Principal's Report

Dear Parents, Carers and Community members,

Time does go fast, we are already six weeks in and with only three weeks before the easter break and then we return for two weeks before the start of school holidays. Already the students and staff have packed a lot into the short time we have been at school, including the school swimming carnival, opening school mass, junior school retreats, our first community engagement evening for the year, on top of the many other opportunities for students to learn inside and outside of the classroom.

Our community engagement evening held on Monday 4th March was a huge success with a few hundred past, current and potential future community members attending. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff who organised the evening, but a special mention and thankyou must go to our Senior Leaders, Lasallian Youth leaders and the other students who supported the evening, organising and running the BBQ, sporting activities, music performances and conducting tours, without them the evening would not have been the success it was. This was a true example of how our students are the heart and soul of our college community.

Having a high quality culture of Learning and Wellbeing at any school requires all community members participating and being invested. Community engagement evenings like the one held on Monday are an opportunity for parents, students and teachers to come together and connect and build quality relationships in a relaxing and friendly atmosphere. 

Our role as a school is to provide through our teaching practices, extra-curricular and co-curricular activities opportunities for all students to achieve their best no matter the pathway they may decide to pursue. It is about providing each individual student the opportunities to develop as a person. To learn about themselves, to identify their gifts, to engage in their learning and enable them to learn to be the best person they can be, while also learning what it means to be an authentic, positive thinking human being and therefore interact with society. 

We don’t want our students pulling down the blind or closing the window, we want them pulling up the blind and opening the window so as to jump through the windows of opportunity that an education at O'Connor Catholic College can provide, working in collaboration, with all community members.

I believe when all community members feel welcome, connected and invested in a culture of learning and wellbeing, it fosters a sense of belonging, promotes academic achievement and enhances the overall educational experience for everyone involved but most importantly the students. The students feel they can be successful.

How can you help your child better engage in their learning and be successful?

Engaging in conversation with your child about school/their learning. Asking your child the following question of an evening for example.

1. What was the best thing about school today? 
2. What did you learn about today? or What are you learning?
3. How are you going?  or How did you do?
4. Is there anything you need help with?  or what would you do if you didn’t understand something in class?
5. How can you improve your learning?
6. What are you most proud of today?

These questions above have been adapted from Lyn Sharratt’s 5 critical questions for students. The teachers, Leaders of Learning and Leadership team use the 5 critical questions when undertaking learning walks and talks across the school.  Learning Walks and Talks in the school context are used  in determining if students know what they are learning and how to improve, hearing student and teacher voices, observing school trends and patterns of learning over time and collecting observational data that informs the school improvement plan. 

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

Nelson Mandela, 

 

Yours faithfully,

Mr Phillip Gibney

Principal