We all know that right from the start of a child’s life, learning is the number one priority. 

Learning about the environment is the key to survival. Decoding sounds into words, working out how to be fed and cared for are all part of learning. Shortly after that our children start conducting their first practical experiments; what sinks, what floats, what is hard, soft, hot or cold. They drop things to the ground to try and make sense of gravitational pull. Then there are the questions; ‘What is that?’, ‘Why is that?’ and ‘How does this work?’  

For our children, kindergarten and then school are the key learning institutions which are built to support and drive this thirst for knowledge, skills and understanding. Unfortunately, that natural tendency towards learning can be lost in the mechanics of assessment and grades. Curiosity can fall to the background to be supplanted with a desire to achieve the marks needed to move to their next stage after school. Through this our students sometimes lose that fundamental sense of joy, confidence and connection to that early learner. The learner who went out to explore for answers to questions. 

As a learning community, we need to continually emphasise to our students the value and joy of learning, reminding them that the core purpose of school is to learn. Fundamental to all our lives is that learning provides us with the opportunity to make our lives better.