As educators we have been noticing some of our students feel they can’t do certain things. Here at Holy Family we are all about the children having Growth mindsets. We love positive education and we want to help and guide all our students to have Growth Mindsets not fixed mindsets.

We want all our students to have growth mindsets, where all the students go on their own learning journeys. Our goals for our students are they embrace challenges, enjoy them and learn from their mistakes. We want the students to seek out help when they need it, learn from the feedback they are given, be inquisitive and have strategies in place when they feel like giving up.

We watched some social stories and had some great reflections on what having a positive mindset means.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zrtHt3bBmQ

Here were some of our reflections:

What can we do if we feel we want to give up?

Vidal: We can work hard a lot.

Sierra: We have to keep on practising.

Dimi: We need to keep on practising and never give up.

Viraj: Use his brain and have a go.

Poppy: We needs to think.

What do we call this when we don’t give up?

It is called growth mindset? What does that mean?

Ishpreet: like if you grow a plant it grows, like at school we have to keep on trying.

Cooper: If something hard you keep on trying.

Viraj: I could write a story and try.

Dimi: we won’t give up.

Ishpreet: The plants not growing so we need to say as people we need to keep trying and trying so we grow.

Poppy: We need to keep on trying.

Sonny: You can ask the teachers for help.

Poppy: Ask someone else for help.

Kuch: I had a go.

It makes you feel happy – Charlee

When you were a baby you didn’t do work – Declan

When you get hurt, boys and girls can help you – Nahom

When it gets harder and harder and you don’t know what to do, you have to talk to somebody and tell them what’s wrong, then your brain will get stronger – Zac

When someone gets hurt, we hug them – Nyok

If something is tricky and we don’t know what to do…

We can learn – Bibi

If you don’t know math, you have to watch YouTube to learn how to do math – Oliver

An adult or a teacher can help you – Elnathan

We can help someone draw something cool – Alexander

Your buddy can help you write – Charlee

We agreed that friends can help us to learn too!

What does a growth mindset mean?

Help people and learn harder and have a nice brain and get more strength to do more work and don’t get sad – Elnathan

Your brain needs to be strong – Oliver

Each class will then continue to reflect on their “GROWTH MINDSETS” and come up with strategies on how they can have growth mindsets.

We decided to take photos that they can look at when they feel like giving up. They came up with their own positive messages that they would like to say to themselves when they feel their fixed mindset coming on.

The students got to enjoy their specialist lessons throughout today having lots of fun!

After Recess we continued with our investigations it was great to have visitors from the ELC and r/1 GC all the students were playing collaboratively. We were also lucky enough to have our buddies from 5/6 to help us with our reading and investigations. The students were using their 100 languages as they drew, wrote, made, designed, built, created, moulded and so much more.

We saw lots of valentines day cards being made, children practising their number formation, children writing books, children playing games outside, children making cubbies, children exploring small world play, children playing shops, children playing trains, children “cooking”, children designing with Lego and children making presents for their loved ones.

After investigations  we reflected on how we used our growth mindsets:

Zahra: it means you don’t give up.

Leo: it means learning making signs and trying again

Poppy: making good choices.

Kalil: get up and try again

Jacob: if you mix up try again

Arianna: I used my growth mindset to make a book for my Mum and Dad.

Yasha: I used my growth mindset to make a kitty.

Al: I used my growth to make a maze for the hopping mindsets.

Viraj: I used my growth mindset to play with my brother form ELC.

Annabella: I used my growth set to make a valentines day.

Ethan: I used my growth mindset to make a car.

This afternoon The Village made Valentines Day card, had specialist lessons and did some reading.

R1 EN and MC were detectives in questing “Why we thought our Murray Cod’s water was dirty?”

We then suggested names for our fish- watch this space we will vote on them tomorrow.

Today The Village explored CLARA which is about the students understanding themselves better as leaners. We want them to take responsibility of themselves as learners. Connecting to their own identities and purpose and managing their own learning. Evidence shows the more connected students are with themselves the more effective the learning will be.

So today we started with the “Creativity” learning power

“This dimension is about using my imagination and intuition when I learn, being playful and ‘dreaming’ new ideas, having hunches, letting answers come to me, rather than just ‘racking my brains’ or looking things up.”

We want to allow the students to flourish in their own wonder. To use their creativity to come up with their own ideas, investigations and learning. We don’t want to confine the students, but allow them to wonder and be inspired.

In The Village we allow the students to use their creativity through the 100 languages. We give the students choice to be leaders of their own learning.

Today we asked the students- What is creativity? How do we be creative? How does it make us feel?

Us educators are using puppets to help the students learn their learning powers.”SO today we met Mr Koala,

Hi I am Mr Koala! I am always watching you in class. I love seeing you make, build, draw, create, paint, sing, dance, write, explore and use your 100 languages.”

The students shared:

Dimi: It means doing a really good picture.

Viraj: I’m creative when I climb

Sierra; Creative means being able to do a lot of pictures and doing them good.

Nicholas: making something and painting it.

Poppie: taking your time

Videl: somethings real.

Ishpreet: You can just draw your family or grandparents that’s when I am creative.

sonny: You can do different writing.

Nicholas: it makes you happy.

Dimi: I used my creativity when I made my art box.

Nicholas: I made a parachute.

Viraj: I made a drum with the blocks.

Emily: I have been reading that’s creative.

Chase: I played with the tyres

You have to make things and you make everything you want to, any day you want and anywhere you go – Elnathan

The spider builds the web – Bodhi

You build stuff – Declan

You find friends to help you and building – Oliver

Building stuff for people, building houses – Nhial

I like building marble run and blocks – Nyok

I like building with big and small blocks – Nhial

I like drawing and I also like discovering around the class to see what I can do – Adum

I can play outside to create new stories – Nahom

I am happy when I am playing outside with the big blocks. I build a tower and a fort and a bus and I play in them – Declan

I like to build with friends – Arjan

What is creativity?

It means he creates stuff he does good learning- Zahra

you make stuff- Anabella

Playing with toys- Alannah

Playing with blocks- Sarah

How do you like to use Mr Koala’s learning power?

“I use Mr Koala’s learning power when I’m drawing” – Zahra

“I use Mr Koala when I play with sticks”- Hendrix

“Making” – Scarlette

“I use Mr Koala when I go outside and play with flowers” – Sarah

“I use creativity to make stuff”- James

“When I find sticks I like playing like a game with sticks, climbing trees and that stuff. Creativity” – Jed

“I like painting. That’s Mr Koala”- Ravleen

“I use creativity outside”- Sahib

“I use Mr Koala outside playing soccer”- Jordan

“On the drawing table” – Yasha

“I use Mr Koala’s creativity when I draw. I draw with Alannah”- Annabella

It was great to hear so many of the students voices. We then continued to explore our learning power of “Creativity” through play and investigations.

Take a look of using our learning power of creativity.

After investigations we reflected:

I used Mr Koala when I created Sierra’s bed. Dimi.

I used Mr Koala to play with the ducks, Hendrix.

I used Mr koala to climb, Viraj.

I used Mr koala to do drawing, Zahra.

In investigation I used Mr Koala to help Dimi finished off the bed. Sierra.

I used Mr Koala for dancing, Poppy

I used Mr koala to play with the ducks, Ishpreet.

I used Mr koala to make a swirl, Anabella.

Zac and Nahom from R/1EQ chose to create a home for Mr Koala, searching around the school for some gum leaves and gum nuts to help him settle into his new habitat.

We are very proud of how quickly the students have picked up their learning power of creativity. Maybe tonight they can share with you

“How they were creative at school today?”

Just a reminder that our Parent Information Evening will take place on MONDAY the 4th of FEBRUARY (tomorrow) In your Childs classroom, We will commence at 6pm.

We are looking forward to seeing you and sharing information about our year together.

A (free) creche is available for your children if you need or want to bring them along. The creche will be in  the OHSC room.

Thank you,

The Village teachers

After assembly we got to explore the provocation what are letters and sounds? Where do we see them? What can we do with them?

We used our literacy skills to investigate. We challenged ourselves by using our creativity, team work and leadership skills to lead our own learning through play.

We can’t wait to post more photos of the children but please remember to bring back those blog forms.

The students then took this into their own play and learning.

After lunch we spoke about safe hands and what does safe hand mean?

Sierra: No hitting and no punching

Viraj: No pushing use your mouth

Sahib: No being naughty, not touching people.

Anabel: No punching or hitting

Ravleen: no being rude?

Leo: No saying and words.

Ishpreet: no hitting

What does safe hands look like?

Ravleen: Putting your hands to yourself.

Emily: no touching people, you can ask.

Sonny: Can you give me a hi-five?

The students then went off and played making sure they had safe hands.

Mrs Nicosia’s class, Ms Quigley’s class and Mr Stramare’s class all have sport tomorrow, so can come dressed in their sports uniform.

Today we met as a village and had a yarn about what we thought a mob could be…

Zac: What is a mob?

Do we know what a mob is?

Alexia: a different country

Leo: a monkey is a mob

Eva: an insect could be a mob.

Nahom: It could be black, yellow red.

Sonny: a language

James: a gorilla

Adum: Maybe when people get together

Annabel: a kangaroo

Kie: A meeting

Zac: Maybe everything is like a mob.

The teachers then shared what their mob was and what their mob meant to them and who was in their mobs?

The students were then given the provocation to share about their mob, using their literacy and sharing skills. As educators we got to see the students use their learning powers of belonging and curiosity. The students were able to recognise and share where they felt they belonged and then became curious in each others sharing their mobs with their peers and teachers.

Some of the students reflected…

Kobe: A mob is about your heart.

Dimi: A mob is about family

Sonny: About people and friends.

Enrique: all about friends.

Hong: Your family and friends go to the zoo.

Sonny: my family, my friends and my cousins

Annabel: my family, my two dogs, and my cat and I love my cousins

Leo: My family and my one dog.

Hendrix:  My dog.

Zahra: I have a got a cat and a dog, my mum, my dad and my brother.

My mum and my dad and me.

Ravleen: my mum and my Dad and my brother and my dad.

Kobe: my brothers, my Mum and Dad, my pa and Nan and me.

Just a friendly reminder to please bring back the children blog forms 🙂