It is great to be back and be part of this community again. Travelling for eight weeks was a fantastic experience but it also makes you appreciate what a great place it is we live in.

It was also interesting to watch the news and read the papers in Britain to see the main topic of interest was the introduction of a National Curriculum and a return to formal exit examinations. This caused a great deal of debate amongst groups involved with education.

Three articles in last weekend's West Australian also caught my attention. There was discussion about the value of homework and how it is best given. From all I’ve read and observed I would say there is no doubt home work is a valuable tool in the education of students. The important factors are the why, what, how and when. Homework should be consolidating what a student has learnt and developing a habit and routine that encourages a love of learning for pupils.

It becomes counter productive when it is a laborious task, such as a number of worksheets with many examples; when it is not relevant or revision of what has been learnt during the day; when it takes a long time to complete; or when it causes a great deal of family friction and conflict. If you were to find evidence of any of these factors in your children’s homework I would be happy to discuss it with you.

We are moving closer to the end of Term 2 and there has been some wonderful work happening throughout the school. Teachers have been writing reports and I have had the pleasure of beginning to sign them and see how the children have progressed. This term we have taken on board comments made by parents, with teachers writing comments in more parent friendly language to give a clear picture of student progress. We would welcome your feedback on the format and comments of these reports.

As you would be aware we have had a focus on Science throughout the school under the leadership of Fulvia Stanford. Linked with the Australian Science Curriculum aspect of Human Endeavour Mrs Fulvia Stanford organised a number of guest speakers to give talks on their field of Science. These have been inspirational and created a great deal of discussion among students and staff. I would like to thank Mrs Stanford for her ongoing work and enthusiasm in this important discipline.

Finally, I would also like to acknowledge the work of Mrs Liz Schelfhout and the Leadership Team and staff during my absence. It is wonderful to be able to take leave and be absolutely confident St Kieran remains in safe and very capable hands.

Warm regards

Red Berson
Principal