ACHIEVEMENT, GROWTH AND THE RESILIENCE PROJECT

Semester 2 Reports will be available to parents at 4pm on Friday 16 December. These reports will summarise where your child is at in each subject (Working with Assistance, Working Towards the Standard, Working at the Standard, Working Beyond the Standard). There will also be a Mentor Teacher’s Report, MYLNS and Instrumental Music (if relevant). We ask you to spend some time looking at the rubrics attached to the CAT Learning Tasks which will give you more detail regarding where your child is on the skills continuum and strategies for improvement. Please note, if your child has not progressed in one or two criteria, it does not necessarily mean that they have NOT shown growth. Sometimes there has been growth in almost all of the sub-skills in the level above, but not all. This is usually reflected in the comments in the feedback.

We believe it is very important to take a strength-based approach, especially when working with young people. We remind parents to name and celebrate the strengths/growth of your child regularly. It is important for young people to hear their parents praise and support and the research indicates it has an impact on their attitude to learning.

We know that each child has their own starting point and their own growth journey. Our job as teachers and parents is to know what each child is capable of, to have high but realistic expectations and importantly to support them in their learning journey so that they feel empowered to learn (not afraid of failing).

In 2023 we have partnered with The Resilience Project which to teach students positive strategies to prevent mental ill-heath and build young peoples’ capacity to deal with adversity. We will be implementing their evidence – based Teaching and Learning Program through our mentor program, extra-curricular wellbeing program, staffroom and school community. Early next year you will have access to a parent portal which will give you resources, ideas, and practical tips on how to support your child with gratitude, empathy and mindfulness (GEM).

Over the holidays you might like to listen to the podcast led by Hugh van Cuylenburg (founder of The Resilience Project) which is all about how ‘perfectly imperfect’ we are. The panel chat to a variety of interesting people who share their struggles and imperfections in the hope that the listener will learn some valuable take-aways we can apply to our own imperfect lives. https://theresilienceproject.com.au/at-home/podcasts/

Wishing you all a great summer break, and I am looking forward to working with you again in 2023!