{"id":11896,"date":"2023-06-19T05:23:47","date_gmt":"2023-06-19T05:23:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/serviam\/?post_type=article&p=11896"},"modified":"2023-06-19T05:23:47","modified_gmt":"2023-06-19T05:23:47","slug":"message-from-the-principal-32","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/serviam\/article\/message-from-the-principal-32\/","title":{"rendered":"Message from the Principal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Another wonderful fortnight at St Ursula’s with teachers and students working together to create and explore so much learning.<\/span><\/p>\n

From collaborating with professional musicians to compose their own music; to Year 11 performing in a school production over two nights, to Year 10 hospitality students creating a delicious 3-course meal and serving over 80 staff and family members; the variety, curiosity, and skills are abundant within this community. I also took great delight in learning of our victories in string ensemble, rock band, and drama, and the senior titration competition which required great precision and skill. Our girls are generally keen to do their best and I am so grateful to the teachers for the extra support they give well beyond the confines of the classroom to help each girl go beyond their expectations of success and achievement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As you would be aware, all schools are facing the prospect of teacher shortages. Like them, we advertise and are not getting suitable applicants, and rather than just appointing anyone, the staff, particularly in Maths and Science, are collaborating to ensure that our classes are well supported. Creative timetabling including the possibility of some remote days for some year groups for Term 3 may be needed if our current shortfall can not be met by an external appointment.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Our most recent Teachmeet explored the topic of AI and how it can be used in school settings. Volunteer teachers shared how they were already using various AI <\/span>platforms in their classes and there was much discussion about the implications, especially for assessment moving forward.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Many thanks to the parents who completed the Tell Them From Me Survey. As I said in my video sent home to you last week, we welcome your constructive suggestion for how to improve.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Of interest during my most recent pilgrimage, Archbishop Fisher spoke about mutual cooperation between parents as the first educators and schools:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c….e<\/span>ducating young people is a shared endeavour, demanding shared purpose and quality relationships. We must care about each other, and make the good of our staff and young people part of our own good…”<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

I was then disappointed, but not altogether completely surprised, to read the most <\/span>recent report <\/span><\/a>on the number of teachers leaving the profession because of increasingly negative interactions with parents.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As a community, we have many positive opportunities to work together so that each girl can thrive. I saw this last Friday night when I attended the Year 10 hospitality dinner. Those parents who attended got to see their daughter\u2019s learning in action and all were very impressed and appreciative of the effort and demands this places on their teachers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Another way to work together is through the upcoming reporting sessions for Year 7 to 10. I strongly encourage you to take the time to read the report prepared by your daughter’s teachers regarding her learning during Semester 1 2023 and then ask your daughter for her input. Especially take note of her attitude to her studies. Is she making the most out of each class? Is she coming prepared and ready to learn? How can she support her own learning?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There is never a dull moment in school or in the field of education. Perhaps that\u2019s why I love it so much!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

God bless each of you and your loved ones in the coming weeks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mary Leask<\/em><\/strong><\/h6>\n
Principal<\/em><\/strong><\/h6>\n

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\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Another wonderful fortnight at St Ursula’s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","class_list":["post-11896","article","type-article","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/serviam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/11896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/serviam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/serviam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/serviam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/serviam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}