Principal's Newsletterwwwww Thursday, 9 May 2019
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Principal's Newsletterwwwww Thursday, 9 May 2019 Years 7-12 Pre-Prep-Year 6 Pre-Kindy-Year 4 North Ward Annandale North Shore 45 Paxton Street 1 Brazier Drive 70-90 North Shore Blvd NORTH WARD QLD 4810 ANNANDALE QLD 4814 NORTH SHORE QLD 4818 From the Principal Dear Parents Following the Easter break, the students and staff are back into full swing of school life. Whilst the beginning of term was challenging, the first term was a successful one with the majority of students setting a base from which to launch towards a successful year. On reading the Term 1 interim reports the overwhelmingly positive diligence well worth watching on the internet if you have the time. results clearly demonstrate the students’ commitment to their studies. The Whilst the second part of the speech is equally impressive, I have included some term ahead is an intense one with many curricular and co-curricular activities of Ms Rowling’s comments below on how failure can inspire success. packed into a short period of time. To get the most out of this term it is essential that students organise themselves well and plan ahead. It is important that “So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a each of them spends some time, if not having done so already, outlining their stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything goals, for inside and outside the classroom, as well as identifying strategies that other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work will assist them in attaining their goals. that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged. I was Our school is a busy place as is evidenced by the number of significant events set free, because my greatest fear had been realised, and I was still alive, and I still had discussed in this newsletter. In the last week of Term 1, Annandale campus a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock enjoyed Grandparents and Special Friends’ Day and North Shore students bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life. celebrated with an Easter Bonnet Parade. In the same week, students on our North Ward campus were involved in our inaugural Camps & Activities Week You might never fail on the scale I did, but some failure in life is inevitable. It is which was a resounding success with a great deal of positive feedback received. impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you Already this term, we have held our ANZAC Services and the choir represented might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default. the School at the Dawn Service on The Strand. Pro Diligentia Assemblies have Failure gave me an inner security that I had never attained by passing examinations. also been held where those students demonstrating consistently high level Failure taught me things about myself that I could have learned no other way. I diligence to their studies were recognised. discovered that I had a strong will, and more discipline than I had suspected; I also found out that I had friends whose value was truly above the price of rubies. The Benefits of Failure The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that Throughout life we all will, at some stage, be required to deal with disappointment. you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive. You will never truly know yourself, Schools, as microcosms of broader society, are no different. Each day we may or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity. Such have students who are disappointed with their results in an examination, or knowledge is a true gift, for all that it is painfully won, and it has been worth more disappointed because they did not make the team they would like to be in, or than any qualification I ever earned. disappointed because they were not selected for a leadership position they desire. How individuals deal with a setback or (perceived) failure is critical to So, given a Time Turner, I would tell my 21-year-old self that personal happiness lies in their own emotional and physical well-being as well as their own success in the knowing that life is not a check-list of acquisition or achievement. Your qualifications, future. your CV, are not your life, though you will meet many people of my age and older who confuse the two. Life is difficult, and complicated, and beyond anyone’s total control, Some years ago, JK Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series, delivered what and the humility to know that will enable you to survive its vicissitudes.” is called the Commencement Address to the alumni of Harvard University. The title of her speech was ‘The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of It is essential our boys and girls learn to understand that failure, and the Imagination’. By weaving her own life story through this speech, Ms Rowling was corresponding disappointment that comes with it, are a natural part of life able to give a wonderfully insightful, inspirational and humorous address – it is and they are inevitable experiences in one form or other at some point. As Ms Rowling suggests failure, in time, can be seen as a learning experience from which as a learning experience. It is essential that students develop resilience to much good can come. Furthermore, we should not avoid taking opportunities disappointment, as it is a given that they will not always attain all they wish, whilst because of the chance of failing as, in itself, this is a form of failure. maintaining confidence to continue to push themselves forward and to take calculated risks. The environment provided by a school should support students Leading child psychologist, Dr Michael Carr-Gregg, in his book Surviving Year 12: to reach for their potential whilst providing a cushion for when they do not attain A sanity kit for students and their parents promotes the following strategies for their desired objective. As a community developing young people of character, students when dealing with disappointment: we do want students to give it a go, accept their disappointments and continue “It’s only human to focus on what we have lost or missed out on, and in doing so we with passion to reach for their goals. can easily lose sight of what is important in our lives – our health, our family, our When discussing the benefits of working towards goals without fear of friends and how much we really do have – so maintain your perspective! disappointment or failure, Dr Carr-Gregg quotes American novelist Thomas It’s always easier to accept disappointment when you know you’ve tried your hardest, Eugene Roberts who said, “We pay just as dearly for our triumphs as we do for our so remember that you gave it your best on the day! defeats. Go ahead and fail. But fail with wit, fail with grace, fail with style. A mediocre failure is as insufferable as a mediocre success. Embrace failure! Seek it out. Learn When I experience a setback, I ask myself, what did I learn from this experience? See to love it. That may be the only way any of us will ever be free.” We do want our if you can use this as an opportunity to evaluate what changes you need to make to students to always strive hard for success, accept it if it does not occur, and push improve your chances of success next time. on with enthusiasm and focus. Change your focus – look ahead, not back and set new goals.” Yours sincerely Dr Carr-Gregg’s strategies provide a good starting point when managing disappointment. It is understandable that, at times, our students will take TIMOTHY J. KELLY some setbacks to heart if they have worked hard towards a goal. If not put Principal into perspective, disappointment can create negativity rather than being used From the Director of Studies New Queensland Certificate of Education Student Assessment Activities Years 7-11 As a School, we have embraced the new ATAR model that all current Year 11 You can now view an individual breakdown of your child’s assessment activities students will use through to graduation in Year 12 next Year. To receive a QCE in through Parent Lounge. Click on the “Calendar” drop down in the menu bar 2020, students will need to satisfactorily complete 20 units of work to receive 20 and select your child’s respective e-diary. Then click on the “LMS/Assessment credits. All two-year QCAA subjects consist of four units. These units accumulate Activities” item option. You may prefer to click off the “School Calendar” and sequentially through the two years. A result of a Sound Achievement or better select by month for a comprehensive overview. The Year 12 cohort Assessment is considered satisfactory. A student could satisfactorily complete a subject Activities will remain under the old method and an up to date Assessment in Year 12 and not receive four credits if they failed a unit in Year 11. This is Planner can be found on Moodle. different to past years where the Exit level determined the number of credits a student received. In other words, previously a student could fail Year 11 in a University Head Start particular subject and then go on to pass Year 12 and still pick up 4 credits for Kara Banks and Wun Ting (Audrey) Ng (12/2019) have both recently the subject.