From the Assistant Principal
Through the Window
On Friday of Week 3, I had the chance to walk past many ‘windows’, as I observed every student in the school participating in our second Exhibition Celebration. Each student had the opportunity to present their inquiry journey to their peers, with two-or-three artefacts to show in their individual ‘exhibition spaces’. These artefacts included artworks, posters, informative texts, and digital presentations.
Our Year 6 students wandered the exhibits with their Kindergarten buddies, gently explaining as they went. Students walked from classroom to classroom with carefully prepared questions recorded on post-it notes for exhibitors to answer. Exhibitors engaged their visitors with interesting facts, and also with calls to action. It was noisy, students and teachers were excited, and the pride on students’ (and teachers’!) faces was obvious. This event was another roaring success, and evidence of the benefits of inquiry learning! These benefits include the development of engaged, confident, competent learners who have increased initiative, self-direction and empathy.
As the adults wandered through the exhibits, we listened carefully to students as they answered one of three questions that we posed:
- Now that you know what you know, how will you make the world a better place?
- How will you apply this learning to your life in the future?
- How can humans apply these understandings to make the world a better or safer place?
These questions are important for students to consider, because inquiry is not about one-off projects completed in five lessons. At St Matthew’s, it is about living out our vision of a Christ-centred school in the Catholic tradition where students learn to engage fully with society and serve their communities as people of action and hope.
We sincerely hope and pray that parents will be able to join us for our next Exhibition Celebration in Term 4.
Petra Cole
Assistant Principal