The start of a new academic year comes with a mix of emotions and expectations for students, teachers and parents. From new goals to conquer, dreams and aspirations to pursue, the comfort of familiar surrounds and friends, to nervous anticipation, daunting challenges and at times maybe feeling a little lost. These emotions are shared by both students and teachers. Children experiencing a wide range of emotions is normal. I too confess I felt a little nervous driving into the Orana carpark on the first day back, something my children still find rather amusing.
However, after settling back into the staffroom, being surrounded by a team of motivated and devoted colleagues, I could feel the excitement rise. Chatter about new units of work, preparation for camps already under way, and care being taken to map out the best possible learning journey for our students – it is lovely to be back at Orana. Back in a school where relationships between students and teachers are treasured, and where students are able to transfer what they have learned in one class to another. Pedagogical conversations around the world hold this style of learning in such high regard, and regular schools continually fail to understand how to achieve this. However, this is a normal breathing part of our learning at Orana; something which truly sets our students apart from others.
As a team of High School and Senior College teachers, we have spent time talking about our focus for the year, and several points keep rising to the surface.
- Firstly, our aim is to lift the expectations of all students. The disruption of COVID like we saw in 2020 and 2021 is behind us. It is now time to lift our heads and set our sights a little higher.
- Secondly, we will be working with students to learn to “make the uncomfortable comfortable”. How do we encourage students to persevere, to challenge themselves, support each other, and ask for help?
- And finally, our Guardians have shared with us all the behavioural expectations of Respect, Effort, Safety and Self-Responsibility which will help to define the way we conduct ourselves.
Please feel free to make yourself known to me. Successfully educating a child can only be achieved if the partnership between the school and the family is on built on positive lines of communication. The teachers and I are looking forward to sharing your child’s learning with you.
Susan Pascoe
Acting Deputy Principal High School and Senior College.
