From the Principal 

Strengthening student-teacher relationships

We have been very fortunate to begin running activities in the school that have not been possible for the last few years.  Last week I had the great pleasure of joining the Year 7 students and Tutor teachers at Queenscliff for their annual camp.  A huge thank you to Darcy Hall, the Year 7/8 Coordinator who organised the camp.

It was a great opportunity for our students and staff to build relationships beyond the classroom. These relationships are vital and support a student’s learning.  Research undertaken through meta-analyses by Professor John Hattie in 2012 identified key strategies in teaching and learning that have a positive impact on student outcomes.  One of the major contributing factors to success for students was identified as the student-teacher relationship.  Hattie identified that students need to feel that their teachers care about them and their progress and that they know and understand them.

For both teachers and students spending time together outside the classroom and participating in a range of activities can build these connections.  It is always great for teachers to see students in another environment, we can watch them interact with their peers, negotiate through activities that may be out of their comfort zone, share a space together all day and night and how they manage their emotions throughout.  These insights can often help teachers to understand students more and allow them to develop strategies for learning.

We are very fortunate to have teachers who are also willing to give up their home comforts and go away on camp with students to make these opportunities possible.

We look forward to running all our usual camps this year and the positive development that grows from these experiences for everyone.

Mrs Carmel Spry

Principal