I enjoyed meeting many parents at our Parent/Student/Teacher Interviews on Wednesday this week. I am pleased that staff and parents have embraced the option of meeting either face-to-face or via Teams. I think we all appreciate the flexibility this technology provides us. Parent teacher meetings demonstrate the commitment that parents and teachers have to our three-way partnership centred on the student.
 
Research tells us that parents who are actively engaged in their children’s education produce better performing students. Constructive parental involvement in the education process makes more difference to student results than socio-economic background, ability test scores or type of school. Hence, we at Sacred Heart are grateful to have engaged parents and healthy and motivated students.
 
In a recent article published by the ABC, Dr Justin Coulson says that there are three psychological needs that underpin our motivation and our wellbeing:

1. Relatedness - good relationships with parents, friends and teachers.
2. Feeling competent and able to tackle the work.
3. Autonomy - having some choices in what we do and how we do it.

I was reassured when I did a mental audit of our College against these three factors. 
 
Relatedness is a core part of our village. We strive to have a safe and happy school where students are included and respected, challenged and encouraged and proud of their school (see our Student Code of Conduct HERE). 
 
Students feel competent when they find an activity that they achieve growth in and gain enjoyment from within our broad range of subjects and co-curricular activities. 
  
This year, we have strived to listen to our student voice, so they have autonomy and choices. Our Years 11 and 12 Independent Learning Days give students the chance to be responsible for their own learning.

Dr Coulson encourages parents to have high expectations. He cites research by University of Florida Professor, Ellen Amatea, which found that “Having high expectations is about genuinely believing in your kids and their ability to do well, not just ordering them to work hard at school.”  E.g. “I expect you to do well, and I'm here to support you and create an environment where you can."

Amatea’s research reinforces the idea that often, when children do well at school, they have come from families that are emotionally warm and caring with strong leadership and clear expectations.

Coulson also talks about encouraging children to reflect on how they do well, rather than simply praising them for good results.  Carol Dweck’s Mindset talks about praising effort rather than results. We want students to have a ‘growth mindset,’ to know that if they practise and try, they can improve their grades. Students with a growth mindset do not accept that their abilities are fixed. They are metacognitive because they reflect on their learning; what went well, what didn’t and what they need to do next time.

Finally, Coulson argues that we need to keep an open mind about what success at school looks like. None of us should ever think that academic success alone determines our worth. We should understand and respect what a child's individual strengths and interests are. That might not mean an academic pathway.

"We have a society that promotes this idea that university is the ultimate goal, and if you're going to go into a trade, you mustn't have been very good at school. And I think that that is just offensive", Dr Coulson says.

AFL coaches call the third quarter the premiership quarter. This is the term when students must reflect on their first Semester results and set new goals. I encourage our Year 10s, who are currently choosing upper school subjects, to work hard to maximise their opportunities. If we don’t work hard, we will never know what our potential is. It would be very sad to reflect later in life on “What might have been?" Similarly, our Year 11s need to ensure they have a great base to set themselves up for their final year of schooling. 
 
We have all been immensely proud of our Class of 2021, our Year 12s who have remained upbeat and optimistic despite the disruptions of the pandemic. Their mature and committed approach to their studies is a credit to them and their families. They know there are only 10 weeks left of secondary schooling. I encourage all of them to cherish every moment and not to wish it away. 
 
Work hard. Be the best you can be.

Last Sunday’s Gospel was the very well known story of the Feeding of the 5,000. It is such a significant event that it is the only one of Jesus’ miracles recorded in all four Gospels. 

Other versions of this story tell us that MORE than 5,000 were fed (they hadn’t included the women and children!), and there was an abundance left over. Jesus blesses the lunch that a young man shares and, thanks to God’s generosity, this feeds everyone and more. This generosity is the point of the miracle -  God modelling to us how our lives can be overflowing with love and support for each other.  
 
Last week, I shared with you about the RNDM Sisters sharing their lives and goods with those they work with and care about. They, too, are responding with gratitude to the gifts that God has given them, for God can only give good things, and we are called to cooperate with this. They write that: “Pope Francis invites and encourages the faithful to be people who bring the tenderness of Jesus to our loved ones, to close friends and, in a special way, to the most needy brothers and sisters who face illness, abandonment and loneliness, so that they can feel the joy of God’s mercy and closeness in their lives.” 
 
You can read about their responses, and why they feel called to help so deeply, HERE.

"Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and gave them out to all who were sitting ready." - John 6:1-15
 
Grace moves God’s people to ask questions grounded in the call we received at Baptism: how do we better nourish, accompany, give witness, support, invite, welcome, engage and be present to others, such that we all grow in holiness? (Prayerful and Eucharistic – Discernment Paper, p.6)

More information about the call to Fan the Flame can be found HERE.
 

One takeaway from The Active Healthy Kids Australia 2018 Report Card was the need for schools to develop a productive narrative around integrating physical activity during the school day. And, of course, all schools do this extensively in their Health and Physical Education programs and in their extended co-curricular programs.

But here at Sacred Heart we asked the question about whether this was enough or whether we could leverage these research findings more holistically. We looked for other ways to position our school as a place where students “learn to move and move to learn”.

And then it clicked: Independent Learning.

Independent Learning 2.0 this term has a broadened format with a range of wellbeing activities available to students at the start and end of the day. We have asked student to reframe their thinking about a ‘school day’ and, instead, think of a ‘work day’ that extends from 7:30am - 5:00pm.

Why this change?
 
As adults and independent workers, we learn to manage our time across the day and balance activities and expectations to achieve our goals. We have this same hope for our students, and we have reframed the Independent Learning model to encourage such balance and personal responsibility, and to create a deliberate space for wellbeing.
 
Years 11 and 12 students have been encouraged to plan their day around blocks of activity (just like we do as adults), with a balance of organised study, wellbeing time and moments just to breathe. Study is the priority for the day and students know to block in a minimum of 4-5 hours with a least one hour of wellbeing time. And we are helping: students can book into a morning or afternoon activity either on-campus or off-campus: surfing, bounce/jump/fly, outdoor fitness, basketball, climbing or gym for starters. Much of this program is thanks to the vision of Mr Paul Delane, Head of Outdoor Education, and his passion for moving to learn and his deep commitment to student wellbeing.
 
It’s just one more way that we see our students holistically and seek to grow their sense of agency and independence. Watch this wellbeing space as we live out our mission to be Always Striving Upwards!
 

Mr Steve Martin
Director of Finance and Corporate Services

Mrs Jannine Johnston
Senior College Psychologist

Mrs Tanya Atherton
Head of Gifted and Talented

Mrs Tanya Atherton
Head of Gifted and Talented

The CPAF has officially begun following last week's Opening Mass at St Mary's Cathedral and what a week it has been!

It has been great to see so many parents attending these events. A reminder that we ask all audience members to only post photos or videos of their own child on social media and not publish any group photos. Not all students at Sacred Heart College have permission to be on these sites and we ask all parents to respect these requests.