EQUALITY AND EQUITY

Last week I was fortunate to attend the NSW Catholic School Principals’ Conference in Sydney. Apart from a beautiful mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral, many of the highlights involved the presentations by various speakers and the conversations with colleagues which followed.

One of the presentations by Finnish Academic Pasi Sahlberg stood out for me. He spoke about numerous topics, including the increasing importance of student “Play Time” (even in secondary schools), however, the aspect I would like to share in this newsletter is the incredible link between the family and how students perform in testing measures.

In Australia, one of the greatest determinants as to whether a student will perform in testing measures is just how supported at home that child is in their education. This includes the extent to which a child has been supported in their early years of education as well as the extent to which students are provided for and encouraged in their education.

Accordingly, when we talk about partnerships at Magdalene, it is that ‘love of learning’ (one of our core values) which, if instilled from all levels, can have a fantastic outcome. This includes the value placed on education.

Emphasising the importance of education throughout a child’s school journey is important.  Developing a safe, supportive and encouraging home environment pays dividends. This might include the valuing of reading, the completion of homework, the provision of a suitable study area and/or coordinating regular time for this work. Everything we do and/or say will leave an impression of whether we genuinely value our child’s education and learning in general.

Sahlberg also commented very strongly on mobile devices. While remarkable in the degree of technology, access to others and the sheer information they can provide – they have the potential to be an extremely negative distractor to what we are trying to achieve.

I look forward to speaking more about this at future parent meetings and communicating more about our College’s approach to this and learning in general.

MAGDALENE SHINES

It is less than two weeks now until this exciting evening (Thursday June 13).

I encourage all students, parents and carers to join us in a fabulous night of performances across a range of disciplines (from Drama to Dance to Music). In particular, we are very much looking forward to seeing our Year 12s perform in their Year 12 Act in what is their last “Magdalene Shines”.

COMMUNICATION WITH THE COLLEGE

Many of you would have heard me speaking at various Information Nights over recent years about the importance of communication (and quality communication).

I stand by this and encourage parents/carers to continue to use a broad range of measures to communicate with staff. This can range from using the College diary, to calling the College Office to speak directly with staff members or sending staff members an email.

Typically, staff will reply within two business days. Occasionally, however, there may be a staff absence or factor which can complicate matters.

If a staff member hasn’t replied within that timeframe do feel free to contact the Office to assist you in receiving further assistance or having the matter dealt with appropriately by another staff member or coordinator. It is critical that positive relationships are maintained at all times as, while our staff will endeavour to remain professional, they do not have to accept being spoken to poorly or with tone, anger or aggression. In such cases, parents/carers may be directed immediately to myself.

The Catholic Education Office Wollongong is in the process of creating a “Parent Charter” which clearly outlines the responsibilities and general courtesies which are expected and involved with having a child in a Catholic School in the Wollongong Diocese. While we are fortunate to have the parent/carer body that we do, it is important to note that in extreme cases in other schools, student enrolments have been rescinded due to a parent/carer’s lack of civility, rudeness or even defamation of a staff member.

Mr Matthew McMahon

Principal