2 March 2023

The community at Our Lady’s School, Craigieburn, is working hard to involve parents and families in the many dimensions of life in the school. Religious Education Leader Marim Elia reflects on the opportunities the first few weeks of the new school year have provided to engage parents in meaningful ways:

Through the example of Mary and Joseph, we learn that parents are the first role models and pillars of their child’s faith journey. Research indicates that parent engagement in schools is closely linked to better student behaviour, higher academic achievement and enhanced social skills.

This past week has given us a great opportunity to meet the parents of our students on numerous occasions. After perfecting Shrove Tuesday pancakes last year, we invited parents to sample our pancakes last Tuesday. As an added bonus this year, we had the services of a barista so parents could grab a coffee at the same time.

Families and students gathered on Wednesday at Our Lady’s church to mark the beginning of Lent. It was great to see so many parents and siblings joining us for this important occasion in the Church’s liturgical calendar.

Parent–teacher meetings took place on Thursday and parents were able to book a time to meet with their child's teacher to share knowledge about their child.

We are also in the process of establishing the school’s advisory board. Parents will have the opportunity to participate in the decision-making process at the school. No particular expertise is required, except a desire to represent and give voice to the parent body in advising the school about important matters particularly related to providing the best possible education for our children.

We pray that this partnership with parents continues to grow at our school so that our children grow in life and faith.