PRINCIPALS REPORT
As we continue through the season of Lent, we are reminded of our call for reflection and transformation through prayer, fasting and almsgiving. In a recent zoom meeting with the Bishop and Director of Schools, a group of student leaders was challenged to consider the idea of 'fasting' from their devices and social media as a way to live out their Lenten commitments.
Our faith should be a living faith that responds to the needs of our time, and becoming more aware of the impact of phones and technology on our lives is worth reflecting on. Our phones may 'connect' us with lots more people, particularly through social media, and do provide many benefits. However, the quality of our connection with others can suffer significantly when we give too much time to being isolated on a screen and not truly connecting with those around us. We are called to be in relationship with others, and perhaps fasting from technology in some way may help open opportunities for greater true connection with the people we share our life with.
Attendance is something that has been a strong focus for education systems right around the world in recent years, after downturns in attendance after COVID. An interesting report from the UK has shown the significant impact regular attendance has, and the likelihood of students achieving expected standards has a very strong correlation to their attendance levels. Of particular interest was the impact on students improving attendance from the 90-95% range to the 95-100% range.
At John Therry this is something that we also need to focus on and address. Our attendance average in 2024 was 88%, which averages out around missing one day per fortnight. Missing 1 day per fortnight adds up to 20 days per year, and is lots of learning that is missed that can be difficult to catch up on. The percentage of our students attending more than 90% of the time is 54%, which leaves lots of room for improvement.
Did you know you can see your child's attendance percentage in the Compass App? This might be worth a conversation to celebrate how well they are going, or look at setting some goals for improvement. In 2025 our current attendance rate is 92% and we have around 65% of students attending at a rate above 90%. I will continue to update throughout the year to help us all be more aware of our attendance rates, and aim to improve these.
I thank the parents who attended our P & F meeting this week. We realise that life is busy and taking the time out to attend can be challenging for many. Parent voice plays a really important part in our College Executive attempting to stay in touch with the needs of our families and the discussion we have are always really worthwhile. Our meetings take place on Tuesday in week 8 each term, and commence at 6:30pm. This week we provided an update on the master plan that will take place over the next 6-8 years, with the first stage almost certainly a new administration block, Library and classroom area. We will post some images in the near future to share more information about the proposed buildings. Our next meeting will likely have lots more information available and we welcome all parents and friends to attend.