From the Head of Campus
Family-school communication and student flourishing
Dear Preshil Community
I still remember my first bout of parent-teacher interviews: we were corralled in a room of squished chair arrangements, nervy anticipation and cacophonies of discourse. I was excited to share the progress of my students and earn the trust of parents. Most conversations were a mess of affirmations, exhortations and self-conscious silences where we mutually reached towards sentences we thought we ought to speak. I arrived home that night with no words left, reflecting on and critiquing every word I spoke. The relationship between effective home-school communication and student flourishing is a comprehensively articulated and thoroughly researched phenomenon.
These arranged conversations are a mainstay of educational institutions with only one critical change over the last two decades: where we used to call them ‘Parent-teacher Interviews’, we now prefer some variation of the term Three-way Conferences.
This distinction is more than fickle semantics. Face-to-face discussions are an interpersonal supplement to the thoroughness of a written report, however whereas report cards can be read by all parties at any time, conferences are bound in time and space. Studies (such as the now infamous research from John Hattie) repeatedly emphasise the agency that a student has over their own outcomes: if the student is left out of these critical conversations, they are disempowered from owning their learning. Additionally, the participation of the student in the conversation avoids miscommunication, inefficiency and that awkward interaction when the parent arrives home and the student is petrified about what they now know.
At Preshil, we encourage continual communication with parents through planned and as-needed procedures. Structurally, we circulate understandings about learning behaviours through Progress Reports, follow up through interpersonal discussion in Three-way Conferences and then give a summation of learning through our Semester Reports. When you need to have our attention outside these designations, we respond to everything from a hand-written letter to a holler from the other side of the front lawn. The subject teacher is the first port of call for any academic questions (or encouragements!.. we love receiving those) and our Coordinators are the connection point related to wellbeing discussions.
Three-way Conference bookings will remain open until 9am on Wednesday 28 August. To prepare, we encourage families to have a conversation about the successes and challenges currently being faced, reflect on the recent Progress Reports and assessment feedback and discuss any suggestions for further support that teachers may be able to provide. This way, the conferences can be efficient and effective for all parties.
Lastly, the most powerful conferences are characterised by the most important element: a student who demonstrates their learning. Students should come prepared to be the most vocal member of the conversation, giving voice to their experiences and needs.
At Preshil, we want you to come away feeling confident that the School provides stimulating and supportive experiences for your child and that we are willing to learn new ways of invigorating the classroom. We look forward to working with you to achieve this goal.
Warmly
Dan
Daniel Symons
Head of Campus (Secondary School)