Sense of community
This time of year is always precious as we celebrate learning, accomplishment and milestones. Last week we farewelled our Year 12 students. They were a part of a small cohort across the state due to a change in the entrance age to school with the introduction of Prep in 2007. As a result, they were a particularly tight-knit group. When the Year 12 students were asked what they valued most about St Peters in a recent Exit Survey, almost without exception they said the sense of community, repeatedly siting the significance of relationships with staff, the kindness of staff and the support of staff. This was clearly evidenced at Valedictory on Friday morning through the words and actions of our students and reinforced by parent voice. One parent put it this way in a comment to me: “our hearts are warmed by the care, consideration, dedication, support and understanding shown by your amazing staff towards our children”.
The exceptional sense of community at St Peters contributes to enhanced learning outcomes and meeting what William Glasser refers to as two critical student needs for achieving optimal educational outcomes, being a sense of worth and belonging. John Hattie, in his work Visible Learning: A Synthesis of Over 800 Meta-analyses Relating to Achievement, identifies that teacher-student relationships have one of the most significant effects on student achievement through increasing engagement, increasing respect for self and others and increased student agency and self-efficacy.
On our Graduate Tree, we identify that we want our graduates to be ‘Connected’. This does not refer to digital connection but connection through authentic human relationships in families, in school, university or the work place, in churches and community groups and the broader community. We are designed for relationships and community and ‘connectedness’ is critical to our individual and collective well-being and flourishing.
The quality of community at St Peters plays a critical role in the education and formation of our young people and the quality of our community is dependent on the quality of the people in it. So thank you to the staff, the students, the parents and friends of our College who together make St Peters an exceptional school.
Thank you for your continued support through the year. May God richly bless you over the Christmas and holiday period.
Craig Schmidt
Principal
