We all enjoy being rewarded for effort and achievement and we know that if students aren't motivated learning won't happen.

Each day we have the privilege of sharing student achievements; watching a reluctant learner swell with pride as they master a new skill or learn a new fact is often the highlight of our day. It never ceases to amaze us what children can achieve when rewarded for their efforts. You have to wonder what is going on in a child's brain when they are motivated and how can we tap into that to optimise learning?

What we know is that there are two types of motivation; approach motivation, which directs us toward a reward, and avoidance motivation, which helps us to avoid damage. Ideally, they balance each other out. As teachers and parents, we can work together to help students develop the motivation systems that will serve them well, long into adulthood.

At school we do this in a variety of ways;

Encourage curiosity and exploration.
Beyond their basic needs, children are motivated by exploration, play, mastery, and success.  We can reinforce these motivations rather than being overly fearful that children will not achieve the desired outcome or 'fail'. At school, we create opportunities to learn through exploration and play, creating wonder and curiosity - we show them where to look but not what to see. We challenge them to take learning risks and see mistakes as an opportunity to learn. 

Don’t rely on incentives.
Our goal is to support children to develop their own inner fire to learn. We have found that children can stop engaging in activities once they’ve been given a tangible reward for it; systems that focus solely on external rewards and consequences are unlikely to achieve sustained, productive motivation. Regular specific feedback is more likely to support healthy motivation

Remind children that success is possible. 
We are unlikely to be motivated to do anything if we think it’s impossible. We work hard to instill a growth mindset in our children (the belief that we can change and improve through practice) this enables them to motivate themselves.  

We all have different intrinsic motivators.
Teachers spend many hours with your children, they take time to get to know them and find out 'what makes them tick' - this is vital to engage them in learning. For example, a child intrinsically motivated to play sports might respond well to constructive criticism from a coach but another student might respond more to encourage and get discouraged by criticism. 

To add to the complexity, different situations might require a different approach - what works in the classroom may not work on the sports field, what works at home may not work at school and visa versa. 

Despite the common misconception that some people naturally have or lack motivation, science shows that through safe exploration, affirming and specific feedback and feeling success, motivation can be developed - success breeds success.   

Santa Claus is Coming to Town!

On Sunday 1 December at 11 am (rain or shine) we will be taking part in the Devonport Christmas Parade. 

This year we are doing things a little different. One of our parents, Sarah Ostergaard, has kindly choreographed a simple (I hope!) dance which the children are learning. We would encourage them to practice at home...and just in case you want to get in on the action we have a video so you to can learn the moves too!

To keep it simple we will be asking the children to wear red, white and green, Santa hats would be a great addition too! More details to follow in the next bulletin. 

Save the date, last year, it was pretty amazing......this year will be next level! We look forward to seeing you all there. 

Respecting Our Environment 

With the warmer weather, it is fantastic to see so many children playing at school outside of hours, however, in the past few weeks, there has been an increasing amount of damage to property. This has included a smashed mains pipe (installed two weeks ago at a significant cost), wooden palates and planks (possibly used for skateboarding ramps), graffiti, broken lost property box and wheelie bins being moved about the school. If your children use the school grounds please give them a firm reminder to respect the school grounds.   

Green Team 

The veggie gardens have been repaired and now the Green Team is back! Thanks to Caroline Ede, Laura Scarlett and Nicole Delaney for offering to get the children back in the gardens. The Green Team is looking for a few more helpers to lend a hand on an ad hoc basis, if you are able to help out please let me know.

The gardens are such a rich learning resource, it will be great to have them back in action.