Wonderfully Created for Teamwork!
Tanya Vaughan, Deputy Principal - Head of Primary
With excited little faces, my grandchildren appeared in the kitchen, proudly displaying the ‘find’ they had secured from upstairs – a large, flat piece of cardboard! Excitedly they asked if they could ‘make something with it’, and whilst I still had dinner to finish preparing, it proved to be the perfect thing to entertain the children during this time.
My granddaughter, the eldest, went running to the cupboard to get the textas and my grandson went straight to the drawer to find some sticky tape. As I cooked dinner, I could hear them coming up with all sorts of suggestions as to what their creation could be – a house, a bed…even a space ship!
They drew designs, wrote letters and numbers, stuck tape all over it and even managed to get their uncle to help cut some small pieces out so they could make name badges. It was lovely to see and hear them be creative, letting their little imaginations go wild as their creation came to life!
It wasn’t all smooth sailing, however…there were upsets, squabbles over colours and one not listening to the other as they played. They both had good ideas and spent a lot of their time talking over each other, not really taking in what the other was saying. The eldest wanted to dominate and take control – giving orders and directions to the younger sibling. Sometimes, he was compliant – other times, he also had good ideas that he wanted to share.
From the kitchen, I listened and tried not to interfere every time they hit a communication breakdown (it’s all too easy to just jump in and fix things for them). However, there were times when I could sense some direction and advice was needed – reminding them both to listen, to use their ideas together and, of course, take turns!
At the end of the evening, they were still playing with the flat and highly decorated piece of cardboard. It had ‘taken’ them to the moon, to visit Nanna in Sydney and to the shops to buy pizza for dinner (all in their imagination, of course!). They were proud of their work, and they had found a way to compromise and work together, coming up with an afternoon and evening of fun and adventure for all the family to enjoy.
Philippians 2: 1-4
“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others”
This week, our Primary students were reminded in assembly about the important role they can each play as part of a team. As they learn to use their giftings – in leadership, creativity, encouragement and productivity – there is a wonderful sense of collective achievement when they learn to collaborate and bring their ideas together, humbly listening and learning from each other.
It’s not always easy, nor is it everyone’s preference to work in a team. However, understanding that we live, play and work in relationships with others, we believe that learning to work in a team is an important and necessary skill for all our young learners to develop. As we come together and celebrate our differences, appreciating how they can enrich and support the team experience, we see more of God’s creativity and masterpiece displayed.
Each student, each teacher, and each member of our community has been Wonderfully Created for Teamwork – how amazing it is when we come together and celebrate the strengths of others as we work together in harmony and humility.