Welcome to Term 2! We hope you had a wonderful rest over the Easter holidays and were able to enjoy some of the blessings God has given us with His son dying on the cross for us. Hopefully you had a little bit of chocolate and a hot cross bun or two as well!
Term 2 is always a wonderful time as the children are fully into the swing of their learning. This Term 2, in 2023, is the first time we have put Parent Teacher Conversations at the beginning of the term. As I said in previous correspondence, there are many reasons for this. One of the main reasons is that we believe having these conversations this week will set every child and family up for success early; it is an opportunity to reflect on Term 1 and prepare for Term 2.
Parent Teacher Conversations are your opportunity to connect and partner with your homeroom teacher and any specialists you wish to. We have listened to your feedback and retained the option of having conversations online, which is often helpful for working parents who have to travel, or in person.
As parents, we are conscious that a 15-minute slot isn't a long time to discuss a whole terms work and what to attend to in Term 2. Teachers have back-to-back appointments, so we need to keep to allocated timings. With this in mind, it is helpful to come prepared.
Having sat in many Parent Teacher Conversations, as both a parent and as the teacher, my recommendations are to ask the following questions:
1. What are your child's academic strengths and gaps especially in the areas of Maths and English? How can you as a parent, partner with the teacher to help your child?
2. Are there any behaviours that need addressing, such as focus or attitude to learning? How can you as a parent, partner with the teacher to help your child?
3. Are there any social behaviours that need to be looked at, such as friendships or sharing? How can you as a parent, partner with the teacher to help your child?
4. How is your child travelling with God and reaching their God-given potential?
It is okay to ask your homeroom teacher to show you work examples or give verbal examples of where strengths or gaps lie.
Sometimes it is hard to hear some of the aspects that occur in these conversations, so if you need a follow up conversation, please to not hesitate to reach out.
Please remember we are here to partner with you, and if your homeroom teacher doesn't have the answer straight away, please give them 48 hours to find out for you. We are very much looking forward to seeing everyone.
In other Primary news, this week we are thanking Hannah Briffa for her service to College. Hannah has worked at Heathdale for the past 5 years and will be finishing at the end of the week. We know many parents and staff will be sad to see her go and we wish her all of God's blessings in her new school environment.