Primary Principal Update – Student Led Conferences

Dear Parents,

On Thursday, March 22nd,  you will have the opportunity to participate in a conference led by your child. Please note that this is not a regular school day. There are no classes during student led conferences. 

As you know, student led conferences provide children with a powerful and authentic opportunity to share, celebrate and reflect on their learning experiences across the curriculum.

Conferences will be held in individual classrooms and will involve a number of student families simultaneously rotating through different stations. Each conference should take between 40 to 45 minutes.

There will also be opportunities to visit Music, PE and Language A and B to enjoy some of the activities on offer. There is no scheduled time to visit these specialist areas, just an open house arrangement before or after your student led conference.

We hope that you will be able to attend, engage positively and gently encourage your child to share, celebrate and reflect on learning. This should be an enjoyable occasion for everyone. Parents are invited to ask questions about their children’s learning experiences. Here are some typical questions that may help uncover some important thinking during the day.

• Why did you select this piece of work for your portfolio
• If you could work further on this piece, what would you do?
• How is your work now different from your work at the beginning of the year?
• Can you show me an example of a learner profile or attitude you are developing?
• Is there anything you learned that made you take action? Why?
• Which pieces reflect one of your strengths?
• What are you most proud of? Why?
• What have you found challenging?
• What knowledge or skills have you learned from doing this piece?
• Have you achieved your goals? Explain? Do you have new goals?

Please remember that this is not a time for you to discuss your child’s progress with their teacher. If you wish to meet with your child’s teacher for this purpose, you should arrange an appointment to do this at another time.

Student led conferences are a great opportunity for us to help our children take responsibility for their learning and to inquire into their thinking. We hope you are able to join us in celebrating their active minds.

Warm regards,

Alan Lorenzini