Principal Team Editorial

I have two kids in school. One in Year 9 and one in Year 11. I occasionally have some strong views (good and bad) about the experiences that they have at their Government Secondary School situated close to where I live. It’s often difficult to separate my day job from my role as a parent and sometimes I have to walk a fine line when having discussions with the teachers of my two children. 

Like you, I’m invested in ensuring that their experience at school is a positive one. Yes, of course I want them to get the most out of their education across their entire school experience, but equally I want them to be happy. I want them to feel safe, have great friends, be given amazing opportunities and develop as outstanding people, not just learners. 

Again, because of my role, I’m probably a little cautious giving feedback, but it’s always been important for me as Principal to create an environment where feedback from all stakeholders is encouraged. I often have conversations with parents and they start by saying, “I know you’re busy and didn’t want to take up much of your time but…”. 

As a parent, if something relating to your kids (or maybe someone else’s), is big enough of a concern that it would cause you to consider calling me, then don’t feel like you can’t or you shouldn’t.  I/we don’t know what we don’t know, and the feedback we often get from parents is enlightening and helps us do things better. 

On the flip side, I love it when a parent calls/emails me about something positive, such as their thanks for a teacher who went above and beyond or a thank you to the school for facilitating an amazing opportunity. It’s amazing how these anecdotes and this feedback can quickly change a bad day into a good day! 

So if you haven’t already, here is your chance to give us some feedback. And I’m not just encouraging you to respond if you are unhappy; it’s equally important that we hear from those parents who have plenty of positive feedback for us as well. 

Please check out the reminder for the Parent Opinion Survey that is currently listed in your newsfeed on Compass and on the following page of this Newsletter. The survey remains open for another week, closing on Friday 8 September, don’t miss you chance! 

Reminders

Don’t forget that we are holding our Student Conferences on Thursday 14 September. This is a Student Free day. Also, the following day is the last day of term and we will therefore have an early finish time of 2:30pm on that day. 

Kevin Murphy

Principal