From the Principal

Thank you to the many parents and caregivers who made time for a Parent/Student/Teacher Learning Review over the last fortnight. These conversations are an important part of developing shared understandings of how each learner is travelling and informing our next steps. One of the reasons we seek to keep the student at the centre of these reviews is that we respect and value the sense of agency that our children and young people have over their own learning. In a recent publication, Hannon and Peterson define agency as:

• Developing goals (personal and social)
• Initiating action towards those goals
• Reflecting on and regulating progress towards those goals
• Belief in self-efficacy.[1]

They suggest that agency is one individual outcome that is both under-developed and critical to thriving in a transforming world. When students, parents and teachers put their heads together to discuss learning, there is huge potential to increase each student’s motivation and sense of self-efficacy as learners.

National Careers Week was another chance for our students to develop agency, to consider possible pathways that they might follow beyond school and to speak to people who pursue those careers. At an early age, children begin to formulate their own conceptions of different jobs and it is important that we provide them with a broad landscape to enhance their thinking. We are grateful to our Careers Counsellor, Julie Stephenson, whose incredible creativity and energy have supported so many students in finding their “thing”! Students right across the College were able to engage in a wide range of activities, from the Careers Expo to dressing up in various costumes, that would spark their interest and open their minds to new possibilities. We are also very grateful to the many businesses, industry and tertiary representatives who came along to share their enthusiasm for their own careers with our young people. As our Year 10 students finalise their preparation for Work Experience in Week 8, we see that student agency is central to successful learning about the world of work.

Last week, the Merit Ceremonies for outstanding Stage 2 results from 2021 took place at Government House. Whilst the format was somewhat different this year, it was wonderful for the students and their families to have the chance to celebrate the hard work and dedication that led to their achievement of the highest possible results in each subject area. Congratulations to all the SAC students and graduates who received awards.

At our first whole school assembly for the year this week, our main focus was to acknowledge National Sorry Day and mark the beginning of National Reconciliation Week. We were welcomed to country by Ngangki Warra in a moving smoking ceremony. We celebrated the respectful relationships that we enjoy at St Aloysius College with First Nations’ students and their families. Their wisdom and guidance have enabled us to plan for the meaningful actions that we have undertaken as part of our Reconciliation Action Plan this year. We are committed to working bravely together to close the gaps and achieve a shared sense of justice and fairness in our school and in our world. We celebrate how lucky we are to live in a country that belongs to one of the oldest civilisations on earth and we find ways to walk gently together. Many of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander graduates are now leaders in the world beyond school, and we are both proud of their achievements and grateful that they chose to be educated at SAC. Thank you to everyone who will participate in National Reconciliation Week. With our Mercy values of respect and justice in our hearts, we hope to make this week the next step in an important journey of reconciliation for our school.

Ms Paddy McEvoy
Principal

[1] Valerie Hannon and Amelia Peterson, Thrive: The Purpose of Schools in a Changing World

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