From the Principal
Last edition, I mentioned that as a School we are in the process of implementing a new learning framework at RJ based on the work of Guy Claxton and James Nottingham. It’s called Building Learning Power.
This Building Learning Power approach is essentially focussed on helping our students become better learners and to increase their capacity to engage with challenges throughout the learning process.
In introducing this approach to learning, we want to debunk myths around learning that sometimes hold students back. For instance, it is actually okay to make mistakes when we learn. In fact, making mistakes is part of learning. We don’t want our students to be afraid of mistakes or failure; we want them to understand that as we learn we WILL make mistakes but mistakes show us what we don’t know yet and help focus our learning.
Guy Claxton states that the Learning Power Approach “is about creating a culture in classrooms – and in the school more widely – that systematically cultivates habits and attitudes that enable young people to become better learners; face difficulty and uncertainty calmly, confidently and creatively. It engages students consciously with the ideas and processes of their own learning in the knowledge that learning itself is learnable.”
Simply put, students can learn how to learn, and at RJ we want students to use the same dialogue around learning that their teachers are using when they teach them. If students can understand the learning process more and gain insight into how learning occurs for them, then they will become better learners.
The underlying element to the Learning Power Approach though, is building learning muscles or dispositions that enable them to stay engaged in their learning. These dispositions – Resilience, Resourcefulness, Reflectiveness, Reciprocity and Relationships – like muscles, take time to develop and strengthen.
LOOKING AHEAD
Last week we undertook our first Photo Day for the year. It was great to see our students dressed appropriately in their winter uniforms and looking ready to be photographed. As we continue into the winter months, please ensure your children are staying warm in the appropriate school clothing available for wear.
Tomorrow we join with all our Primary students for the National Simultaneous Storytime event being held across Australia. This is always a wonderful occasion to share a book reading with our students in a fun way. I’m sure there will be some funny recounts of this year’s story making their way back to families after school.
Lastly, one of the most important evenings we host at RJ is happening tomorrow evening. It’s our Year 10 into 11 interviews with Year 10 students and their parents. If you haven’t booked your child in for this interview, please do so. Our senior members of staff including the Executive Team and Secondary Faculty Leaders, are giving up their time to help guide our Year 10 students through their subject choices for the Preliminary and HSC courses. The experience and expertise of our leaders is highly valued and they are there to assist in this important process. Let’s partner together as we grow our learners.
God Bless
Mr Alan Dawson | Principal
