Principal’s Voice – July 2024 - Bold Park Community School

July 22, 2024
College Early Childhood Middle Playgroup Primary Whole School

Principal’s Voice – July 2024

I had an opportunity to expand my vocabulary when I came across the word ‘growlery’. It was explained as a place of refuge or retreat when one is out of sorts or in ill humour. I thought, what a brilliant word!

Then I found another meaning, suggesting it meant something undesirable to the point of disgust. The English language is rife with words with varying interpretations and can be confusing at the best of times.

I thought I would clarify some Bold Park Community School word definitions; ‘communication’ and ‘interview’.

As we move into semester two of the school year, we come together as families and educators to ‘communicate’ about children’s academic, emotional and social development and to make plans with the teachers about how to support them.

‘Communication’ is a two-way street where the speaker and the listener are active participants. Listening and understanding are key elements of our Reggio Emilia-inspired school.

In our practice, we work towards everyone in the school, listening to each other with empathy, believing this helps us understand others, our world, and what we need to do. Empathy is a complex skill we develop throughout our lives. It is the ability to emotionally understand what other people feel, see things from their point of view, and imagine yourself in their place.

We come together for the parent/teacher ‘interviews’ to listen and understand with empathy. An ‘Interview’ is a face-to-face meeting of people for consultation. Consultation is exchanging information and opinions about something to reach a better understanding.

Words are powerful. They carry our thoughts, our ideas, our feelings and our intentions.

- Felicity Kinsella, Acting Principal

Our intentions for the parent-teacher interviews are to:

– Meet and get to know each other better.

– Help understand more about a child.

– Learn more about a child’s academic, emotional and social development.

– Make plans with each other about how to support a child.

I wish you all a positive experience in the upcoming parent/teacher interviews and an exciting term brimming with listening, understanding, and empathy (and limited need for a ‘growlery’).