CONTINUING THE POSITIVE MOMENTUM!

Dear Parents and Carers,

Following our last newsletter on our strong start to the year, I’d like to expand on three key focus areas that are positively shaping our learning culture: Ready to Learn, Student Responsibilities in the Teaching & Learning Cycle, and the Learning Engagement Continuum

1. READY TO LEARN:

For students to engage in quality learning, they must begin each lesson prepared and ready to learn. Parents and carers can support this process at home by discussing readiness with their child each day and emphasising that, when we get the little things right, education can flourish. The nine simple yet effective steps that we are reinforcing with students have been outlined below. By developing a consistent approach, we hope that, together, we can create and foster an environment of success!

2. TEACHING AND LEARNING CYCLE - STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES:

At St John’s we truly believe that quality teaching can only occur when the school, parents/carers and students work together in a positive and constructive manner. An integral part of this is the relationship that exists between the teacher and the student within the classroom. While teachers have their own responsibilities within the learning cycle, we have outlined key student responsibilities in the learning process that will enable their education to thrive. 

• Know what you are learning and why: Understanding purpose strengthens engagement

• Be an active learner: While there are all different types of learners, growth only occurs when students move beyond passive participation
• Understand and reflect on feedback: It is important for our students to not feedback as teachers being critical of them, but rather an important part of the growth process. At the risk of repeating myself from last week, “if we can create a culture where everyone believes that they can improve, not because they are not good enough, but because they can be better, there is no limit to what we can achieve.” (Dylan Wiliam)
• Set goals and take actions to progress: If our students can seek feedback and understand what they need to do to improve, the next step is to take action! This is where the positive relationship between the teachers and students is important.
• Reflect on your progress and engage in tasks: Once the steps above have been engaged with, it is time to look back and reflect on areas of success and areas for improvement and continued growth.
• Deepen your skills and/or knowledge: I often say students should leave every day better than when they entered. If students are continually engaged in the teaching and learning cycle, they will not only grow as learners, but grow as life long learners when they graduate and enter the world

3. LEARNING ENGAGEMENT CONTINUUM:

Throughout the day, we are constantly encouraging students to assess their level of engagement—from disrupting, avoiding, and withdrawing to participating, investing, and driving their learning. More importantly, once we help them identify where they are on the continuum, we guide them in taking steps toward deeper commitment. A major success has been using this framework for positive behavior redirection. It has successfully turned behaviour conversations into deeper learning conversations, focusing on student self-reflection and growth mindset.

Below is a copy of the three images which are displayed in every classroom on the television screens, reinforcing our commitment to a focused, positive learning environment in partnership with students. 

Thank you for your continued support in fostering this culture of success!

James Eirth

Acting Principal