Teaching & Learning in the Senior School

In his novel The World According to Garp, John Irving’s protagonist comes to the realisation that, “You only grow by coming to the end of something and by beginning something else.”  This week I have been privy to both beginnings and endings at St Greg’s.

Firstly of course, our Year 12 students are finishing their 13 years of schooling this week.  This brings to a close many years of school uniforms, bells and teacher supervision of learning. It is in this ending that our young men feel nostalgic for days past; they can sense that something is slipping from their grasp, and they try to stave it off by holding closer their ‘brothers’ with whom they have spent a large chunk of their lives.  Some will cry, but all understand that this is an ending of something.  What we whose school days are behind us know, however, is that this ending is really only the start of something else.  Our fine young men are now ready to launch themselves into the world and begin their adult lives.

On a different point on the continuum of schooling, our Year 6 students are also coming to the end of something.  For the past term, I have been working with these young people of hope and promise as they wind up their Primary schooling in the Junior School.  We have spoken about the idea of ‘transition’ between different stages of life, which reinforces this idea that an ending of one thing is really the beginning of another.  Our Year 6’ers are mixed in their excitement and trepidation about ending Year 6 and beginning Year 7.  On Tuesday, as part of their transition program, Year 6 had the opportunity to ask five current Year 7 students, and the Year 7 Coordinator Mr Luke Wilson, some of their most burning questions about high school.  Their questions reflected such maturity in their thinking, and included:

• What is the scariest difference between primary school and high school?
• How long did it take you to feel comfortable navigating your way around?
• Was there a defining moment when you finally felt settled into high school?
• What are the top 3 things I could work on in Term 4 to get ready for Term 1?
• How did you deal with changes in friendships in high school?
• What subjects do we do in Year 7?

The Year 6 students were so thankful to these young men and Mr Wilson for taking some time to alleviate their concerns.  I hope they feel even more confident now that in every ending is a great new beginning.

So, best wishes to all of our young people as they end one thing and begin another.  We teachers hope we have contributed positively to providing them with the resources they will need to help them succeed.

Mrs Louise Millar

Director of Teaching and Learning