Weekes' Weekly News

I’ve recently learnt that there are a lot of similarities between a crowd of people trying to spot a whale and a class full of children learning together at school.

This ‘epiphany’ of sorts hit me as I stood in brilliant sunshine, out on the edge of a cliff top, at a popular viewing point, in and amongst a bunch full of strangers, attempting to steal a glance at the multiple whale pods, ‘supposedly’, out in the great vast ocean that morning. I stood there (socially distanced) of course, binoculars in hand, looking left, looking right, up and down the coast line, as did my other whale watching peers that day.

A good half an hour went by with some ‘nearly’ and ‘almost’ moments, as some of my whale watching friends, ‘the Class of Sunday 5 June’, thought that they had hit the jackpot, achieved ultimate success, mastering their learning, as the colours changed, the waters rippled, presenting ‘whale like’ activity to the hopeful naked eye. The minutes flicked by, looking left, looking right, up and down, refocussing the binoculars, each time somebody breathed. My whale watching class mates were in the zone.

I am certain that some members of this class even convinced themselves that there was in fact a whale out in the waters (even if they hadn’t seen one themselves), due to the simple fact that there were other class members claiming that they had seen one. Even if I wasn’t one of the ‘lucky ones’ who claimed to spot these magnificent creatures that day, it was still a joyous experience to be a part of. It was quite special to be a part of a group (I won’t say pod), as we supported each other in our pursuit for knowledge, the pursuit for the ultimate prize. 

Standing out in the winter sun (and breeze), I felt and sensed a number of similarities to that of a classroom full of children, who have ‘nearly’ and ‘almost’ moments every day. These learning (I will say pods now) house children who are so excited and energised, with not only their learning success, but also the learning success of their peers. These environments are places where children also support and console their friends when mistakes occur, when false starts are had (the first steps which lead to learning opportunities, growth, development and eventual skill acquisition). These classrooms, just like this whale watching class, does not just thrive on success, but thrives too in persistance, challenges faced and struggles overcome. Even if success is not shared by all, that is not the point. Revelling in others’ successes, triumphs and achievements (and almost moments) is half the fun, bringing everyone together, all along for the ride, as one collective and supportive unit.  

For what it is worth, I did see spurts of water that day. In my eyes, there were moments of darkened patches of water that were definitely 'whale activity'. Regardless, whale or not, I was excited, I was energised, by the ‘supposed’ successes of my whale watching cohort that day, as they succeeded in their learning, as they saw their selected creature out in the deep blue ocean. Even if they didn’t actually see any whales that day, they still had fun in their learning, in the ‘nearly’ and ‘almost’ moments. And so did I.

Have a lovely long weekend.  Stay warm. May your football team get over the line for you...

Kind Regards,

Ed Weekes 

School Principal