It's difficult to imagine that we are already more than halfway through Term 1. When I look back on the start of this year, it's truly incredible how much we, as a College community, have already achieved.
This week we launched our new parent app, which I hope is already being embraced. As I mentioned at Monday's Know Your Norwest, from the start of Term 2, this will become the main communication tool between the College and parents, so please ensure that you download it soon, if you haven't already, so you can start to familiarise yourself with it.
I have been overwhelmed this week by the growth of the College, particularly by the encouraging attendance at this week's Year 7 Welcome evening and at today's Grandparents Day, where our students strengthened their cross-generational relationships and celebrated the amazing role that grandparents play in the lives of our students and College community.
And finally, sport at Norwest has well and truly taken off this year. Here are some highlights:
· We have 15 Primary students and 23 Secondary students qualifying for CSSA State Swimming. We have also had a number of Age Champions at Zone Swimming, of particular note was Harry S, who broke almost every zone record on the day;
· Years 3 & 4 students are persevering well and gaining strength and experience in their new teams;
· Years 5 & 6 students have started strong, with two wins each in both soccer and netball;
· The standout Secondary team has been the Intermediate Boys Basketball Team, with two wins under their belt.
What a great start to the year. I'm looking forward to seeing where the remainder of 2021 takes us as a Community.
Mrs Felicity Marlow Principal
Progress Not Perfection
You may be someone who has no time for either of these or are just happy to live each day as it comes. I am not one to set new goals each year. I find them restrictive and invariably see myself failing at what I selected. A few years ago, I embraced the idea of a word or a theme for the year, something to be intentional about throughout the year. Last year, and I have chosen to carry it over to this year, the theme is ‘Progress Over Perfection’. These three simple words have helped to refrain several situations. It has been a phrase that I have used in my interactions with students, staff and my family unit.
As parents, we encourage our children to try something new and persevere in that venture. We may also choose to try something new at times. Sometimes this goes smoothly, gaining confidence and an interest in something new. At times, we may feel scared or uncertain, worried to begin or continue in this new venture. We might start with enthusiasm and drive, highly motivated to start the task.
As time goes by, reality can begin to set in. The effort is no longer easy, and the task becomes more challenging and requires more drive and persistence. When the job is hard, we have a few choices to select from:
continue to try and dig deep and find the motivation to go on,
admit defeat and give up entirely, or
see that you had made progress towards a goal, that perhaps you are closer to that goal than where you were before you began.
The journey towards something new is rarely easy and smooth. If there are mistakes, learn from these and push on. We can encourage our children to do the same.
When attempting something new, try making a decision away from a perfectionist ideology, and encourage your children to do the same. Embrace from the very beginning that there may be easy times and times that are harder, but both can be a part of the journey.
Perfectionism can get in our way of experiencing new things or learning new skills or knowledge. Trying to achieve perfection requires tremendous energy, focus and time. It can make it more challenging to make a change. With perfectionism, the inner critic’s voice can be loud, telling us of our faults and failures when we fall short of our goal. It can give us reason to abandon our attempts or leave us with a sense that we will never have the resources to meet that goal. Perfectionism can create procrastination. We may put off starting that new project because we fear failure. When we are after progress, you can permit yourself to fail and to keep moving forward despite failures.
Focusing on progress over perfection can make it easier and more enjoyable to reach our goals, to try something new. It is empowering to look back at the journey and see the obstacles that were overcome to achieve a new goal. A mindset of progress encourages us to look for the new things learnt, not of failure. It helps us to see each learning experience as a part of the process of achieving goal.
Perfectionism isn’t sustainable because life is ever-changing. There will always be trials and speed bumps in our life, each providing the opportunity for new learning. By focusing on progress, you can more easily overcome obstacles because you can see them as part of the learning journey. You know that the path to success isn’t a straight line, but instead one with ups and downs.
Excellence is not perfectionism. Giving your best in everything can ensure progress in whatever you pursue. It does not mean that if you let go of the need to be perfect, you will work less hard or settle for the second-best. Excellence is about giving the best you can provide.
Recognising progress over perfection helps us to celebrate our successes, no matter how big or small. By taking small steps regularly, we will get there. So let’s think ‘Progress not Perfection’ to help us and our children to be mindful of continually growing and learning.
Tara Waller Head of Primary Years
2022 Enrolments
We love our College Community and its exciting when families decide to enrol additional siblings to partner in their education at the College.
Please note places are filling fast in many of our 2022 cohorts, some already with waiting lists, so if you are considering enrolling an additional child at the College in 2022, don’t delay and submit your application as soon as possible to secure your place!
Click here to access the online Application for Enrolment form.
P&F Meeting - Term 1, 2021
Wednesday, 17 March from 7:30pm
All parents and friends of the College are invited to join with us at 7:30pm on Wednesday, 17 March, in the Auditorium for the next P&F meeting. Regular P&F items (events and reports) will be discussed including the appointing of the Fundraising Coordinator for which nominations are still open.
As part of the Strategic Plan process, the College has engaged Paynter Dixon to undertake a Masterplan of our campus. Mr Matthew Greene, General Manager – Education and Community Projects and also a qualified Architect, will present on the evening and lead us through this process. Mrs Marlow, Mr Wood and Mr Griffiths will also be in attendance.
We look forward to seeing you there and working with you to support the College.
P&F Executive
Hot Cross Bun Drive - 2021
As Easter approaches, the P&F would like to celebrate with a Hot Cross Bun Drive for morning tea on Wednesday, 31 March for ELC, Primary, Secondary and teachers. This year we will also be adding the opportunity to purchase Bakers Delight 6-pack hot cross buns to be taken home.
Individual Hot Cross Buns for Morning Tea: Hot Cross Buns MUST be pre-ordered by midnight Wednesday, 24 March, as no purchases will be able to be made on the day. ELC/Primary students will have their order delivered to the classrooms. Secondary students must collect their order from the canteen. There are three hot cross bun options to choose from: Traditional Fruit, Fruit Free and Chocolate (including Gluten Free options for each).
Bakers Delight Take Home 6-Pack There are three Hot Cross Bun options to choose from: Traditional Fruit, Apple & Cinnamon and Choc Chip. (Unfortunately, no gluten free options available). The 6-packs will be delivered to the child’s classroom to take home. If ordering more than one pack, please use the same child’s name on each pack.
To order a hot cross bun for your child or a take home 6-pack, please click here.
If you have any questions regarding the hot cross bun drive, please email [email protected].
The P&F thanks you for your kind support.
Seed Academy - New Tutor Alert!
We are excited to welcome Isabella Taylor-Smith to the Seed Academy Team as our new Vocal Tutor! Isabella is bright, bubbly and boy can she sing - check out some of her work here!
Our first community workshop for the year is coming in March, where we will have a presentation about study skills with a specific focus on skills useful for the high school years. Students need guidance in these skills and while the College will deliberately present opportunities to students to introduce and develop skills, this workshop is intended to allow parents to have an understanding of how they can be involved at home using the same language and tools to benefit students.
Parents with children in later Primary and right through Secondary will receive most benefit from this content.
Stay tuned for more information.
Imago Day - 2021
Thursday, 25 March 2021
The Bible tells us that we are Imago Dei: “made in the image of God”, and so we are seeking to celebrate what we have in common, in particular the love that God has for us individually and collectively. The intention of this is to bring an attitude of thankfulness for what makes us different because in the big picture (actually, the biggest picture) we are the same.
This year our theme is "Made Unique, Same Worth" and we will discuss within our community that the unique purpose of each person is based on the unique gifts they have and they should not place greater or reduced value on any person or gift as God shows us our true value through what Jesus has done for us.
As children develop, they tend to find the things that make them different from others – such as appearance, speech, ethnic background, strengths/weaknesses – and either emphasise or hide those factors. We would love for staff and students to wear cultural dress to develop thankfulness for their differences or a team shirt to show how they are part of a bigger team.
Imago Day is an annual celebration of ‘God the Creator’ and the privileged position that people hold in His creation. This is an important message in individuals discovering God’s purpose for them.
College Communication Notes
Click here to read the Early Learning Centre Communication Notes.
Click here to read the Primary Communication Notes.
Primary Powerful Learners
Over the last two weeks at our Infants & Primary Assemblies, students were recognised for their learning or their commitment to our community and its values. Congratulations to all our Powerful Learners.