One of the great challenges of teaching is being put in a room alone with up to 30 students and being expected to keep them focused on learning. All teachers find this daunting and as the years go by, it does not always get easier to ensure students are well behaved and engaged with their learning.

There are usually at least two factors at work that lead to a disruptive class. Firstly, it may be that the lesson the teacher has prepared is not working for the students. That is, it may be too difficult or too easy, not imaginative enough or not connected to their world enough to catch their attention. It may move too slowly or too quickly; their presentation of the material may be boring to students or the language they use too advanced and so on. The craft of teaching is very much about getting a whole range of factors in balance and this is challenging and different for every class a teacher has.

Secondly, students often disengage and play up because they themselves feel incapable of doing the work. They may lack confidence, suffer from a learning challenge or be dealing with a personal issue and unable to concentrate. They may be afraid of looking stupid to others or find it better not to engage with the work so they can’t fail. There are many reasons a student may be disruptive, but often it is not so much naughtiness as inadequacy.

Of course, occasionally we do have a purely wilful student who just enjoys engaging in rude or disruptive behaviour, but this is actually quite rare. As children become teenagers, this sort of behaviour tends to escalate. They are wrestling with their own body changes accompanied by mood swings, body image issues, relational challenges, friendship triangles that break up and so on. With all this going on it is hard for many to be able to concentrate for long periods of time in a classroom. All this adds to the teacher’s challenge of how to engage all the students with a wide range of abilities and personalities in common work.

So, what can be done? Traditionally schools worked on the fear principle. Being sent to the Deputy Principal’s office meant the cane or some other form of physical discipline that might have helped to control unruly behaviour. Of course, it did not in any way address the causes of the poor behaviour. Over time schools were told to move from fear to a laissez-faire approach in which students were allowed to be free to express themselves. This usually increased the chaos. Fortunately, more recent work leads us to consider the two main factors I outlined above.

Teachers now work on how to vary lessons and take account of the factors that may lead to disengagement – this still remains a significant professional challenge though. We also work with students to identify their own factors and help them gain the confidence or the peace they need to be able to remain focused on their work. Disciplinary consequences are still required (but no cane) but are a back-up rather than a first attack strategy.

Underpinning all this is the relationship students develop with teachers such that they want to do the work to please the teacher and receive the reward of growing success. At GPCC we are working on these issues as we look to have classrooms that are productive and focused, helping students to learn and develop well.

Phillip Nash

Principal

Mrs Nicole Smith | Head of Primary

CSSA Zone Carnival

On Thursday, several of our Primary students went to Mingara Aquatic Centre to compete in the Primary Zone Swimming Carnival. Congratulations team, we are so proud of the way they represented our College during this time.

Head of School Awards

Congratulations to the following students who achieved the Head of School Award for Week 6:

Jackson R, KDL; Archie B, KG; Liam F, KJ; Saorise C, 1PH; Sophie B, 1B; Isla L, 2D; Anabella V, 2P; Lily B, 3D; Jacob R, 3B; Kaelah B, 4B; Nylla P, 4M;, 4G; Miller P, 5P; Alex K, 5L; Harper F, 6M; Grace D, 6S; Billy H, 6T; Richard S.

Student Representative Council 2021

During our assembly last week we presented our 2021 Student Representative Council with their badges. Each class elects two student representatives to represent them on the Council. These students have an important role in bringing student voice the surface. Congratulations to our elected leaders:

Our Chairperson: Sienna F

Councillors: Ruby D, Ava P, Anna-Lucia R, Arabella C, Lily B, Eadi R

1B: Charlotte M, Vaaris M

1PH: Tilly G, James C

2D: Josie R, Lucy G

2P: Elsie H, Avalon R

3B: Olivia B, Charlotte H

3D: Conor M, Asher B

4M: Mia D, Reef M

4B: Hamish G, Kaelah B

4G: Xavier W, Chelsea S

5L: Elizabeth VW, Ben J

5P: Myah KW, Lillian R

6M: Bronte B, Chase P

6S: Lewis T, Hannah M

Clean Up Australia Day

Today, Friday 5 March our students joined Mr Turner in cleaning up a section of the property around our College for "Clean Up Australia Day". Thank you Mr Turner and Primary students for the care and stewardship you demonstrate.

Primary School Newspaper

Did you know we have some budding journalists in the Primary School? Several students with a passion for writing have been working together to create a wonderful Primary School newspaper that they will be selling the newspaper for 50 cents to raise money for our sponsor children.

School Photos

If you have not ordered your school photos, you still have time. You can place an order seven days after photo day without being penalised. Please see information about how to order in the Community section of the newsletter. Students who were absent last Tuesday will have their photo taken on Tuesday 9 March on Secondary Photo day. Students should wear formal school uniform on this day.

Supporting Children Experiencing Grief and Loss

As a parent or carer, we hurt when we see our children hurting. It can be difficult to know what to say, how much to say and when to say it. Catherine Wilson, in an article by Focus on the Family speaks about acknowledging and talking about your child’s pain, rather than distracting or ignoring it. Helping Children Grieve speaks about helping your child discover that sorrow and happiness can co-exist, and that parents and carers should allow opportunity for children to process their feelings and questions.

Kids’ Helpline has many wonderful resources for parents and carers to support their child as they process grief or loss at Childrens' Helpline. In addition, they have a range of services to support children and parents Parentline.

Our Wellbeing Co-ordinator kmunro@gpcc.nsw.edu.au and Counselling team Counsellors@gpcc.nsw.edu.au are also a "face to face" resource for children who may have difficulty processing their feelings. In addition, there are a range of books and resources which are accessible through our school Library which may facilitate discussion and provide answers for questions. Please reach out if you feel your child may benefit from this support.

Children Grief Book Reviews

Good Grief Resource helping children through uncertainty

Hats/Earrings

Protection of students' skin is very important. Please ensure your child has a hat at school each day and is reminded to wear it whenever they are outside.

Please be aware that female students are to only wear one pair of plain sleepers or studs as earrings to school. Students are not to wear rings, necklaces or bracelets. All uniform guidelines are outlined in the Parent Handbook on the Parent lounge and website.

Year 7, 2022

Preparations for 2022 enrolments have already commenced with strong demand for places in Secondary School. If your child currently attends Year 6 at GPCC, you are not required to apply for Year 7 2022 however, if your child will not be continuing at the College next year, would you kindly advise our Registrar by email at your earliest convenience - registrar@gpcc.nsw.edu.au.

Kindergarten 2022

If you have a child that will be starting GPCC in Kindergarten in 2022 please apply via our website as soon as possible - Kinder 2022 Enrolment.

If you know of any families who wish to enrol their child in Kindergarten in 2022, please direct them to email our Registrar, or to Book a Tour

Please register for our Kindergarten Information Evening to be held on Tuesday 16 March 2021.

Mr Peter McLellan | Head of Secondary

We are now well over halfway through the term and it has been good to have the College almost back to normal operating procedures. It was great to have the Years 11 and 12 Parent Teacher Interviews on Tuesday. It is really an important time to set these students up for the year and to have clear expectations set out for a successful journey through the Preliminary or HSC courses.

One area in which our students struggle is just how much extra time needs to be put into their life schedules that is focused on study. It is true that many of them do not dedicate enough time outside of school to homework, assessment tasks and study. The reality is that in the HSC they are competing against every other student in the state, many of whom have a much higher work ethic outside of the classroom.

I think this is an area where parents can assist by creating a normality to structured study time at home. This really needs to start in Year 7 where time is set aside each night to revise, work on assessments, and complete homework. If those things are complete, then this time could be for reading. Structure after school is great for students and gives them the skills to cope with the much higher demands in the HSC years.

I am advocating a balanced timetabling of home time that incorporates not only study time but also time for family, exercise, chores and socialising. Unfortunately, left to their own devices, students will eliminate the balance needed in life and only spend time focused on long periods of self-focused leisure and technology use.

Over the next few weeks, we will focus on giving some ideas on how to do this in practical ways. It must be stressed that changing habits is not easy with children, but the rewards will be worth it in the long run and the earlier you start, the better it will be.

Year 7 Meet the Teacher and Faculty Night - Tuesday 9 March, 7:00pm - 8:30pm

On Tuesday 9 March we are hosting the Year 7 Meet the Faculty and Teacher Night in the MPC, where you will have the opportunity to meet Faculty Co-ordinators and teachers.

The aim is to help you understand the expectations of different subject areas and to meet your child’s teachers.

It is also an opportunity to get an overview from the Faculty Co-ordinators of the different subject areas which your child will study.

The evening will proceed as follows:

7:00pm Welcome and Devotions – Mr Peter McLellan
7:05pm TASSWeb Parent Portal and Communication – Mrs Kerrie Rochford
7:15pm English – Mrs Jillian Mckay
7:20pm Maths – Mr Troy Kastelan
7:25pm Science – Mr Stuart Drennan
7:30pm HSIE – Mr Michael Street
7:35pm PDHPE – Mr Andrew McGillivray
7:40pm Technologies – Mr Jeff Ogden
7:45pm CAPA – Mrs Angela Scott
7:50pm Biblical Studies – Mr Greg Masters
8:00pm Discussion with parents

Parents will need to use their mobile phone to scan the QR code in the MPC on arrival, and then check out when finished. If you are feeling unwell on the day or displaying any COVID-19 symptoms, please stay at home.

We want to keep you and our whole community safe.

We look forward to seeing you and your child next Tuesday at this information session.