The Junior School Learning Showcases provide opportunities for younger students to practise public speaking as they talk about their learning and for older girls to share projects with an authentic audience. Parents attending recent showcases may have noticed how frequently the girls refer to the importance of working through a problem or difficulty, rather than giving up. This is an important step in developing the growth mindset that features in the work of renowned psychologist, Dr Carol Dweck.

Dr Dweck identified two beliefs about ability that affect how people approach challenges. A fixed mindset is the belief that your abilities are predetermined at birth and a growth mindset is the belief that your skills can be developed through perseverance. While we all naturally have a combination of fixed and growth mindsets, students who are working in a growth mindset context understand that persisting with a challenge is the way to develop ability. They are willing to ask for help and try new, effective strategies. Dr Dweck suggests that adults look for children’s fixed mindset reactions and help them learn to push through, perhaps by helping them to know that understanding grows gradually and the feeling that something is hard shows that the brain is growing and learning. It is encouraging to hear the girls speak about their willingness to persist from such a young age.

JSA Walk-a-thon and Father’s Day Breakfast

The girls can wear their sport uniforms and House-coloured hair accessories for the JSA Walk-a-thon on Friday 18 August. Sponsorship donations should be deposited by Friday 1 September. Please ensure your daughter’s name and class are included in the reference or message section. Thank you for your support of the JSA’s annual fundraising event.

The JSA Father’s Day Breakfast will be held at the Junior School Campus on Tuesday 29 August, beginning at 7:15am. Tickets are available through this link.  Please note that all tickets must be purchased online by 6:00pm on Friday 25 August.  Thank you to the JSA for organising this special event.