Principal

Aaron Cox 

Principal

The Land of the Rising Sun lives and breathes "manners"

 I love Japan! It is the most amazing country for food, world heritage sites, history, safety, people, stunning scenery, the list goes on. Having just completed 2 tours of Japan with our Year 5 and 6 students over 20 days, I am left to lament what we, as a society, have allowed to happen to our community standards and our collective respect for the populous at the expense of celebrating an individual’s right to have the world revolve around them. I believe that in our rush to build an individual’s sense of self-worth and identity, we have forgotten what it means to have respect for others.

Nearly all of our children traveling through Japan came to understand and demonstrate manners that are expected and considered common in Japan. Our students tried not to take up the width of the footpath when walking, they cleaned up after themselves after eating and stacked plates and cutlery together to help the restaurant staff, they stood on the left side of an escalator to allow people to pass on the right and finally, they learned to stand up on all public transport to offer their seat to an elderly person. They also very clearly thanked everyone verbally in Japanese.

Single acts of common courtesy go a long way towards promoting social cohesion, spacial awareness, respect for others (especially the elderly).  It was great to see our students flourish with these skills.

Civics and Citizenship are currently in great distress and rapid decline in Australia, but I believe we must arrest this as a collective or else we will suffer the consequences for years to come. I believe it to be a school’s responsibility to be anchored in a democratic culture, promoting basic common-sense values and beliefs that define and anchor our society. For that reason, I would love to see our children demonstrate basic courtesies on a more consistent and regular basis. It costs nothing, it is easy to do, it shifts people's sense of entitlement and produces a sense of community and collective efficacy. A community that reflects compassion and courtesy is not something to be viewed in a negative fashion. I would therefore like to start a conversation with the school community around what would you like to see our children do around the school? Simple examples may include, children opening doors for all adults and greeting them at the same time, children putting themselves second at a door and allowing mothers with prams, or any adult for that matter, to enter as they step to the side, children learning to shake hands of staff in the morning or afternoon and greet appropriately with eye contact. I have watched students for years weigh up the role/position of the adult approaching and then weigh up their actions. This tells me they know what they are supposed to do, they just don’t apply it evenly. I would like to see an adjustment to this thinking. I look forward to having these conversations with parents.

I would like to thank Teizo Kato for organising yet another two AMAZING tours of Japan. The effort and energy involved is second to none and Teizo doubles down with two tours; back to back. A super human effort. I would also like to thank Patrick Halpin, Narelle Vella and Linsey Paguio for assisting over the two tours. Sore feet, a lack of sleep and constant supervision of 11-13 children is a lot to ask of anyone let alone, as well as working 19 hours per day for 10 straight days in a foreign country. Thank you one and all for ‘laying the foundations of success’ and making a positive difference to the lives of each of our students.

Our next student tour will be in 2021. If your child will be in Years 5 or 6 then start saving now for this once in a life time opportunity that should not be missed.

Professional Learning Communities (PLC) School Spotlight

Kingswood became the center of attention last week for South East Region government schools as we had many visitors at Kingswood to watch and learn from our PLC practices. Feedback from these schools was extremely positive and highlighted the great work we do here. I would like to thank all of our staff and especially Verity Sheppard for her leadership and preparation for making the week so successful. Many schools will be back in Term 3 to view our work. Everyone should be proud to be part of the Kingswood family.

Congratulations Lucy 

Lucy competed at the State Scholarships for Dance on the weekend in Hip Hop where she was lucky enough to place 3rd.  She has secured a place in the Australasian Scholarships that will be held in Brisbane in July. Good Luck!