“A community is a group of people who agree to grow together,” Simon Sinek

It has been a wonderful start to 2023, with students and staff returning to the College refreshed and eager to connect and learn. Parent Welcome (Primary) and Meet the Mentor (Secondary) evenings are valuable opportunities to connect with community and learning – and we appreciate the time and commitment of staff and parents in attending these evenings. As Week 4 ends, we hope that school and home schedules and routines are starting to settle for students, while a sense of belonging and an enthusiasm for learning is continuing to strengthen.

The phrase “it takes a village to raise a child” originates from an African proverb and is relevant as we strive as a St Andrew’s community to empower our students, from Prep through to Year 12, with an enduring curiosity for learning, a strong sense of self-efficacy, the capacity to achieve and flourish in their daily lives and the skills and capabilities to walk confidently into their futures.

Numerous studies identify that quality teaching is the most significant in-school factor affecting student achievement, and staff at St Andrew’s were fortunate to commence this year with a presentation by Jan Owen AM about preparing our young people to thrive in the new work order. Through 2023, staff will be continuing to cultivate a culture of thinking in our classrooms and focusing on refining and improving teaching practices based on existing and emerging research and evidence.

Another significant influence on student learning and growth is parental engagement and support. Completing a synthesis of factors affecting student achievement, Marzano (2000) concluded that one third of the variance in student achievement could be predicted by factors relating to students’ home environment. Interestingly, the kinds of parent engagement and behaviours that most influence students’ achievement might not be what you expect. In two separate meta-analyses (Fan & Chen, 2001; Jeynes, 2007), parental expectations and the consistency and regularity of communication supporting high academic aspirations was found to be significantly influential for student learning and achievement (surpassing the impact of monitoring homework or supervising free time).

Families have an important role in helping children to become confident and motivated learners. In encouraging and supporting your child/ren in their learning, it is important to share your high aspirations for their learning, encourage and develop in them an internal desire to learn, persist and strive for their personal best, and regularly share in the joy of learning. We encourage you to focus on the process of learning and growth, rather than on results and achievements alone, by helping students develop consistent study and reading habits, encouraging thinking, wondering and asking of questions, and regularly talking about school and learning with your child.

Finally, as a parent, I understand the frustration in enquiring about the school day and being met with a younger child’s “I don’t know” or a more adolescent “fine”. Open-ended and specific questions will require children to think and should elicit more than a one-word response, so I leave you this week, with a variety of starter questions suitable for various ages that might provide some insight into your child’s learning:

What did you enjoy most about school today?

What did you learn today that you didn’t know before?

What was the most interesting new thing you learned today?

What was something that challenged you to think today?

What was something that puzzled you today?

What made you feel most proud of yourself today?

What subject/topic are you most interested in at the moment?

Of course, in a learning and caring community, a question for any day is, “What was the kindest thing you did for someone else today?”

References:

_{Fan, X., & Chen, M. (2001). Parental Involvement and students’ academic achievement: A meta-analysis. Educational Psychology Review , 13(1), 1-22.}

_{Jeynes, W. H. (2007). The relationship between parental involvement and urban secondary student achievement: A meta-analysis. Urban Education , 42(1), 82-110.}

_{Marzano, R.J. (2000). A new era of school reform: Going where the research takes us. Aurora, CO: Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning.}