Senior School Report – March 7, 2019

Congratulations to all our rowers for their fine efforts in training and in rowing in the re-scheduled Head of the Lake on Wednesday, and again to those crews who were successful on the day.- Commiserations to our First Crew, Connor Shugg, Will Peucker, Tom Barry, Brayden Sands and Jackson Long who did not have a good result on the day.- Congratulations to Grammar for their success and to Damascus who showed they have arrived as a serious contender.- I would also like to commend our Spit Crew for the way they conducted themselves over the week, and particularly for the cheers they gave our rowers on their return to school.- At its best, Head of the Lake unifies our boys in a joyful way and contributes to their sense of belonging.- Congratulations to our First crew who took out the State title on Saturday, we are happy for them that they have at last managed to replicate their good training form in a race environment.- Well done.

The growth mindset that is encouraged in all forms of sport is one that our successful students apply to their studies.- The training and dedication that sees sporting abilities grow is mirrored by the study/homework and dedication that sees cognitive ability, knowledge and thinking skills grow.- The results are more obvious in sport, the growth in skills and abilities is visible for all to see.- Students don’t automatically transfer their efforts and thinking from sport to schoolwork.- They need to be guided to see that similar choices and efforts need to be made in support of their study and the results will then take care of themselves.- For most people, the opportunities education creates will be more likely to change the trajectory of their lives than their efforts in sport. When encouraging your son with regard to his studies, it is far more important to focus on the efforts than the results.- It is known that those students who are focused on improving their own understandings and skills are more resilient when a bad result comes along than those who are focused on beating their peers.- High (yet realistic) parental and teacher expectations are also linked to improved performance.

On Tuesday, March 12 we are holding parent/teacher/student interviews.- I encourage all to attend.- Even if you suspect you may not learn anything new, attending reinforces to your son that you value him and his education.- Your son should attend with you, it is their education and the student needs to be invested in it, even more so than parents or teachers.