Each family was given the mounted A4 photograph they sent in for the collage and the display. This was a gift from the community and a recognition of how their family story is very much part of the fabric of the story of the St Luke’s school community. A number of families voiced there hope this would occur so we are sure this gift will prove succesful.
We have also asked that each family shares their story about the photograph in a few lines and emails it so we can develop a booklet to go with the collage.
This booklet will be collated in 2012.
During the year at various points in the journey the Catholic Education Office has documented our progress which will be turned into a short film for other schools who may be interested in taking on a Community Arts Project.
This week, Stefan filmed interviews with our principal, our Wellbeing leader and a member of the team who was also a classroom teacher.
One student reported that the conversations with her family helped them to articulate their values and she was particularly proud when she was given positive feedback on her family’s considered image.
In the surveys one student said, ” It was a great opportunity for us to learn about photography.”
” I think I could use photography for reflective purposes” said another.
” I find to have a collage of all our photos is a great way to show us a community.”
“It is great involving the parents and ALL the students were involved.”
Conversations and Creative Snapshots on PhotoPeach
Our community night was very succesful with over 100 people attending including Judy Jack from the CEO, Father Tony, staff and many families. The senior students led the prayer, the welcome and directed conversation in small groups with families. Many families were eager to share their stories and the room roared with conversation.
Our Community Arts evening was a success with a very high participation rate and data indicates that an increased number of senior students participated in the evening. When requested to attend events during the project there was at times an air of reluctance with numerous excuses for exclusion. As the project continued these excuses were reduced and attended increased.
This data combined with the information from the concluding surveys shows an element of disengagement in the project. It is interesting to note that those students who were engaged, related to the willingness of the parents to participate. The more robust discussion around the project was evident in conversations with parents and the considered image itself.
Survey data related to negative responses does relate to parental involvement and the perceptions displayed by the parents around the value of the project.
As this project was ultimately about who we are and what we believe and therefore value, what then are the implications for family/ school relationships and student outcomes around learning? What values about learning are compatible and which are not between school and home? How does this challenge us in our context? How do we understand and draw on the values and perceptions of home to address student outcomes, understanding the power of these values and perceptions? Do we fully understand this virtual school bag concept?
The power of the project has been around conversations with parents and students , enabling a better understanding of families in our community. The challenge is to continue the conversations and use these conversations for positve relationship building.
The senior students were asked to lead the conversation and take on tasks related to the community evening but leadership was embedded as a goal throughout the project with students leading the learning through mentoring others and also representing the school with Steve Parish. Students are encouraged to share the learning they acquire and begin to use photography as one contemporary tool to record learning. Developing leadership through project work has its challenges. Allowing time for students voice, skill development and leadership application will enable further success in any projects undertaken in the future.
Senior students were surveyed at the end of the project and we acknowledge their input for future learning. Students whose families were engaged in the project and participated in workshops reported a higher level of personal engagement than others who did not. Those students who indicated the project was not a success for them, were held back by lack of complete understanding of the purpose of the project. For many, photography captured them, enabling its use as a form of creative expression and a tool which they can continue to explore. The workshops with Vanessa were appreciated and the skills applied in other contexts.
Photography will continue to become part of the way students document their learning, however from a management perspective we will need to look at the access to equipment as the damage to cameras was high. The replacement of cameras and increased training in their use will have to be factored in. Also further learning from the Steve Parish experience and the cross age mentoring began in this project will be investigated further.
Addressing the challenges should include increased student voice and responsibility. Allowing for this to occur will be the challenge of teaching staff and teams.
As the team were mounting pictures and discussing the format of the community evening, we were reflecting on the constraints of time to meet and work together with all the other business of the school and our diverse roles. We know that teams are powerful agents of change and supportive to each member. However it is a challenge to organise time to discuss and clarify options. The use of technology has supported communication but meeting as a team is indeed powerful.
We have the opportunity to reflect on our strengths and challenges in this project and to learn from feedback given by parents, students, staff and other professionals.
By sharing our project at networks including the Whitehorse Council we are opening the discussion for ourselves and sharing ideas from other professionals on developing partnerships and building parent engagement.
When a small group of students attended the Steve Parish session at Healesville Sancturary, they were immersed in the passion Steve has for nature and how he uses photography to share his emotions.
The big question for the students to reflect on during and after the event was” How does photography help my learning?
With the support of the Teaching and Learning leader and the IT leader, the students reflected on the experience and this question documented in a short video. This video will be accessed by our community and especially our teachers to support our understanding about student engagement through student voice.
The science grant enabled us to pursue photography from different perspectives.
We now have every family represented in the project and our images are enlarged, printed and ready to be mounted for the community evening that we have called “Conversations and Creative Snapshots.
The senior students will host the evening and facilitate the conversation with the families.
Invitations have been sent out and we are hoping that as many families as possible can participate.
Our artist is residence has created a collection of our pictures to put on a canvas. This art piece will reflect each families and the draft looks very impressive. It will be unveiled on the evening.
