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THE INTERVIEW PROCESS Questions that parents and teachers could discuss with students to develop the ability to reflect on their performance and for them to take responsibility for their own learning:
 * 1) How are you going with your work now?
 * 2) What areas do you need to work on to improve?
 * 3) What strategies do you think would help you to improve?
 * 4) What have you learned and how can you use it beyond the classroom?

The benefit of this process would be to:
 * 1) Encourage the students to take responsibility and ownership for their learning
 * 2) Solve individual problems
 * 3) Make personal decisions about their own work
 * 4) Develop communication skills to discuss their learning and work performance
 * 5) This process develops depth of knowledge and higher order thinking
 * 6) Young students share good work
 * 7) Opportunity to have time with their family and practice communication and reading skills and a chance to share school experiences

For older students the process is an opportunity to:
 * 1) Demonstrate a growing maturity
 * 2) Talk to parents in an organised formal and non-confrontational way
 * 3) Forum to share the range of their school activities and growing competence in content areas

As the parents it is important to realise that you are supporting your child by attending the parent-teacher interviews. This participation allows your child to practice real-world skills with a supportive audience who has the child’s best interest at heart.

QUICK COMMUNICATION IDEAS ü __Emails__ – provide your email address to the school if you are interested in this form of communication. ü __Notes__ are welcomed to provide information. Please use them to explain absences or make a phone call to the school. If your child is absent for more than 12 days in a year this would generally be considered to be above the state average based on statistics in recent years. ü __Year 6 Diaries__ have been in use this year. Check with your child to ensure that they are recording: due dates for work tasks, notes regarding incomplete work to be finished, forthcoming sports events and other school dates. Parents are welcome to write notes directly into the diary.

SUGGESTED HOMEWORK MATERIALS A suggestion might be to create a special box or basket that is labelled for the child with some or all of the things listed below: A dictionary, a thesaurus and an atlas A pencil case with coloured pencils, textas, greyleads, biros, glue stick, a ruler and an eraser Tape dispenser, paper punch, and scissors Variety of papers, scrap paper, coloured paper and cardboard scraps, Concrete materials such as counters, dice, real coins building blocks and tables charts are also handy items to collect.

LIBRARY BOOK RETURNS Develop a regular routine with your child to ensure books are borrowed, read, discussed and returned on a regular basis. This is a life skill that you are developing, so it is worthwhile showing your child that you expect them to borrow and look after the books and return them on time.

HOW PARENTS CAN HELP AT SCHOOL The following is a sample of activities that many parents have found satisfying personally and benefit children by supporting the school and the community: ü Staying in contact with the class teacher regarding your child throughout the year ü Let the school know an area of expertise that you are willing to share ü Attending school functions and celebrations ü Helping with fundraising ü Helping at working bees to improve the school environment for your child ü Assisting on excursions and at sporting events ü Offer to help in the classroom by: reading to a small group, hearing a child read, by sharing a skill or hobby, by assisting with preparation of resources, by typing children’s stories etc. ü  Help with a specific project for a short period of time ü Help in the Library ü Help organise social functions ü Serve on School Council ü Become an active member of the Parents Association