Golden Check Ins

As the holidays fast approach and the term comes to a close, we are called to reflect on the first part of this year. Anthony Robbins reminds us that the “The quality of our life is a direct reflection of the quality of the questions you are asking yourself and others”. 

In a recent professional learning on Rites of Passage facilitated by Dr Arne Rubenstein, we were reminded of the importance of golden check ins, building and deepening relationships with each other. It’s all in the questioning we were reminded. Often the first question we ask our loved ones at the end of the day is “Did you have a good day?”, with the reply generally being a one word answer and evoking a negative response. Instead of focusing just on the negative parts of the day, our conversations can be so much deeper if, as Dr Arne suggests, we do a golden check in with each other.

G - How are you going overall?

O - What have you been occupied with?

L - What have you really liked recently?

D - Has anything been difficult?

E - What are you excited about?

N - What support do you need?

As we end Term 1 we check in with our Year 8s about their experience at Camp Manyung.

What have you learnt about yourself today?

'Whilst I was scared of heights, I am proud that I went on the giant swing, and I pulled the rope to come down.'- Alice 

'I loved the giant swing and the tree top challenge. I have learnt to be brave. At the start of the giant swing activity, I was scared but others encouraged me. My teammates said “you can do this”, and I did!' - Anna 

'I learnt that I have found a new leadership skill in myself, and that I don’t need to always follow others.' - Sasha 

'Today I connected with people that I didn’t know I could be friends with.' - Karly and Charmaine 

What are you most grateful for today?

'I am grateful for the staff who came to Camp Manyung and gave us this opportunity.' - Ella, Teela and Jade 

'I am grateful to have clean water, a good family and a good environment.' - Ava 

'I am grateful for the support of friends, school and a good learning environment.' - Gia 

'I am grateful that I get a great education and my friends.' - Bella 

Ms Dina Oro
Deputy Principal Student Wellbeing

Inspirational leaders

Some of our student leaders were fortunate to attend the International Women's Day breakfast at Queens Hall, Parliament House earlier this month. They heard from guest speakers Professor Katie Allen and Ms Georgie Crozier MP on the inspiring topic 'Invest in women: Accelerate progress'. Thank you to Ms La Greca and Ms Byers for attending with our leaders. Here are some of the reflections and highlights from our leaders.

"It was so inspirational to hear about the journeys of three female politicians. They were very transparent about the challenges they have faced and how they worked to overcome them. They gave us some very insightful advice that we will definitely be able to use in the future!" - Ava

"Something that really stood out to me was how the women spoke with so much confidence in themselves. They would share stories about how many times they were knocked down but it only gave them more motivation to try harder the next time, which I was really inspired by." - Eve

"After hearing from three fantastic female politicians, one key message that really resonated with me was given by Dr Katie Allan. She modeled the importance of resilience and perseverance; to be true to yourself, profound in what you believe in and reach for your goal, no matter what!" - Mia

"Something that stuck with me was that sometimes you need to be brave to achieve your dreams. If you want to do something that is going to make you happy, you have to be prepared to step out of your comfort zone and get knocked back a few times. Our story is not of the barriers that prevented us from achieving something, but rather of what we did to overcome those barriers." - Charlotte