Term 3 can be a mental challenge for some students. Half of the year has already passed, Semester One report cards have been distributed, but the “light at the end of the tunnel” aka the Christmas holidays are still a little too far away to help motivate the students and drive their study habits. Term 3 is about doing it for themselves, working hard, effectively managing their time and more importantly, continuing to establish good work habits that help pave the way to success. 

In speaking to students about their reports and how they were feeling at the end of the first semester, one thing came up time and time again. Our students do not manage their time efficiently. This is not necessarily something new. It is not the first time I have heard about students beginning to study for exams only a couple of days before it was scheduled or a student who was still finishing an assignment the day of its submission deadline. To assist in achieving success, our students need a shift in their mindset when it comes to assessment items, homework, and classwork.

The Tokyo Olympics commence in only one week. The athletes that are competing in Tokyo, or any other Olympic event for that matter, have not achieved success in their chosen sport by starting their training a few days before the selection trials or the morning of their event. They begin their journey years before and their rise to success did not come without challenge and effort. It is hard to succeed, and that goes for academic pursuits as well. In his book Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell writes about the rise of successful people such as Bill Gates, Tiger Woods, and so forth. He analysed success stories and determined that to become a master of your craft, it would take at least 10,000 hours of focused effort. This is the minimum threshold of required to set a person apart from the rest of the world.

What can we learn from Michael Phelps? Well, when he was developing his skills in his younger years it was his hard work and strong work ethic that helped him to become successful. It was not easy. He was not born with some super-human ability, but he was driven to succeed. He was prepared to make sacrifices, to ignore distractions and to not make excuses to get better. He was accountable for his decisions/actions, and he certainly did not simply dive into the pool and magically become a swimming champion. He worked at it.

Middle Years students are not at the end of their journey towards success. They are not in the Champion Years; in fact, they are just at the beginning. Like success in the pool, academic success does not come without hard work, without a strong work ethic and without good study habits. Here are some tips for students to implementing this term to help foster good habits around study. To help accumulate their hours of focused effort.

It is important to remember that if your child is not satisfied with their study habits or their progress thus far this year, then it is important to reflect on this and make a positive change. This is the only way students can avoid making the same mistakes again this semester. It is important that we continue to support them through their educational journey and work hard to keep motivating students, especially those who are finding it challenging to motivate themselves. No one obtains success easily. Everyone must work hard to achieve and as the legendary football coach Vince Lombardi put it … the only place that success comes before work is in the dictionary.

I wish all students all the best for this semester.

Craig Cullen

Assistant Principal Middle Years