really appreciate this opportunity, and teachers highly value getting parents' perspectives too. We find that when school and home are working together to support children, we get the best results!
Please note that these meetings are only for the adults (parents/carers and teachers), not the students. Unfortunately, we are not able to supervise children during these meetings, and it is best if they can stay home with another adult if possible. If you do need to bring your children along, there will be a quiet space they can wait in each area outside the classroom.
You can book your 15-minute Learning Discussions online through this link: https://www.schoolinterviews.com.au/b8bX0fY/step1
Acquaintance Night Feedback
Thank you for the feedback about Acquaintance Night. It was great to see some wonderful feedback provided to the staff about the night. People were really happy with the curriculum aspect of the evening and hearing from our new staff members. If you haven't had a chance to provide us with your feedback, please click on the link below to take the short survey. We look forward to taking on your suggestions to make it even better for 2025!
Naplan
As many of you know Naplan starts next Wednesday 13th March. All students in years three and five will be participating. It's really important to check in with your child to see how they are feeling, since students can become quite anxious and nervous in the days leading up. We want to continually remind our students that it's just one test on one day and we just want them to demonstrate the learning they currently know, so we can help them to improve. Students will start with writing on the first day of Naplan and finish their testing on Monday Week 8 with Numeracy. If you have any questions please contact your teacher or Troy.
I wish you all a wonderful fortnight!
Margie