Dear Parents and Carers,

As a parent, you are the major provider of your child's education from birth through adolescence. You guide the development of their character and mental health and help form the foundation from which they will develop lifelong attitudes and interests. Your home is the primary environment in which your child's potential and personality will take shape, it's important to make sure that you create a positive, open atmosphere that will not only support what goes on in the classroom, but will also instill the desire to learn.

It is through your love and encouragement that your kids will become motivated — first to please you, and then to please themselves. This leads to self-confidence, curiosity, the enjoyment of mastering new tasks, and other healthy attitudes, all of which contribute to successful learning.

As you know you will not be the only one teaching your child science or geography and while it's true that all of the facts, skills, and concepts your children learn at school are influenced by what you do at home, your child's education is equally impacted by the relationships you form with their teachers. Building an effective relationship with the teacher is a critical task, and, like you, every teacher wants to achieve this goal. As with any relationship, mutual respect, the ability to listen, and lots of communication form the foundation.

When parents and teachers work well together, everyone benefits. Parents and teachers can provide each other with unique insight and different perspectives about the same child, culminating in a more complete understanding of that child, their abilities, strengths, and challenges. The teacher will know much more about the curriculum and the school culture, while you know more about your child's personality, tendencies, and family life. A successful parent-teacher partnership also shows a child that an entire team of adults is on their side. For parents and teachers alike, the goal is to play active roles in your child's life and to work towards forming a real bond. The child's best interest is always served when they have lots of people supporting them and all the pieces of their life fit together. A strong home-school connection will set the stage for a child who will grow up with a love for learning.

We look forward to meeting you next Monday, 15^th February at the Open House and BBQ. It is a wonderful opportunity for the students to show off their classrooms and learning environments to their parents. Teachers have information for you to take home and students have completed displays and some initial work to share with you.

The Open House will be from 5.00pm until 6.00pm and parents can drop into the classrooms with their children between these times. It is a less formal approach to touching base with parents at the beginning of the year. We find that many parents want either to come and get the information they need or meet the teacher or both. Our format of an Open House and drop-in approach means you can collect written information to refer to during the year as well as have a brief one-to-one chat with the teacher to begin that important collaborative relationship on a positive note.

Teachers enjoy meeting as many people as possible so they won’t be able to have any in depth conversations. Please feel free to email the teachers to book a time for the following week for those important conversations.

God bless.

Rachel Smith
Principal