After hearing Debbie Pushor’s presentation at the Statewide Principals Conference in June 2019, one school Principal was inspired to do something to recognise the learning children do outside of school hours. Brett Millott, principal at Daylesford Primary School, told his school community about the presentation in an article in the school newsletter:
(Debbie’s) presentation was about parent engagement and developing a shared partnership between home and school. One of her key ideas was to recognise the massive amount of learning that happens outside of school. Lots of this learning happens through families. So to start the ball rolling I have attached a sheet to the newsletter that invites children to record something they have learnt outside school…
The students responded with lots of things they’d learned; here are a few samples:
- I learnt how to do a handstand and how to make an origami rabbit
- I learnt how to make pear and apple puree for our baby Jaeson
- I learnt that short haired pointer girl pups are brown and boy pups are black. They can’t leave their mothers until they are 8 weeks old.
- I learnt how to cross a soccer ball and shoot with my lace.
- I learnt how to do butterfly for swimming
