The past two weeks have seen over one hundred Year 7 parents and caregivers attend Literacy Conversation meetings to discuss the very critical issues of literacy, language and learning with a team of very dedicated and passionate English educators. The conversations on these two evenings focused on the following areas: the importance of reading and writing, and how best to develop these two critical areas of literacy; the very strong connection between learning and wellbeing; and the wonderful opportunity we have as a community to work together to improve the learning outcomes of our young people. The vibrant and considered dialogue that resulted from the two Literacy Conversations, coupled with the substantial number of phone and email interactions, have shown what a marvellous and committed community of parents we are blessed with at Mount Carmel.

Research supports the fact that parents and caregivers are an essential component of the learning process. Parent engagement in learning is known to lead to improved outcomes for students of all ages in areas of literacy, school adjustment and attendance, motivation, self-regulatory behaviour, social skills, and school retention rates. Connecting learning at home and learning at school in the form of a partnership has been a critical part of our literacy focus over the past three years. The core principles that underpin the Mount Carmel Home-School Literacy Partnership include the belief that parents, carers and families are the first and continuing educators of their children, that learning is lifelong and occurs in multiple settings, that partnerships and school communities flourish when the diversity and strengths of families are valued and utilised, and that community engagement grows from mutual respect, trust and shared responsibility.

Whilst parent engagement in education does encompass involvement in college activities such as attending events, participating in working bees or belonging to the Parents and Friends’ Association, the key focus of this home-school partnership is learning. This focus on learning translates into parents fostering their children’s learning at home, at school and in broader community contexts. The Mount Carmel Home-School Literacy Partnership program invites and supports parent engagement in the education of their children in order to improve the learning and wellbeing outcomes for all of our young people. This rich collaboration between home and school will undoubtedly result in positive and beneficial outcomes for all – students, parents, and teachers.

Mrs Clare Murphy

English Coordinator & Literacy Instructional Coach