From the Principal 

Essential Agreements - a cornerstone of our IB programmes

For people new to our community, it can take a little while to adjust to the way things are done at Preshil. This is true for students and teachers alike, and we learn with every new member to our community how best to support this transition. One thing that can be striking is the lack of rules and punishments that follow on from the breaking of these. For teachers and students who come to us from other schools, it can seem as though Preshil is without these structural safety nets, but I believe we have something much more powerful at play.

Every year, each class or year level, develops a set of agreements which specify how they collectively want the learning, the learning space and the learning community to operate. They often reference values which the group determines to be held in high regard, and they often also reference learner profile attributes which are central to engaging and persisting with learning tasks.

In terms of student accountability, these agreements set up expectations that are aspirational, and to which our teachers can remind students that we are all working towards. And in terms of student agency, that these agreements are student generated speaks to Preshil’s deep commitment to the idea that the only true discipline comes from within. These are not rules imposed from the institution, they are values generated by the students. As we know, many rules are stated in the negative - thou shalt not… and so on. But Essential Agreements are in essence inspirational and aspirational. They are framed in what we would want, rather than in what is not welcome.

When we grapple with issues regarding inappropriate behaviour in classes, Essential Agreements provide a first step for our teachers as they serve as a reference, a yardstick to measure behaviour against, and one which was set in place by the cohort. If the Essential Agreements include statements about the value inherent in learning, or the courage to try, then these can be a positive way of affirming classroom norms without needing to resort to negative consequences. You might hear a teacher say, "This is what you have agreed to, and what your peer group decided on how they want the learning environment to be." 

Over the next couple of weeks, our students at Blackhall Kalimna will revisit these Essential Agreements. This is appropriate as they should be regarded as living documents, ones which may need to be reviewed to ensure that they are fit for purpose. Our Year 7s are some way into this process. They have begun to examine value propositions and ask themselves, what would I need to do to show that I’m upholding these?

We value feeling safe at school so we will, 

“dig deeper and not make an assumption on looks/behaviour at school”.  

We value learning so we will, 

“keep an open mind”.

It is an eternal joy to continue to find such strong correlations between the work of Greta and Margaret Lyttle, and the International Baccalaureate. As Mug said,

We shall try to impose as few rules and behaviour patterns as possible, except as are understood by as many of the community as possible to be necessary for cooperative, joyful learning and living together.

(Margaret “Mug” J R Lyttle)

Joyful learning and living together. Another aspirational statement on just how our school might be.

Cressida Batterham-Wilson

 Interim Principal 

cressida.batterham-wilson@preshil.vic.edu.au