a word from leadership

Celebrating Learning

Student Academic Reports - just one way we see how our students are learning

Next week you will receive your child's academic report via the Parent Portal. This is a progressive report, to set goals for continued growth and learning. 

It's important to remember that Semester 1 reports are growth or progressive reports, they do not show the final end of year achievement for students. In fact, they are a snapshot in time of your child's learning. 

As a society we tend to put much emphasis on students’ achievement at different points of time in their schooling, and not enough on students’ progress over the course of their schooling.

Where is the learner going? Where is the learner (right) now? What does the learner need to do to get where they want or need to go (the goal)?

When we set clear learning targets and success criteria for our students and share those targets in different ways, we are clear on our direction, our goals.  

How you share, react and encourage your children will impact them greatly. 

The research by Stanford professor Carol Dweck on “fixed” and “growth” mindsets is something we value at Good Shepherd Lutheran Primary School. Dweck’s message that we should praise effort and not inherent ability has been widely accepted, it seems, but for many of us has not yet become automatic.

One of the big determinants of what students do with feedback, it turns out, is mindset. Students with a growth mindset (that is, they believe that ability can grow through effort) attend to feedback and put it to work. Students with a fixed mindset (that is, they believe ability is fixed and unchangeable) avoid or ignore feedback. These snapshots open up an opportunity to have conversations based around effort and how much growth children have made. 

Celebrate your child's successes and assist them in setting some learning / behavioural goals for next semester.  Although it occupies only a small part of each achievement record, I encourage parents to focus first and foremost on the ‘effort’ score reported for each learning area.  

Whilst individual strengths and weaknesses each impact on a child’s level of academic attainment, outstanding effort is an accurate indicator that your child is maximising potential.  Celebrate!!  The language we use as parents is powerful in shaping our children’s future success .  

Refugee Week - Healing

Did you know its Refugee Week?

From the Refugee Week website...

Australia and the rest of the world have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hit the reset button on how we behave towards one another. The importance of human connections has been underscored by the pandemic and such lessons can help us in so many ways.  Mainstream and refugee communities alike can draw upon shared hardship to heal wounds, to learn from each other and to move forward. Healing can occur through storytelling, through community and also through realisation of our intrinsic interconnectedness as individuals.  

• It raises awareness of the issues affecting refugees. The theme aims to highlight aspects of the refugee experience and help the broader community to understand what it is like to be a refugee.
• It helps to make Refugee Week a national celebration. The theme provides a focal point for events across Australia, uniting separate activities into a single nationwide celebration.
• It promotes harmony and togetherness. The theme unites individuals, communities and organisations from many different backgrounds behind a common cause. The common theme is a reminder that, regardless of our differences, we all share a common humanity.
• It broadens the impact of Refugee Week. The theme provides a common, cohesive message which can be promoted across the country, helping to maximise the effectiveness of awareness-raising activities.

We are grateful for our community and for the richness diversity brings us. We are grateful this continues to show us new ways to care, accept and respect in our school community as we reach out to others.  

SEED activities

Tomorrow Friday, 24th June, the Good Shepherd community celebrates ‘SEED’ Day. SEED stands for ‘Social Emotional Education and Development’.  

While we recognise and emphasise the importance of positive wellbeing, showing resilience, having a growth mindset, and actively demonstrating our values of LOVE, OPTIMISM and CREATIVITY every day at Good Shepherd, having a specific day dedicated to this, allows us to focus on these attributes and continue to build on them for the benefit of all. 

This year we are looking through the lens of gentleness and how we can put this into practice in our lives using a variety of senses. 

One of the ways that we can be gentle with ourselves is acknowledging that mistakes are part of learning.  They are an opportunity to acknowledge that we are growing and changing, and we haven't mastered a skill yet.

Don't forget to ask your child about the activites that they participated in.

Has your situation changed?

At this stage of the year it may be that families are aware of the likelihood of changes to their situation.  Mid-year can bring changes to family circumstances - a shift of house, career or employment.  At times the school can be overlooked in communication of the change.  

Parents are reminded that Good Shepherd Lutheran School operates a ‘Term in Advance’ policy meaning that a minimum of one term's notice must be given in the event that a student is to leave the school.  This policy ensures that the school is given adequate time to manage the vacancy.  Thank you for your cooperation.