If you focus on results, you will never change. If you focus on change, you will get results. Jack Dixon

We often set goals for ourselves and our children. Goals can be small and achievable in a short space of time or goals can be colossal and attainable only through years of dedication. Goals can be motivating or they can be directionless. They can excite and enthuse or they can be intimidating and overwhelming.

Have you ever thought about the impact of improving a mere 1% per day? I recently read an article that talked about just that. The article did the maths on improvement. Improving just 1% per day for an entire year results in a total of over 3700% improvement. Why? Because of compounding. The article highlighted that sometimes focussing on big goals can overwhelm us into inactivity, whereas celebrating the 1% moments – even though they may seem insignificant at the time and we may not see the immediate benefits – is worthy because we know we will eventually reach what we are working towards.

This week parents of students in Years 1 to 6 receive their child’s Semester 1 report card. Student reports in Australia are required to deliver on a five-point scale of achievement. You will notice in addition to this five-point scale, that our teachers make specific comment about your child’s improvement, as well as recommending achievable goals for the coming semester. I encourage you to celebrate with your child the struggle they experienced and the effort they exerted to realise this improvement. Know that drawing attention to this will inspire and encourage your child to continue in this vein, and teach him/her that long-term goals can be accomplished through the 1% moments.

Never discourage anyone who makes progress no matter how small. Jack Ma

- Jane Mueller, Principal