The Role of Grandparents

As educators we understand the importance of partnership in educating our young men.  We know that if there is a difference in values, expectations and standards between home and school it can create confusion for young people.  Boys appreciate consistency and thrive when they understand what is expected and where the boundaries lie.  But we also understand that we live in an exceedingly busy world with a myriad of external pressures demanding our attention.  This is where grandparents and older family friends can be of assistance.

“In today’s society, where certainties and big plans have disappeared and they have been replaced by confused and incoherent ideologies, grandparents can be essential for the development, enrichment and socialization of children.” Luisa Fiorentino

Last week’s Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Morning was a celebration of the role these people play in the lives of our students.  We all have fond memories of our grandparents, relatives or family friends and the important role they play in our lives whether that be through marveling at our talents, telling stories of the past, sharing their wisdom on a particular topic, reading us bedtime stories or coming to watch us as we play sport or music or both.

This connection is particularly important for some of our grandparents as they look on fondly as their grandson continues on in the Newington tradition that they began many years ago.

One of my favourite moments from last week’s special morning was walking into Year 3 as the boys and visitors sat around in a circle and compared notes about what school is and was like.  Whilst I am pleased to say that we have moved on in many ways since the days when our visitors went to school, it is important to uphold aspects of the traditions and values that were present in the past and foundations in the development of school such as Newington.

Staff Professional Development Day – Maths

Two weeks ago, while the boys enjoyed an extra long weekend the teachers had the privilege of participating in a Staff Professional Development Day focusing on the new Maths syllabus. The day was led by Kristen Trippet, a Mathematics Consultant from the Association of Independent Schools.

The day was spent problem solving, discussing stages of student skill development, familiarising ourselves with the syllabus and planning for future units of work.  The day provided great affirmation for our team as they are already implementing many of the ideas discussed.

One of the significant messages out of the day was the importance of embedding Maths learning within a real life context and encouraging our boys to make connections between Maths and with other subject areas.  This was particularly encouraging as it highlighted the close alignment between the PYP approach and the new syllabus. This was perhaps best captured through the encouragement to help our boys to ‘mathematise life”.  We look forward to continuing to develop our Maths program with a strong focus on skills and quality mathematical thinking.

P&F Contributions

We are extremely fortunate to be supported by such a generous parent body and P&F.  Over my time here the P&F has raised an extraordinary amount of money that has been used directly to enhance the boys’ learning and the facilities and resources they have available to them.

Last year a number of individual families donated seating for our Bush Classroom.  This week the plaques will be added to these seats acknowledging the families who so generously contributed to this initiative.

As the result of another extremely successful Walkathon, I am thrilled to announce that we will be upgrading the furniture in The Lookout as a result of the money raised.  When the boys arrive back at school for the beginning of Term 3 (fingers crossed) The Lookout will be completely transformed and will include a number of new tables and benches with whiteboard tops and some new ottomans for flexible seating.  The furniture has been chosen to specifically promote collaborative learning and provide a unique learning environment that supports inquiry and the development of research skills.

HAPPY

Throughout this year you would be aware that we have been using the HAPPY acronym (pictured below) and our PALS (Positive Attitude and Life Skills) program to support our boys in the development of a positive mindset.  One of the motivating factors for this was some data we received from last year’s Gallup Student Poll, a research-based survey that measures the hope, engagement and well-being of students in Year 5 to 12. Last year’s data was not as positive as we had imagined so we decided it was necessary to develop a new initiative to address this.

In the survey the following definitions are used to capture the meaning of hope, engagement and well-being.

Hope – The ideas and energy we have for the future drives effort, academic achievement and retention of students of all ages.

Engagement – The involvement in and enthusiasm for school reflects how well students are known and how often they get to do what they do best.

Well-being – How we think about and experience our lives, tells us how students are doing today and predicts their success in the future.

Yesterday I received the data from this year’s survey and the results are extremely positive with huge growth in all areas.  Whilst the overall results are difficult to directly compare due to the change in cohorts, the comparison between last year’s Year 5 Class and their results this year is extremely encouraging.  The results indicate a 4.6% rise in Hope, 4.8% rise in Engagement and an 8.6% rise in Well-being for the current Year 6 Class.

What is perhaps even more encouraging is the overall comparison between our Stage 3 students and those from similar schools.  Our boys are 20% more hopeful, 10% more engaged and 8% higher in the well-being measurement.

We are extremely HAPPY about these results and will continue to develop our programs to support the development of a positive and healthy mindset in all of our boys.