Message from the Principal 

James Penson 

LEADING EDUCATION FOR RECONCILIATION

I believe it is really important that as a school we take a leadership role in education for reconciliation. 

This was made even more apparent to me at the Education State Principal’s Conference a couple of weeks ago when one of the presenters Toby Adams (from Leading with Strength) asked all the hundreds of principals in the room to stand up if you were indigenous. I counted only 6 principals. The point he was making is that the responsibility for Education for Reconciliation falls on the shoulders of the non-indigenous people who were in the room. As School leaders we have a duty and responsibility to lead their communities on the reconciliation journey.

 

As a Principal team, Janine and I will use forums like our newsletter, assemblies and other school events to help grow our knowledge and a deeper appreciation about our history in the belief that through education, better outcomes and understanding can occur. 

 

Today, we share some ideas about what you need to know about the Uluru Statement from the Heart. This was something referenced by our new Prime Minister on election night and it is something every Australian needs to know about.

 

What you need to know about the Uluru Statement from the Heart:

 

More than 250 years ago, Captain Cook landed in what we now call Australia. When he arrived on this ship, the Endeavour, there were many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations. They are called First Nations, because they were here before Captain Cook’s ship.

 

First Nations people, or Indigenous people, have lived in and cared for Australia for more than 60,000 years. They survived two ice ages. They cared for the land and the animals. And are the longest continuous culture in the world.

 

Captain Cook took all Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander lands and gave them to Britain. When the lands of the First Nations were renamed Australia, the Indigenous people were not included in the discussion on how we work together as a country. They were ignored and treated badly.

 

In 2017, Indigenous people from all around the country met at Uluru for a very special meeting. They had big talks, and they wrote the Uluru Statement from the Heart. This document explains to all Australians how we can find our heart.

 

The Uluru Statement from the Heart suggests that First Nations people should have a Voice, and we should have Treaty and Truth. 

 

A Voice is a way for First Nations people to talk to Australia. And our hope is for it to be added to the Constitution, because the Constitution is Australia’s rule book, and if the Voice is in the rules, it will always be there to help decide that happens in this country.

 

A Treaty is an agreement. Because we all need to agree how we can live together.

 

The Truth is so we all know what has happened. So we never lose our heart again.

 

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people would like us to share the Uluru Statement from the Heart so that together we can find Australia’s heart. Our heart.

 

Written by Thomas Mayor in “Finding Our Heart” a picture story book illustrated by Blak Dounglas.

 

In the newsletter next week and as part of our Naidoc Week focus I will publish the full Uluru Statement from the Heart. In the meantime, if you would like to find out more here is a link:   

 

Home - Uluru Statement from the Heart

 


STAFF PROFESSIONAL LEARNING UPDATE

 

Our staff had a very powerful and productive day last Friday. As the saying goes, a picture says 1,000 words - so here is a 5,000 word summary of the day! 

 

 

The focus for the day which was organised by Janine Hough was “Developing a Connection to Country”. Our staff worked with Shelley Ware to plan NAIDOC week learning tasks and a mini inquiry for next term focused on embedding Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander culture and history into our everyday curriculum. Shelley is an expert curriculum consultant and she actually wrote this year’s NAIDOC Week resources that are being sent to schools for the theme Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!


SEMESTER 1 - STUDENT REPORTS

Next Thursday, you will be able to access your child's Semester 1 Report via Compass. This report forms one element of our Continuous Reporting Program and follows the student work sample and matching teacher assessments for writing and maths this term. Our effort behind Continuous Reporting is to provide parents and carers with more frequent communication about your child/ren’s progress and assist you to develop a deeper understanding of how you child is assessed throughout the school year.

 

This semester, both Janine and myself have been impressed by the effort that our students have put into their learning. Whilst we keep a close eye on the academic outcomes, we also looked carefully at the assessment of each student’s effort and attitude. To us, these are the most important indicators of future success and being able to fulfil potential.

 

I was also really impressed with the way our students have reflected on their learning through detailed and insightful comments in the “Student Self-Reflection” section. This part of the learning cycle, which is known as metacognition, is critically important. Effective learning involves planning and goal setting, monitoring ones progress and adapting as needed. By supporting our students to develop agency in their learning (which can be learnt) our students can improve their learning outcomes.

The key in all of this is to remember that a student's ability to become a self-regulated (i.e., metacognitive) learner is understanding that one's ability to learn is a skill that develops over time rather than a fixed trait, inherited at birth. Students who believe that the ability to learn can improve over time have greater levels of achievement, even after controlling for prior achievement (Henderson and Dweck, 1990). These students set reasonable learning goals for themselves and have the self-efficacy to choose and use productive learning strategies. These strategies then result in learning gains. Moreover, students can be taught that their ability to learn can improve over time; those who learn this simple lesson show increased motivation to learn and improved grades (Aronson et al., 2002; Blackwell et al., 2007).

Here is a selection of student reflections from our 2022 Semester 1 Reports. I think you will agree that they provide clear evidence of our student’s increasing ability to articulate the specific strategies they are using in their learning in different subject areas, and most importantly their growing commitment to being responsible learners. 

 

My academic goal I achieved was understanding the narrative structure because I used to just write “they defeated the dragon” at the end now I write “the mighty warrior defeated the evil dragon and the town celebrated at sunset”. A personal goal I achieved was focusing because I used to not focus and ask the person next to me. Now I listen and do everything myself. I learn better in a group because they give me feedback like if I get a question wrong, they won’t give me the answer but they’ll help me get the answer. I’m fine making mistakes because I use grit” – Greenhills student.

 

This semester an academic goal I had was to use strategies from Maths Games. Last year, I only used my brain in Maths Games. A personal goal I have was to be patient because I always go ahead without instructions. I am a learner who works best in groups and teams. I work best because if I don’t know what to do, my peers are there to support me. Another example is when we work together, we can share our ideas and use our student voice – Greenhills student

 

A highlight for me this year so far has been writing a full page narrative. Something that helps me learn is working in a quiet space and I enjoy working with a partner. I am proud of all my achievements in maths especially learning to count by 5’s. An area I would like to improve on is remembering which reading strategies to use when reading tricky words – Greenhills student

 

Starting Prep this year has been amazing because it is so fun and I never want to leave! I have made lots of new friends who I love playing with. I have enjoyed being able to do science. My favourite was the blubber experiment where we learnt about how to keep warm in the cold. I am proud of trying my hardest to keep filling up my bucket with hard work and showing kindness. A goal I have been working on is making sure I stay on the lines when I am doing writing – Greenhills student

 

I have realty enjoyed writing this year. I like watching people make it up onto the bump it up wall. I am trying to make it into the wall soon. I am proud of when I concentrate really hard and get all my work done – Greenhills student

 

A highlight of my year so far has been maths. When Mr Ymer came into our class and taught us a fun maths game called “race to the moon 5”. We play this game a lot and it’s lots of fun. Something that helps me learn is picture prompt writing. Picture prompts give me ideas of what to write about when I can’t think of anything. Something I have improved in is music. I enjoy the games we play with Mrs Stewart, I feel like I’m enjoying it a lot more than last year especially because it’s not on Seesaw – Greenhills student 

 

A highlight of my year so far would be swimming and the billy cart race. The billy cart race was really interesting because we’ve never done anything like that before at school. I feel lucky that I was at school during this time – Greenhills student

 

A highlight from this year so far is music. I love the sounds of music and it makes my ears want to jump. Another highlight is swimming because I like the feel of water and how it makes my skin feel. Something I have improved in is writing. At the start of the year I couldn’t write sentences and now I write full sentences and know my sounds. I have also improved in reading because I can now sound out the words – Greenhills student

 

A highlight this semester has been Smiling Minds Day because I got to meet lots of different teachers and go into different classrooms. It was so much fun. I really enjoyed the being grateful one with Miss Jones and showing patience with Mrs Emmerling – Greenhills student

 

A highlight this semester has been racing in the amazing billy cart race, because I think me and my awesome friend both had fun with extremely rocketing communication! In my learning I am proud of my maths with Miss Stephens because the work that I did was hard but I got through it and I like solving the problems – Greenhills student

 

I loved Action Teams and Girls Education because I love my ideas as well as hearing peoples suggestions on how they can make an impact in girls education in our school. I think Girls Education is a strong topic and we can support girls in our  school to make them feel safe and encourage them to get out of their comfort zone – Greenhills student

 

You can see what I mean! How wonderful are they?! I was particularly impressed with our students growing reference and of course association with using grit in their learning. This is something that we have been focusing on this term as part of our Student Agency & Learning Model.  

 

I encourage you to download and print your child’s report and then read it with them. In particular, have a close look at the Learning Confidence / Attitude section completed by both the teacher and the student. You might like to discuss any differences that you notice between these two assessments and unpack more of what that could mean with your child.  


SOME IMPORTANT DATES FOR TERM 3

In the 'Dates to Remember' section of the Newsletter this week, I have included a Term 3 calendar. This provides families with a list of dates for the different activities we have organised next term. 

 

Four of the most important dates to remember is:

  • Wednesday 27th July – Family Partnerships Night – Maths for Parents with Michael Ymer
  • Wednesday 8th August – Curriculum Day – STEAM Focus
  • Tuesday 30th August – Student Led Conferences (Variation to School Hours Day). On this day students only attend school for the duration of their conference. We will then be running individual Student Led Conferences for students and their parents / carers from 9.00am until 6.50pm on this day.
  • Monday & Tuesday 12th & 13th September – Whole school Production

LAST DAY OF TERM – FINISH AT 2.30PM

A reminder that on our last day this term, Friday 24th June we will finish at 2.30pm. Our assembly will be filmed and the Clickview link sent out via Compass