On Sunday we celebrate all the wonderful women in our lives. The mothers, grandmothers, step-mothers, aunts, friends and carers who have supported, influenced and shaped us in to who we are today. I look forward to sharing in the activities planned this afternoon in the ELC to say thanks to the special ladies in the lives of our Prep and Year 1 students. Our Mother’s Day High Tea on Saturday has been sold out with more tables and guests than last year rsvp’ing and more parents calling throughout this week to purchase tickets. This level of community engagement and involvement from our parent body in what was a beautiful event last year is such a positive outcome and we are thrilled to be able to share in such a special occasion. I believe there are some special messages from daughters to be shared during the morning and I look forward to enjoying the delicious food, entertainment and company alongside the wonderful women who will be in attendance.
On Thursday evening our Parents and Friends Association held their monthly meeting where there were many discussions about the events planned for the year ahead. I would encourage as many members of our school community to join in with these meetings which are held on the first Thursday of every month. Parents who are unable to physically attend, especially parents of boarders have the ability to link in remotely via zoom. Family involvement is always welcome by the P&F in the lead up to and during events such as the Trivia Night on Saturday 4 June. Whether this be by volunteering to assist on the evening or joining in by getting a table of friends together to enjoy an adults only evening of trivia, food, drinks and fun while raising money for our P&F. All parents and friends of the school are welcome to attend the next P&F Meet and Greet on Wednesday 18 May between 1.30pm - 2.30pm in the ELC prior to primary assembly which is a great opportunity to meet other parents of Girls Grammar over some afternoon tea.
This coming week our Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 students will be participating in the National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN), online. During Term 1 these girls participated in NAPLAN pre-sit testing which they engaged in again during the first week of this term, and the results showed a significant improvement in the questions that were re-tested. This indicates that the learning our teachers are engaging students in is having a positive impact on their academic growth.
For our Year 3 students this is the first time they will have experienced NAPLAN, and for all of our girls, the first time they will have done so online. I would like to remind them and you, their parents that this test doesn’t measure all that is important about each of them. It is a point in time measure of literacy and numeracy skills and doesn’t take in to account all areas of learning and the individual strengths each student displays across the many valuable and individual talents. The people who write and mark these tests don’t know each of our girls like our teachers do and especially not in the way you know them. I encourage our girls who sit NAPLAN next week to try not to put pressure on themselves, to give it their best as these tests fail to demonstrate who they are as individuals and what makes them unique in the other areas they shine in which are just as important.
The messages delivered by myself, Dr Fry and Ms Kelly at this week’s assembly was one of acceptance and inclusion, encouraging our secondary students to use their own moral compass to guide the way in which they think, react and engage with their peers. An astounding and powerful statistic was shared in the short clip I played to the girls which stated that ‘team performance improves by 50% when everyone feels included’ to me, team performance doesn’t just mean academic results represented by a numerical figure, but the collective culture and positivity and attitudes of a group. I spoke to the girls about how they choose to look at themselves, the impact they have on those around them based on the manner in which they engage with their peers. I encourage you to view the clip I played https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g88Ju6nkcg on acceptance, inclusion and diversity as this ties directly with our school values and focus area 2; ‘a unique culture of personalised care’
Kara Krehlik
Principal
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