From the Deputy Principal

Reports

Student reports will be available to parents later this term. Reports will be in their usual midyear format but printed copies will no longer be sent home. Copies of reports will be available on the St Paul Lutheran School App to all families at the same time, or via the St Paul Parent Portal which can be found under the ‘Contact Us’ tab on the school website. 

These reports are an important check point for families in terms of gauging student growth. But as teaching and learning evolves to account for, and encourage new skills and dispositions required for future success, our understanding of achievement, success, feedback and assessment also needs to progress. 

Most of us went to school at a time when student assessment and success was based on a paradigm of accountability. Teachers and schools proved they were good by meeting a very set criteria and model for assessment; tests and exams. Education was a cyclical process of curriculum delivery and student recount. Throughout this process, student success was clearly defined by percentages and university entry and an entire generation (or more) of children had a very clear notion of how ‘smart or dumb’ they were. Unfortunately this archetype is still very much an influence on the practice of schools and universities, but the world that awaits students outside this model has changed. 

A simple grade or mark does not give the true, detailed story of what is taking place in the classroom. As the focus of the teacher turns more to the process of learning than the product, feedback on a day by day, lesson by lesson basis rather than grading, becomes the teacher’s priority.

Students will be mindful of reports going home and anxious about the follow up conversations at home. It is easy to focus on the grades in these conversations but this dismisses the hard work and progress of students. If we can demonstrate to students that we value their effort prior to the report coming home, we might learn a lot more than what the grade can tell us.

School Drop Off and Pick Up 

Please use the school kiss and drop zones, or park safely at the park or on surrounding streets when picking up/dropping students off to school. A number of reports have come in lately of dangerous drop off and pick up points along Audrey Ave in particular. Please consider the safety of everyone (the public included) when dropping off/picking up. The consequences of unsafe habits could be tragic. 

Jason Fay | Deputy Principal