Dear Parents and Caregivers,

What Makes a Great School Community?

Unless you’ve just returned from a prolonged stint at Australia's Antarctic Research Station at Mawson, you will no doubt be well aware of our wonderful school’s current situation with regards to enrolment numbers and our ongoing efforts to increase new enrolments and retain families once they have joined our school community.

Along with buying or selling your home and changing jobs, choosing which school to send your children to is one of the biggest and most important decisions you will make as parents or guardians.  So what do parents and guardians look for when selecting a school for their children?  The top criteria is a school with excellent educational standards.  Parents want their children to have a great education and opportunities to grow and develop their talents and skills.  A very close second is finding a school where their children will feel happy, safe and cared for. In a tie for second place is finding a school where the parents and the children have a sense of connectedness or belonging as part of the school community.

Now here is the deal breaker!  If schools don’t get the two tied for second place elements right, you can forget about achieving number one – a great education.  In order for schools to be able to provide the very best opportunities for children to learn, grow and develop to their potential, we first need to ensure that the children feel safe, secure and happy to come to school and that their families (parents, guardians etc) feel part of the school community as well.

As adults, you know very well that if your workplace environment is not one in which you feel connected, valued, comfortable or respected, then you’re not going to perform at your best or achieve your best.  If we are fortunate enough to work in an environment where we feel respected, valued and recognised for our work and input, then we are much more likely to feel positive about our work and achieve our goals and targets.  This is no different for our children.  They need to feel positive and happy about coming to school each day.  Only then can we begin to help them learn, discover, create and progress towards their potential.

Children are also very intuitive and observant, much more so than we often give them credit for.  If you, as parents or guardians, do not have a positive sense of connectedness and belonging as members of our school community, your children will pick up on this and it will influence their perceptions and attitudes about school.

So, what makes a great school community?  It’s having that positive sense of belonging and connectedness to others within the school community.  It’s being a community – having common interests, shared experiences, getting to know one another, forming relationships, friendships, acquaintances.  A great school community is one in which everyone, students, staff and families feel they are welcome, safe and supported.  Where everyone shares some common beliefs and values that bring us together to work and support each other to achieve the very best for our children.

In order to achieve this, it requires every single family to play their part!  As a parent or guardian you have a very important role to play in helping to establish and maintain a school culture and environment of mutual respect, dignity and friendliness, where every member of our school community feels welcome and valued.

This is critically important for new families to our school.  While our staff are focussed on engaging with new students and parents to help them settle into their new school and feel welcome and supported in the classrooms and playground, we really rely on our existing parents and guardians to help make new parents feel welcome and part of our school community.

All school communities develop a culture that is unique to their particular environment, broader community and the families that are part of the school.  What is common to all great school communities is that parents and families feel connected and engaged with their school community because they get involved in things.  Like any community, the more you get involved, the more you receive in return.  Attending school events, P&F social events, P&F fundraisers, open nights, assemblies, sporting events and carnivals, P&F Meetings, open nights, parent-teacher evenings, volunteering to help out with an event …. all of these things provide opportunities to develop friendships and become more connected and involved in our school community.  All of these events provide opportunities to make new families feel welcome and part of a vibrant, thriving school community.  Great things happen when people come together for a common cause or purpose!

So, how will you contribute to making OLGC an even greater school community?

Bless you.

Shaun O'Neill

Acting Assistant Principal

SCHOOL PARKING

It is a timely reminder to please drop off and collect your children at the Thomas Street Carpark as the parking at the front of the school has become unsafe for children.   In particular,  PLEASE do not park on the lawn or pathway in front of the Church as it must stay clear for the pedestrian crossway.    The Council often do spot checks and we would like anyone to be fined.

Thank you.

Jasmin Kenworthy

Acting Principal