Dear Parents, Carers, Staff, Students and the wider St. Joseph’s Primary School Community,

There is a saying in leadership circles that reminds people of both the importance of culture, talent and effort in achieving outcomes. It says “culture amplifies talent!” If I extend this thinking to St. Joseph’s I can say with confidence “... every child at St. Joseph’s has talent, the home environment can bring this talent and capacity forward and so too does our school.

 In this COVID-19 time the particular challenge to bring the best forward needs each of us to be partners in our student’s learning. To be successful supporting young learners we need to be patient, respectful, persistent, clear, trust each other and all be focused on the best for each person.

 Parents/guardian and families need to know the great work each is doing. So do teachers and our support staff. The COVID-19 situation has placed many challenges before us all but be confident of each partner's success. As I mentioned two weeks ago our students are also the heroes in my view. They have settled into their work in this unusual time with commitment, energy and balance. A credit to all.

 I do share some further tips that may enlighten this time for us all. I was listening to Eddie Woo (Australian of The Year, and mathematics teacher) being interviewed by Kurt Fearnley (world class disability sportsman) on Sunday evening. Eddie, who has children of his own, was talking about the difficulty of being both a parent and teacher in a home situation.

 Eddie’s advice as a parent helping at home was that it is very difficult to be your own child’s teacher; you are the parent and these two roles are fundamentally different. His advice was timely; he says that it is important to realise that you are not replacing school. You are your child’s parent, not their teacher. They are very different relationships. You can be flexible but firm. By establishing some rules and routines, you are reframing what can be achieved together at home when you set parameters and explain very clearly how things are going to play out.

 The real gem of Eddie’s conversation with the interviewer was that in a home learning environment we don’t “need to be the expert imparting all the knowledge; be with your child, learn together. Take up the challenge of being a partner in the journey and learn from your child.” Good advice for the many of us working from home and helping to nurture our children’s talent, endeavour and commitment.

 A great feature of our school is also bringing focus to learning by celebrating life and living each day to the fullest. Last Wednesday saw a great changeup to the day with the fun hats. Both the on-site and off site photos were great; seeing children live life with humour and fun keeps us all hopeful. This week we are going for a Wonderful Wednesday of crazy hair. A reminder that it is to be simple and feel free to share your photographs with our office team.