From the Leadership Team
The importance of passion in action
Matt Brinson, Head of Senior School
As you are hopefully aware, the character trait for this semester at School is passion.
The word passion can be hard to define. Often used interchangeably with words like determination, conviction, and love, passion is a strong desire that can get us to do amazing things. It's an emotion to be acted upon, as without action, passion yields no worthwhile results. Passion is the fuel in the fire of action.
By doing what they love, students learn to try hard, take risks, overcome obstacles and never quit, no matter the frustration. Passion makes learning fun which can drive success.
PASSION AT SCHOOL
We recently held the Valedictory Dinner for the Class of 2021 at the MCG. After two years of remote learning and COVID delays, this was a wonderful celebration of their achievements. It was also a chance to speak with the graduating Year 12s, most of whom had just started their tertiary studies. This next step in their journey towards their future careers will also hopefully be journeys of passion.
There are numerous examples of passion in action at Kilvington every day. The recent Senior School House Swimming and Athletics events allowed many passionate and talented athletes do what they love.
House Cheers and the upcoming Jazz Cabaret and School Production of Mamma Mia are all outlets for those passionate about the Performing Arts.
Across the School, there are many co-curricular opportunities available for students who are passionate about robotics, running, music, chess and debating, just to name a few.
Research indicates that kids struggle without a sense of passion. Perceived ability is a reliable indicator of continued participation in activities. The research clearly shows that when you find someone who has discovered their passion and has been given the freedom and encouragement to fully pursue it, they will feel a strong measure of self-respect, confidence, and determination to succeed.
The following infographic represents some of this research.
(*A 3.1 GPA, or Grade Point Average, is equivalent to an average B letter grade across subjects. Source: elearning infographics).
FOUR WAYS TO HELP CHILDREN FIND THEIR PASSION
Here are four ways you can help your child find their passion:
(1) Focus on interests and skills – we all naturally gravitate towards things we’re interested in and good at as these build our confidence and often form our passion. Encourage your children to try lots of different things.
(2) Find purpose – ask your children what activities they find meaning in. Use tests to help - there are many career, aptitude and personality tests (like the Morrisby Report students complete in Year 10) that can match their interests with a list of potential careers, jobs, activities or groups. Use these tests as a general guideline and not a hard and fast pathway.
(3) Find a mentor - passion is often contagious. When you’re around someone who is passionate about something, their enthusiasm rubs off. A mentor can be a friend or relative, professional sports person, musician, artist or expert in their career field.
(4) Celebrate individual differences - every individual student is different, and we celebrate that. It also means some will have found their passion, while others have not, some are still looking, and some have not yet begun the search. The important thing is not to try too hard to find their passion, it will find them when the time is right.
Staffing
We welcome Joel Savage, our new learning support teacher in the Senior School. Joel graduated from Australian Catholic University in 2021 with a Bachelor of Teaching, majoring in Literature. He has completed placements in Learning Support.
We are delighted to announce that Tanya Pynt has been appointed to the position of Learning Support Coordinator. Tanya has been at Kilvington for 18 years and has been teaching in Learning Support for the past eight years. She will take on the role at the start of Term 2. Her appointment ensures continuity for students as she supports, or has supported, many of them already.
We welcome our new receptionist, Katrina Sleeman, who will join us in Term 2. Katrina comes from the hospitality industry and has worked at places such as Donovans and Mietta’s in customer service relationship roles. Katrina is also a committee member of the Richmond Cricket Club where she runs a working party for women in cricket.