Every week I take the time to call or in some cases email 3 students and their families. And these conversations are designed to be positive - to acknowledge, celebrate and draw attention to the things our young people do that may not always be picked up in formative and summative assessment. The power of calling home to celebrate a students amazing capacity to welcome a new student to their class, emailing through a few sentences about a student's excellent collaboration during group work and having a quick 5 minute conversation acknowledging a student who has struggled to get to school of late and the fact that they were on time every lesson that week and ready to learn is immensely powerful. The email to the right highlights the impact it has on both learners and the families.