Tracking Learning
No doubt the Mid Course Reports for Years 7-11 would have made for interesting reading for parents and sparked some conversations at the dinner table about the progress of their child. There should have been clear suggestions on the areas of improvement that students need to work on for each subject.
In the Term 3 Pastoral Care Program in Weeks 3-6, teachers will be focusing on the progress of your child and assisting them in resetting their goals for Semester Two. In the next week, students in Years 7-10 will complete a WRAP (Wellbeing Report on Academic Progress) survey on their learning and wellbeing with the results being used by their Pastoral Care teacher to start a conversation with them, one on one, to discuss how they can improve throughout Semester Two. It is important that your child learns to monitor their own learning and reflect on their progress in relation to goals they have set. A Learning Action Plan will be developed that includes improvement goals, strategies for improvement and a timeframe for completion. Once completed, parents should be able to see and discuss their child’s plan with them. Any goals students set need to be SMART goals, which I am positive you have heard of before.
SMART goals stand for: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-specific. It would be helpful if your child writes their adjusted goals down and sticks them up on their bedroom wall if they don’t do so already. It will regularly remind them of their intended targets especially when they may be lacking motivation to study or complete school work. If their goals are vague or confusing, not written down and don’t really aim to achieve something specific in their learning, then they most likely will achieve what they aimed for, little improvement. It would be like trying to hit a dartboard with a dart in the dark, you might get lucky but in most circumstances you will miss the intended target. The same principles can be applied to any area of their life they are trying to improve. We want every child to succeed in their learning and co-curricular endeavours and achieve their personal best, regardless of where their starting point is. We hope this initiative assists them in their journey of improvement this year.
Parent Teacher Nights
Thank you for all the parents who attended the Years 7-11 Parent Teacher nights at the end of last term and over the last two weeks to discuss their child’s progress. We encourage you to discuss with your child what their goals are for Semester Two so you can gauge how they are progressing as they receive assessment results back. Information sessions on Effective Study Skills were held for Years 7, 9, 10 and 11 with a Subject Selection session for Year 8 for 2019 electives choices. Thank you for all parents who attended the sessions, hopefully you found them informative, engaging and useful to supporting your child.
College Calendar and Upcoming events
Please be reminded that the College Calendar can be accessed through the Parent Portal. It is a live calendar, constantly being updated. There are so many different events on throughout the term including co-curricular, sport, excursions, incursions and assessments. You are able to filter the calendar to find what you are looking for. If you are unable to access the Parent Portal or would like more information on the College Calendar it can be found on pages 68-69 of the Parent and Student Handbook or you can call the Admin Office on 9608 0033 for assistance.
Please pray for the students in Year 12 who will be sitting their HSC Trial Examinations in Weeks 4-5 this term along with the preparation for the South West Festival on Saturday 25 August. The Festival has not been held for a few years due to wet weather and building programs. It is always a great community event and we would love to see all families attend and enjoy the food, stalls and activities organised for the day.
Lines of Communication
If you need to contact the College, we would encourage you to use the following lines of communication that will assist you in speaking with the right person to resolve any enquiry/concern you may have as quickly as possible.
I encourage parents to keep the College informed of anything that you feel may impact your child’s performance or behaviour at the College so that we can support and assist them.
“But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14
Mr Hugh Renshaw
Acting Head of Senior School