It has been a busy start to the term. Our staff development day this week was highly successful and we will be following up on initiatives around student effort. One of the greatest indicators of students' academic success is the partnership between the school and home. If parents/ caregivers expect their young person to try their best in all they do and develop perseverance when tasks are difficult it will hold them in good stead for the rest of their lives. 

At school we are seeing young people with a decrease in attention span due to the way they are entertained. In conjunction with this they like to do tasks once without refining their work and using feedback to improve. This is absolutely critical to success in life, trying something, no matter what it is and then learning from it. Making mistakes is a way of learning . If you avoid making mistakes or fear it then you have a problem. It is by being outside our comfort zone that we grow. 

This week I had the pleasure of teaching a Year 8 Catholic Studies class. They were insightful and worked well together. I am very impressed with their diligence and commend them for their efforts. They are a credit to their families and have enormous potential to achieve in the future. Our school community is richer from their presence. 

Congratulations to our Year 12 Hospitality class who under the direction of Mr Col Ferderer produced an amazing and very yummy lunch for staff on Wednesday this week as part of their catering experience competency - please check out the photos on FB. The students' effort was excellent and very much appreciated by staff. It was joyful to see their sense of achievement when all three courses came together at the end. In the class there are some very talented chefs in the making! 

The athletics carnival is another way students can shine both through their participation and by using their talents. Effort is in all aspects of their lives. I hope your young person helps at home, and is able to support others with things they may not even like doing but can see that it has a benefit for others. Please encourage your children to move outside their comfort zones. 

This term will see some changes in procedures around library use during the school day. I encourage as many students as possible to take up the offer of additional support on 'Mundy' - the open library on Monday afternoons to help with study and assessments. Watch this space to see what is coming!