Engaging Again with the Community

I have delighted to be involved in many more ‘normal’ activities over the last week that have seen the school engaging with our community:

It was lovely to host parents at Junior School assemblies once again. Year 3 and Kinder showed tremendous confidence in their presentations and displayed their learning with great pride. It was a joy to see the interesting work and the growth of the students in their learning.
Our School Captains were wonderful representatives in Sydney at Government and Parliament House on Thursday as we visited those venues for an annual leadership day.

Experience Day on Friday was a fabulous event, with many prospective and committed Year 6 students preparing for Year 7 and enjoying time in class and with each other as part of the orientation process. Despite the wet and several staff being away, the contribution of staff and students contributed to a very positive time.
The Colour Run two weeks ago was a wonderful time of fun and fund-raising, celebrating our community being together again. It was lovely to celebrate this being together. Special thanks to the more than 40 parent volunteers and Mick Wilson who supported School staff in this wonderful event.
The Calrossy Class of 1991 met last Saturday afternoon to enjoy their 31st anniversary reunion since graduating, having missed the 30th event last year due to COVID. I loved hearing their stories of time in the school and where life has taken them since Calrossy. The group informed me that they were a ‘naughty’ year but what impressed me was the great friendship, enthusiasm and joy in being back at school that was obvious amongst the group. The other important learning was the impact of individual teachers and how they contributed to the adults they became. It was an enjoyable time for all.

Independent Principals call for a strengths-based approach to education policymaking

The Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA) last week launched a policy manifesto for school education as a contribution to public debate in the lead up to the Federal election. “Australia’s recent experience of whole-scale remote learning due to COVID-19 has created curiosity and expectation around the possibilities for re-shaping the way we deliver school education,” said AHISA’s CEO Ms Beth Blackwood. “The disruption of COVID-19 may have given us the opportunity to hit the reset button on schooling, but we also need to review and reset approaches to national policymaking in education to ensure support for the successful transformation of school education in Australia.”

AHISA advocates for the adoption of a strengths-based approach to national school policymaking. “AHISA has been advocating since 2015 for policymakers to drop deficit-model thinking about schools and adopt a strengths-based model,” said Ms Blackwood. “Over the last two-and-a-half years, our schools and teachers have conclusively demonstrated their amazing strengths. Now is the time to build on those strengths and accelerate the great work that schools are initiating for the benefit of their students.” Ms Blackwood said that in recent years the federal government had made significant and welcome investment in resources to support teachers’ work with students and to assist their professional development.

“Teachers now have access to a range of high quality, government-funded digital resources that are helping to make a difference in curriculum delivery, in addressing student wellbeing issues and in supporting parents to engage with their children’s education,” said Ms Blackwood. “These initiatives are helpful and appreciated, but we now need a deeper shift in the underlying principles that policymakers in governments and think tanks bring to policy formation if we are to harness the opportunities now open to us to revision and reshape school education.”

Ms Blackwood said that a strengths-based approach to policymaking in school education acknowledges that the professional expertise of teachers and school leaders recognises:

schools are operating strategically within a continuous cycle of development or improvement
the value of and supports diversity in educational provision and pathways for students
continued successful evolution of Australia’s schooling system depends on schools having the autonomy to experiment, research and trial or adapt ideas and practices.

AHISA’s policy manifesto offers six priority areas where a federal government can help to rapidly strengthen Australia’s school system using a strengths-based policy approach:

1. Supporting the digital transformation of Australian education

2. Upskilling the teaching profession

3. Re-establishing and strengthening students’ learning journeys

4. Supporting student wellbeing

5. Strengthening all levels of school leadership

6. Engaging parents in their children’s education.

“We call on policymakers to seek ways to support and accelerate the progress schools have made in the face of extraordinarily difficult and uncertain conditions,” said Ms Blackwood.

“By working with the profession, and building on the strengths of educators and schools, governments can support schools to rebuild and reshape learning pathways to help all students achieve their best possible futures. A strengths-based approach to policymaking is the best way of bringing together the expertise of educators and the resources of governments to realise a new vision for Australia’s school system.”

Try, Try Again

As parents we have experienced toddlers in our homes who were clapped and cheered for everything they did, even when they kept falling over while trying to walk. When did this encouragement stop? When do the adults in your life start criticising your mistakes rather than applauding your efforts? When do you start counting your failures rather than your successes?

This even happened to the great scientist Albert Einstein whose work last century still shapes our world and thinking today, so great was his influence.

One day in his university class, Einstein started writing the 9 X table on the board.

9 x 1 = 9

9 x 2 = 18

9 x 3 = 27

So far, so good.

9 x 9 = 81

But then he got to 9 x 10.

9 x 10 = 91

The class erupted in howls and hoots of laughter. Einstein had made a mistake! The great scientist wasn’t so clever after all!

Einstein waited for the jeers and laughing to die down and then he said, “Despite the fact that I analysed 9 problems correctly, no-one congratulated me. But when I made one mistake, everyone started laughing. This means to me that even if a person is successful, society will notice their smallest mistake.

The moral of the story is that as parents and teachers we shouldn’t let criticism destroy dreams. The only person who never makes a mistake is the person who does nothing”.

Einstein believed failure is success in progress. He believed that you will never fail until you stop trying.

So, this year, my encouragement is that parents, teachers and students should find our inner toddler and every time someone is not fully successful we should hear the cheers and clapping in our minds. We must remember that to try and fail and try again is the way that everyone learns. Confidence, trying again and safety to make mistakes is part of the learning journey of everybody and we need to support a climate in which people are applauded for trying, not being laughed at when they get it wrong.

'Tis a lesson you should heed,

Try, try again.

If at first, you don't succeed,

Try, try again.

Then your courage should appear,

For if you will persevere,

You will conquer, never fear,

Try, try again.

Once or twice, though you should fail,

Try, try again.

If you would at last prevail,

Try, try again.

If we strive, 'tis no disgrace,

Though we do not win the race.

What should you do in that case?

Try, try again.

If you find your task is hard,

Try, try again.

Time will bring you your reward,

Try, try again.

All that other folk can do,

Why, with patience, should not you?

Only keep this rule in view,

Try, try again.

William Edward Hickson

Ukraine War: Easing Your Child’s Anxiety

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine brings new images of war to the nightly news, many parents are wondering: How do I explain the evolving situation to my kids? Our children of all ages have been through a lot already due to COVID-19. We should remember that children and teenagers pick up on the moods and feelings of the adults around them and integrating the topic into family conversation at some point could be helpful as well as finding other ways to alleviate stress if children are feeling anxious. Even for older children the following tips may be worth considering:

Limit your news consumption in front of the children

While it is tempting to stay glued to the news cycle, watching developments and political reactions, our children don’t need to view every breaking news alert. If you need updates, use your phone or other device to view them more discretely.

Get outside and move

Encourage students and teens to stay active and to take a break and play a game. Getting outside can also help us all deal with the pandemic and the mounting anxiety we all feel from time to time.

Emphasize what we can control

It can be hard to answer questions from kids when there is so much uncertainty. “Will Russia bomb us next?” “Is this the start of World War III?” “What is going to happen to the kids hiding in the shelters?” are a few of the hard questions cast at parents from young and perceptive minds. While it can be alluring as a parent to say, “It’s all going to be OK,” focusing on the present moment may be the most honest approach with kids. “We can say, ‘Today we are safe. We are grateful for what we have. We’re going to go do something fun this weekend. We get to take a walk.”

Engage older children who may be ready for more mature conversations about world events

Finding reliable news sources that will present information that is unbiased and without a political bent is valuable in keeping the conversation informative.

Recognize when it’s all become too much

Validating concerns to children who may be worried about Russia-Ukraine is a helpful way to show you are listening and compassionate. While it can be easy to dismiss a concern as silly, addressing a child’s worry is a cue for parents to sit down and pause and to talk to a child about what they are feeling.

Do not minimize what your child is feeling, even if you think they are being overdramatic … that could do harm. Give them a moment, ask them to put those feelings into words if they can, and then move into ‘these are the things we can control,’ let’s focus here today.”

From an interview with Nicole Cobb published by Vanderbilt University, 11 March, 2022.

Full Article: https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2022/03/11/how-to-ease-your-childs-anxiety-about-the-war-in-russia-ukraine/

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. I Peter 5: 6-7

David Smith

Principal Calrossy Anglican School

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