From the Head of Curriculum

From the Head of Curriculum Ms Victoria Kelleher It is not the critic who getting it wrong. But, if we take the risk and we counts; not the man fail, the critics are always going to be in the who points out how the arena, so you might as will invite them in, and strong man stumbles, or not forget to invite yourself too. It is scary to where the doer of deeds show up and be seen, but it is not as scary as could have done them getting to the end and thinking “What if I had better. The credit belongs shown up? What if I had taken a risk? What to the man who is would have been different?” actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly…who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly. Theodore Roosevelt

We all have a choice in life whether to put ourselves out there or hide behind our fears. In her book, Daring Greatly, Dr. Brené Brown, references President Theodore Roosevelt with a quote that she believes changed her life by making her realise three things.

First, that she wanted to be the person in the arena. The one to take the risk, to perhaps fail, but to give it a go. The second is that far too often, the people who never take the risk are the people to criticise those that do. The third culminates everything Brown has learned in her twelve years of studying vulnerability and shame. That it is not about winning, it is not about losing, it is about showing up and being seen.

So often we slam on the brakes before we even turn the key. Vulnerability often stops us from doing something remarkable because we are afraid of failing. Anyone who has ever taken a risk and stepped out of their comfort zone, will know that it never works out perfectly. There are always compromises. We are, far too often, afraid of being vulnerable, of taking a risk, of As we approach the final weeks of Term 4, I encourage our students to take a risk, to show up and be seen. I encourage them to think about their strengths and abilities as constantly developing. They have an opportunity to use their final assessments to do something remarkable, and if they are not successful, use the experience to improve. The feedback they get from assessments will provide them with information that they can use to learn from and set new goals for the future. This approach is described as a ‘growth mindset’.

In a ‘growth mindset’ skills and abilities are not set. Students can develop their skills and abilities through hard work, planning, and with help and mentoring from others. Using the feedback from their teachers, students should ask themselves the following questions:

- What is this teaching me? - What did I do well? - What steps should I take next? - What support can my teachers provide me? - Can I make a commitment to myself to improve? - Can I develop a strategy to improve? Box of Books Box of Books continues to be our preferred supplier as their platform will allow parents to purchase digital textbooks that our students can access from a single sign-in portal. Parents will also have the option to purchase physical textbooks, although the recommendation is that these be used at home so that students are not carrying heavy bags to and from school each day. The book lists are currently with Box of Books for their final review and a SEQTA communication will be sent to our St George’s families soon with information on how to access your child’s 2021 booklist.

Presentation Night The Presentation Night for Year 7 to Year 11 students will be held at 6:00 pm on Monday 7 December at St George’s Cathedral. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, only students receiving an award will be expected to attend. Parents, guardians, and guests are also welcome to attend but numbers are limited, and all guests will be asked to RSVP prior to the event.

Parents and guardians of students receiving awards will be informed on

Friday 4 December.