The commencement of the year has been a busy time returning to routines, but a very valuable time here on campus as we have had the pleasure of seeing so many of our community members at out Meet the Teacher evening and our Information Sharing sessions. These events have been essential in forging the relationship between families and staff.
We value any opportunity to develop these relationships. We are committed to maintaining open channels of communication with parents, as you are the expert on your child. Your knowledge, views and concerns will lead to a greater understanding of your child’s needs and will support future planning for their learning and wellbeing.
We know that respectful, caring and trusting relationships are fundamental to wellbeing, and it is through positive relationships that children learn to feel safe and secure and develop a sense of belonging in school, enabling them to understand themselves, others and the world.
Toward this end, Carey has developed a Student Wellbeing Framework that reflects the high value we place on teaching social and emotional learning, assisting our children to build and sustain healthy relationships. Underpinning this framework are our school’s values of Care, Respect and Growth.
The framework has become a core part of the learning program. For example, in the classroom, all students are part of our Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships program which sees them discussing such topics as emotions, relationships, self-management, belonging, agency and self-efficacy.
Our additional focus on Relational Practices contains three central themes:
- Developing Relations: In order to learn together, we have a shared understanding of our rights, roles and responsibilities and how these relate to behaviour, agreements and rules.
- Responding and Calming: We use Relational Practices to maintain calm, show understanding, reset agreements and provide clear instruction and guidance around expectations.
- Repairing and Restoring: Even with strong relationships, clear boundaries and good co-regulation, there will be times when conflict emerges or harm is caused, so regular conversations, class meetings, peer mediation, conflict resolution as well as more formal restorative meetings are involved.
We know that investing time and resources into improving relationships leads to positive outcomes of inclusion, engagement, attainment and achievement, and in the long term we hope to see students who contribute to our school, their family and their community.
Margaret Adams
Deputy Head of Carey Donvale
Feature image: Music du Coeur performing at our recent Commencement Service
