“And something appeared to them that seemed like tongues of fire, these separated and came to rest on the head of each of them and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit."
Acts 2:4
From The Principal
The importance of praising effort
Parents often ask how they can support students with their learning and I thought I would share with you something about the work of Professor Carol Dweck from Stanford University and the findings of her extensive research into the mindset of individuals and how what we value about learning, impacts on their approach and success as learners.
Her studies highlighted that using praise that focused on effort and the process of learning, rather than the outcome, created better learners who achieved more of their potential. Praise focused on effort created an understanding in learners that:
- Success in learning comes from hard work
- Making mistakes is an important part of learning
- Persistence is a core component of learning a new concept
- The ‘struggle’ associated with learning is important in the process of mastery
- Taking on a challenge is the fun part of learning
She highlighted the fact that all of the great achievements in human history were made by people that worked incredibly hard, made lots of mistakes, failed many times but persisted and eventually achieved.
Her studies found that praise centred on results (Well done you scored perfect marks!) or ability (Well done you must be really good at maths) created a fear of failure, identified having to work hard to solve problems as a weakness and that learning is only difficult if you are not smart. The high expectations of success impacted negatively on their desire to take risks as a learner and therefore they achieved less of their potential.
Her advice to parents and teachers was to applaud hard work, celebrate effort, encourage students to keep struggling and working with difficult challenges and to acknowledge mistakes and failures as the first step towards learning and understanding.
Some tips for talking to children about learning
- Ask about the process they used to develop a project
- Praise the strategy used to tackle a problem
- Acknowledge the effort they put into an assignment
- Encourage them to keep working at something they haven’t mastered yet. Professor Dwerk spoke a lot about using the word ‘yet’ as it suggests possibilities and potential.
- Congratulate their persistence
- Talk about what they have learned from their mistakes
Praising effort and valuing the processes of learning creates a love of learning and individuals who love learning achieve more of their potential.
Mr Robert Tobias
Principal
Off the Deputy's Desk
National Reconciliation Week (NRW) is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.
The dates for NRW remain the same each year; 27 May to 3 June. These dates commemorate two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey - the successful 1967 referendum, and the High Court Mabo decision respectively.
Reconciliation must live in the hearts, minds and actions of all Australians as we move forward, creating a nation strengthened by respectful relationships between the wider Australian community, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Reconciliation Week is an important opportunity for our students, staff and families to continue to build respectful relations with one another so that we can each take our own small actions that will promote reconciliation in our nation.
Our Year 7 and Year 11 students have returned safely from their camps at Coffs Harbour. The overlapping day on the Wednesday involved students from both year levels participate in peer support activities designed to promote leadership skills in the Year 11 students and develop inter year level links and understanding. Thank you to all the staff involved in both camps for your commitment and energy in facilitating a quality outdoor education experience for the students.
This coming weekend sees our 2 Shakespeare Carnival teams travel to Sydney for the NSW State Final at the Seymour Centre. Best of luck to all the students who will be competing in Sydney where they will aim to demonstrate the most credible and creative interpretations of the legendary Bard’s greatest works. Thank you to Mrs Twford for taking the team to Sydney.
Staff are currently involved in finalising academic reports for Semester One. This week I will be proofreading Year 1 1reports. As well as looking for errors I also undertake a more important task in reading each student’s report to develop a full picture of their academic achievement and effort across the semester. I also pay particular attention to each student’s extracurricular participation as this helps identify student contribution to the life of the College as well as allowing staff to monitor those students who may be either under committing by not being involved at all and those who are overcommitting and who may need to pull back on their involvement. Balance in all things is important and as students enter senior secondary they need to be able to balance academic, leisure, sporting and cultural commitments so that they live a balanced life that enables them to meet their various obligations yet still have time for themselves.
Next Tuesday we will be hosting Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea for all students. Students will have the opportunity to purchase items during both Secondary and Primary recess breaks. Please break out your change ready to support a great cause.
All of our profits will go to the Cancer Council and I thank Mrs Annetts and our senior Hospitality students for what will no doubt be a wonderful success.
Mr Darren Parks
Deputy Principal
Reminders
Dogs at School
Parents are asked to please not bring dogs (on a leash or otherwise) to parent pick up. A student was nipped last week and this could have been avoided. Leave your dogs at home please!
Disabled Parking
Please do not park in disabled car park spaces under any circumstances. Respect the need for these car parks to be kept free for use by disabled persons.
Care in School Zones
Please drive carefully and slowly around the college. Young children can be unpredictable and we can minimise risk by keeping our speed right down.
Drainage Works in Riverbend Drive
Year 12 students will not be able to park in Riverbend Drive in the week commencing Monday 7 June. There are drainage works taking place and there will be no access.
Term 2 Week 8
Monday 7 June
NCIS Primary Touch Football - All day - Saunders Oval
Year 5 Interrelate - Innovation Centre
Year 10 Natural Ability Testing Introduction - 11.20am - Ezzy Centre
Tuesday 8 June
Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea - 10.48am - Ezzy Centre
Stage 5 CAPA Showcase - 6.00pm - UCA
Friends Meeting - 6.30pm - Ezzy Centre
Wednesday 9 June
Touch Football Training - 7.30am-8.30am - Saunders Oval
Walker Chapel - 8.48am - Ezzy Centre
Year 6 Interrelate - Innovation Centre
Thursday 10 June
Purcival Chapel - 8.48am - Ezzy Centre
CIS Cross Country - Sydney
NSW Schools Netball Cup - All day - Ballina
Friday 11 June
Athletics Training - 7.30am-8.30am - Cumbalum
Term 2 Week 9
Monday 14 June
Queen’s Birthday Public Holiday
Tuesday 15 June
Hospitality Work Placement until Monday 21 June
Tutor Concert - 3.30-4.30pm - TC6
Wednesday 16 June
Brockington Chapel - 8.48am - Ezzy Centre
CIS Secondary Touch Football - Sydney
Year 11 SLR Excursion - 1.30pm-3.00pm - Jetts Gym
Thursday 17 June
Smith Chapel - 8.48am - Ezzy Centre
Tutor Concert - 3.30pm-4.30pm - TC6
Friday 18 June
Athletics Training - 7.30am-8.30am
Primary NAIDOC Guest Speaker - 12.25pm-K-2; 1.55pm-3-6 - Discovery Centre
Primary Chapel -11.48am - Discovery Centre - Year 3
Secondary Sport - 1.28pm-3.08pm
Sports Update
NSW Netball Cup Round 1
Last Friday our Secondary netball teams played in the first round of the NSW Netball Cup in Lismore. All our teams played well on the day. Year 7 and 8 boys and Year 9 and 10 boys teams both won their divisions and progressed to the regional finals early in Term 3. The year 7 and 8 girls finished third in their pool winning 2 out of 4 games. The Year 9 and 10 girls finished fourth in their pool winning 3 out of their 6 games. Our girls teams were much improved from their last tournament and will be looking forward to the NCIS netball in Term 3.
Well done to all players. Thank you to Mr Pryor, Mrs Sculley and Mrs Annetts for coaching the teams on the day. Thank you also to Paige Wilkie (Year 12) for umpiring for the day.
AICES Rugby
Congratulations to Ethan Jenkins (Year 10) who travelled to Sydney last weekend to play in the Under 16 ACIES Rugby team. The AICES boys had a narrow win over the Combined Catholic Colleges team 12-10 . Ethan had a strong game playing hooker and will travel to Sydney twice more in the coming weeks culminating in the NSW Schools Championships in late June. Well done Ethan.
Mr Graham Walker
Sport and Coaching Administrator
Secondary News
Year 7 Experience Day
On Thursday 27th May, Year 7 2022 students came to school to experience Secondary School. The day started with a tour of the College led by the Year 12 leaders before they participated in a getting to know you game. Throughout the day students experienced five different subjects. Year 10 students supported them in their learning experiences.
Feedback from students included that they loved the Year 10 students helping, loved the subjects and are excited about coming to High School.
Year 11 Wellbeing
Year 11 students have started to learn about the qualities of leaders as we start the leadership process for the 2022 school leaders. During their wellbeing lesson they brainstormed the qualities and skills of leaders and then wrote down the ten qualities they felt were most important. They finished by reflecting on what good student leadership looks like at EAC.
Developing research skills in the 21st century
The main thing students will be doing in their lives in the 21st century is learning, and to do this successfully, they need to slow down enough to be in the moment to think hard about what they are looking at. Google in some ways has taken the emphasis away from looking beyond first impressions: everything seems to be instant these days, gaining knowledge without processing what they are learning.
Teaching students to follow an intelligent research process enables them to slow down to think hard about each step they are doing. To support this process, you can ask them to describe how they are thinking using Habits of Mind. Also, using the brain pathway building structure of Thinking Tools, provides opportunities for them to analyse, evaluate and predict at an executive level of thinking.
Adopting these approaches cultivates effective research habits, which include knowing what to do when they don't know what to do, relating how what they learn connects to their world and identifying and finding the information they need to learn more about. Their organisation skills improve by planning time targets, analysing their findings and looking for bias, patterns, inference and implied messages and presenting what they learned with clarity and precision. Once they have mastered these, they can make predictions from their findings.
Acknowledgement: Anderson & Ericsson
Mrs Amanda Middleton
Director of Secondary
Primary Update
Attention Seeking
A few years ago, I had the pleasure of spending a few days with parenting author Steve Biddulph. He spoke at a school I was teaching at and I had the honor of introducing him each evening for his talks on raising boys, raising girls and the secrets to happy children. Having read his book on boys as a teacher in an all boys school in Melbourne and then the girl book as we welcomed our first daughter, I was somewhat familiar with his work. As part of my Steve duties, I drove him home each night after the talks and got to fanboy for a short while during these trips. Keynote speeches take their toll and by the time he was free from signing books and hugging parents (he prefers them to handshakes) he had little left to say, but his thoughts were more condensed and direct. What I recall the most was his point that what children want the most is our love and attention. Not the half the attention on your smartphone and half on them type, but our full attention. RaisingChildren.net point out practical ways to give your child attention at any age and then specifically to our Primary aged children.
No matter what your child’s age, there are simple things you can do every day to send the message that your child is special and important. For example:
- Look at your child and smile.
- Show interest in what your child is doing – ask your child to tell you about it if they can.
- Pay attention and listen closely when your child talks to you.
- Create some special family rituals you can share together.
- Make time to be with your child, doing things you enjoy together.
Praise your child when they try out a new skill or make an effort with something – for example, ‘That’s a really beautiful drawing! Where did you learn to use shading like that?'.
School-age children and pre-teens: positive attention tips
Children’s worlds expand when they go to school. But your warmth and positive attention are still the biggest influences on your child’s development.
Try these ideas:
- Stop what you’re doing and listen when your child wants to talk about school. This might not always be as soon as your child gets home – it might be when your child is in the bath or just before they go to sleep.
- Ask your child about one good thing that happened during the day.
- Ask follow-up questions when your child starts talking. This keeps the conversation going.
- Notice and guide your child’s positive interactions with others – for example, ‘I think Hunter really liked it when you asked her questions about her holiday. It gave her a chance to talk about something that was important to her’.
- If you need to provide constructive feedback, give some positive messages at the same time – for example, ‘Usually you’re such a good sharer. I can see it’s hard just now, but think about how your friends feel when you don’t let them have a turn.’
After these evenings spent with Steve, my wife and I decided to make the move from the mayhem that city living brought with it to find a smaller, more community focussed town in a natural setting. A place that affords you the time and space to give your family the attention they deserve. Goodbye Gateway Bridge and hello Northern Rivers! Making the effort to give kids the attention they deserve is a trait that is strong in our teachers at EAC who genuinely know their students and spend time building strong relationships. I see these relationships thrive through our pastoral care program, classroom lessons, sporting teams, extra-curricular opportunities or staff simply being active in the playground during their duty times.
I hope you can reflect on the lists above and remind yourself of these seemingly simple, yet vital daily routines our children deserve.
Mr Wayne Cross
Director of Primary
Peer Support
This week in Peer Support, the students practised developing their strengths. This helped the children to become more resilient and optimistic.
Ask your child to share the strengths they identified during this week's session.
Mr Paul Christensen, Mr Dan Walsh and Mrs Kate Sculley
Music Notes
Don't miss Duets, Trios and Small Ensembles this Thursday at 6pm!
Friends of EAC
Tickets are selling fast!! Book now to avoid disappointment as tickets are limited.
Want to help support the event but are unsure how? The organisers are looking for some amazing prizes to include in the Auction and fundraising games on the night. If you are in a position to donate a prize or purchase a voucher to a local business (eg restaurant/cafe/activity/hamper/beauty treatment/shopping gift voucher) we would love to hear from you! Please contact Vanessa Hansen or Jodie Manning-Hayter by email friends@eac.nsw.edu.au or phone 0411 019 016.
Thank you to our wonderful EAC families who have already donated a prize, your support is greatly appreciated. Look out for 'A Grand Affair' prize update on the EAC website in the next week.
Second Hand Uniform Shop
Please note the Second Hand Uniform Shop will be closed next week (8 June) and will re-open Tuesday 15 June.
Canteen
Canteen Menu 2021
The Canteen menu complies with the NSW Healthy School canteen strategy. Further items will be added as the year progresses and the Winter Menu will be available in terms two and three.
Please note that items change in price from time to time.
Emergency Lunch
At times, for various reasons, students may require an emergency meal (basic sandwich), this will be provided with a canteen note sent home requesting payment, please send in the money to the Canteen ASAP.
Online Canteen Ordering
We are excited to be able to offer online Canteen ordering via the 'School Stream' app. Please refer to the recent letter to all families with instructions on how to download the app to your phone, tablet or computer.
Once the app is installed you will be able to view and select from the canteen menu by clicking on Canteen. This will bring up the canteen order form where you will be able to enter the child's details and select desired items from the dropdown lists under the relevant headings and pay. You will be prompted to tick which break you require your selection for.
All online orders must be completed and submitted prior to 8.45am on the day they are required, to enable Canteen staff enough time to prepare and distribute orders.
Manual Canteen Ordering
If you are unable to use the 'School Stream' App please place the money in a paper bag of sufficient size to fit all of the items. If you are ordering a drink with your child’s lunch, please provide two (2) bags. Please write the information on the LOWER half of the bag. If money is short we will substitute items to the value received.
REMEMBER, if ordering at both breaks, you must have a separate bag for each break.
Any change required will be placed in the bag for return with the child’s order.
All orders must be received at the canteen before 9.15am.
Christine Hall - Canteen Supervisor
contact: chall@eac.nsw.edu.au
Live Life Well @ School
Food and Mood
Fuelling children with nutritious foods helps support their growth and development, but research shows that what children eat is also important to their mood, brain and mental health.
Eating mainly foods from the five food groups (grain foods, vegetables, fruit, lean meats / poultry / seafood or meat alternatives, and dairy) can lead to improved mental health, better concentration and memory, and improved school test results.
Eating too many foods that are high in added fats, sugars and salts has been linked to emotional and behavioural problems in children and teenagers.
What can you do as a parent or carer?
- Breakfast: encourage your child to have breakfast every morning. Great options include wholegrain cereal, fruit and yoghurt, a smoothie, toast, boiled eggs or baked beans. Remember something is better than nothing!
- Crunch and Sip: pack a vegetable or fruit snack for Crunch & Sip every day. Make sure you also pack a water bottle so your child stays hydrated.
- Lunchbox: pack foods from the five food groups in the lunchbox. Some ideas include cheese, yoghurt, milk poppers, chopped fruit and vegetables, sandwiches, wraps, leftovers, eggs, pikelets, cereal bites, fritters or raisin toast.
- Role model: Lead by example. Make sure you are eating foods from the five food groups and share meal times together.
- Teach your child lifelong nutrition skills: involve your children in shopping, food preparation, cooking and packing their lunchbox. Research shows that habits are learnt early in life so teaching these skills are important.
Help fuel your child for success!
Community News
