6 May 2022

I hope you found some time to enjoy the absence of the morning school rush and packed lunch decisions over the break! We are 'all go' here. The teachers have been drafting Interim Reports over the break so you will be booking a time with the Base Group teacher this term to chat progress in whole child achievement and next steps for success in 2022.

I recognise the pressure that parents can put on themselves to do the 'right thing' for their children and so I thought some of you may find John Hattie's (Emeritus Professor at Melbourne University) and his son Kyle's (Year 6 teacher) recent publication '10 Steps to Develop Great Learners' interesting. You can have a listen to a short interview on RNZ here.

"Children don't go to school to learn stuff they already know." When John said this in the interview I thought.... well, exactly - then wondered how often do we expect children to get the 'right' answer or 100% in an assessment task? (This is schooling in days gone by.) Where is the challenge?

This sparked my interest so delving deeper into the description of the book....

"What concerned parents and carers can do to ensure their children, of all ages, develop great learning habits which help them achieve their maximum in school and in life."

Some of the topics explored include demonstrating openness to new ideas and thinking - so parents sharing mistake making and ways of strategising to solve problems, lots and lots of talking - sharing the 'language of learning', having appropriately high expectations and understanding the power of feedback. This is where all of the work on Growth Mindsets comes in too - with the "I can't do it YET" and the praise the process not the person to help get the move away from that culprit - perfectionism.

I love the title of this chapter, "I develop my child's skill, will and sense of thrill".

I think it will be something some of you may wish to read - it's good to have the whats, hows and maybes condensed into a list of 10 for ease, I think! So I've ordered it and will let you know when it arrives.

In the meantime, have a watch of our latest little vignette - this time an introduction to Character Strengths - these, too, go some of the way to develop the skill, will and sense of thrill!

Watch this short video featuring some of the staff and children:

You can order the laminated Character Strengths Poster on Online Payments for $5.

And, in the meantime, if you are interested in further reading around these topics, let me know - we have a variety of books we are happy to lend to you.