12 May 2017

A Message from the Head of Lindfield Campus

Effective Teaching and Parenting

This week I have borrowed heavily from an article by Kim Marshall in which he explains the parallels between what is seen as good parenting, with good teaching practice. In his summary he cites the work of Joan Walker, the author of Authoritative Classroom Management: How Control and Nurturance Work Together. Walker states that to have a significant long-term impact on students, classrooms must provide good instruction and build positive relationships.

Walker believes that good teachers incorporate many of the learnings from the “authoritative” parenting model in their teaching. She cites the work of Diana Baumrind (1967, 1978) who identified four parenting styles:

–    Authoritative – High control, high nurturance: these parents expect mature behavior, use reason to gain compliance, and are warm and supportive.

–    Authoritarian – High control, low nurturance: these parents value strict obedience but rely on coercion and are less nurturing.

–    Permissive – Low control, moderate nurturance and involvement.

–    Neglectful – Low control, low nurturance.

When Baumrind followed children who had been raised under each parenting style through adolescence, she found that those raised by authoritative parents consistently had the best academic and social outcomes; they had high self-control, were achievement oriented, friendly with peers, and cooperative with adults. Children reared in authoritarian homes had less positive academic and social outcomes; boys tended to be more aggressive, girls less independent. Children reared in permissive homes had low levels of self-control and self-reliance, lower academic achievement, and were often unsuccessful in social relationships. And children raised in neglectful homes had the worst outcomes: low self-esteem, and high levels of aggression and impulsivity. Since Baumrind’s groundbreaking work, other researchers have consistently found authoritative parenting to be the optimal model.

Parenting style has a direct bearing on how open children are to adult influence. Children raised in authoritarian homes (Do it because I say so) often resist rules and injunctions, whereas children raised in authoritative homes (Here’s why this is important,) are more likely to internalise their parents’ values and goals. Part of what makes authoritative parents more effective is that they listen.

“Authoritative parents seem to know when to get out of the child’s way,” says Walker. When helping their children with homework, for example, “The best teachers were parents who provided increased support in response to failure and did not interfere with the child’s autonomy after success.

Walker believes the key crossover points from the parenting research to teaching are that control and nurturance are both essential for teaching to be effective, and nurturance isn’t just a nice add-on. Young people pick up on this from a young age, she says, and by adolescence, they can articulate it very well.

This also works the other way, teachers acknowledge the importance of positive student/teachers relationships to their effectiveness. Positive relationships allowed them to help students to do more challenging work. It also creates a positive classroom culture where students are happier to take more risks in their learning and this relationship helps teachers be able to try different and creative ways of learning and teaching with their boys.

Whether at home or in the classroom, positive relationships and high expectations are important norms to help your son develop into the best version of himself. At Lindfield, we understand about the importance of teachers controlling the learning and at the same time building a connection with the boys in their care.

“Authoritative Classroom Management: How Control and Nurturance Work Together” by Joan Walker in Theory Into Practice, Spring 2009 (Vol. 48, #2, p. 122-129)

 

Ben Barrington-Higgs

Faith Matters

Winning the Biggest Battle

Richard Halverson writes ‘Do you want to be a winner? Compete against yourself, not somebody else. Outrunning your rival doesn’t mean you ran your best race. You can win over another and still not fulfill your potential. To be your best you must compete with yourself. It’s life’s biggest contest. A loser is a winner – however many his losses – if he conquers himself. And a winner is a loser – however many his victories – if he loses in the battle with himself. Alexander the Great conquered the world, yet cursed his own lack of self-control. Victory over others may in fact be the very thing that contributes to the winner’s failure to conquer self. Winning makes him arrogant, independent, thoughtless – and sometimes cruel. To put it another way, it isn’t what happens to you that makes the difference, but how you handle it. The one who stops maturing spiritually, is still far from being what God has planned for him.’

If you must compare yourself with another, compare yourself with Christ. “Christ … is your example. Follow in His steps: He never sinned, never told a lie, never answered back when insulted; when He suffered He did not threaten to get even; He left His case in the hands of God who always judges fairly” (1 Peter).”  Go ahead, measure yourself by that standard! And when you see how far short you fall, ask God to mould and fashion your life into the full potential, the divine original He intended. Do that, and you win the biggest battle of all!

 

Rev Peter Morphew – College Chaplain

 

 

Mindfulness

Social and Emotional Learning can help students develop the understanding, strategies and skills that support a positive sense of self, promote respectful relationships and build student capacity to recognise and manage their own emotions and make responsible decisions.

In support of our PALS program incorporating the Second Step program we are investigating current research on the importance of well-being, social skill development and resilience, and our observations of the needs of our boys to address their social emotional learning needs. One area of research that we are investigating is centered around Mindfulness and how we can implement a structured mindfulness program to support our boys and staff.

Mindfulness simply means paying attention to the present moment with kindness and curiosity and without judgment. It’s intentionally drawing your awareness to thoughts, feelings, or sensations happening from moment to moment.

Mind Yeti is a new resource from Committee for Children that will help kids reduce stress, improve focus, and build empathy through mindfulness. Research shows that mindfulness strengthens the regions of the brain that help us regulate emotions and solve problems. Mind Yeti will make it easy for kids and adults to tap into the power of mindfulness together.

Mind Yeti sessions are designed to help children practice mindfulness by learning how to focus their attention, regulate their emotions, and explore empathy and compassion. These mindfulness skills are a subset of the social-emotional skills taught in the Second Step program. Mind Yeti strengthens and complements the Second Step program.

As a school, we are currently trialing the use of Mind Yeti to address mindfulness and will re-evaluate its use at the end of this term. Any feedback that you may have around mindfulness is welcome.

Pascal Czerwenka – Deputy Head of Campus

 

For your interest and further reading:

Mindfulness Research (taken from http://blog.mindyeti.com/mindfulness-research)

Key Finding #1: Mindfulness can work, for adults and kids.

Mindfulness has been defined as “the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment” (Kabat-Zinn, 2003, p. 145). Studies have found that the trait, mindfulness, is associated with indicators of well-being, including optimism, positive feelings, and self-actualisation and has been linked to lower rates of psychological and emotional disturbance in both adults and younger populations (Brown & Ryan, 2003; Lawlor, Schonert-Reichl, Gadermann, & Zumbo, 2014). In addition, studies with adults have found a relationship between mindfulness and emotional intelligence (Baer, Smith, & Allen, 2004; Baer, Smith, Hopkins, Krietemeyer, & Toney, 2006; Brown & Ryan, 2003). With regards to the cultivation of mindfulness, mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have shown promise in promoting social emotional skills and indicators of well-being in children and youth (for reviews, see Burke, 2010; Greenberg & Harris, 2012; Harnett & Dawe, 2012). In addition, researchers who conducted a meta-analysis examining the effectiveness of MBIs with youth concluded that MBIs are a promising approach that warrants further application and investigation. (Zoogman, Goldberg, Hoyt, & Miller, 2014).

Key Finding #2: Mindfulness can help people calm down, focus, and connect.

Empirically, mindfulness has been found to support emotion regulation, attention, and positive relationships. Mindfulness involves an active process to attend to the present moment. This requires focus, the ability to control attention, and exercise executive functions (Zelazo & Lyons, 2012). Executive functions are high-level functions that are central to planning behavior to achieve goals, including inhibiting impulses and responses that may derail goal-directed behavior (Diamond, 2013; Diamond & Lee, 2011). Research has shown that mindfulness training can improve cognitive control, an important aspect of attention and self-regulation in children and adults (Flook et al., 2010; Jha, Krompinger, & Baime, 2007; Schonert-Reichl et al., 2014; Tang et al., 2007; Tang & Posner, 2009).

Key Finding #3: Mindfulness is associated with improved emotional awareness.

Awareness of emotions is a critical component of emotion regulation. Mindfulness is associated with the ability to better describe and identify emotions (Dekeyser, 2008). The open and accepting nature of a mindful state lends itself to effective emotion regulation. Present-moment awareness enables people to be tuned in to changes in their emotions. This present-moment awareness and acceptance work iteratively, in that “awareness facilitates acceptance by effectively detecting the affective cues that are then ‘accepted,’ which facilitates awareness by fostering an open mindset that allows for cue detection. Thus, mindfulness promotes executive control by enhancing experience of and attention to transient affects—the control alarms—that arise from competing goal tendencies” (Teper, Segal, & Inzlicht, 2014, p. 4).

Key Finding #4: Mindfulness supports social connection.

Mindfulness also has been found to support social connection. In particular, research has found trait mindfulness to be related to, or predictive of, openness, interpersonal closeness, and relatedness (Brown & Ryan, 2003). Recent investigations of MBIs with adults have shown improvements in social-emotional functioning, including empathy (Sahdra et al., 2011) and prosocial responding (Kemeny et al., 2012), suggesting a connection between mindfulness practice, empathy, and prosocial behaviour. Similarly, research with children has found improvements in prosocial behaviours as rated by peers, and self- reported improvements in empathy (Schonert-Reichl et al., 2014).

References

For your reference, here’s a list of some of the key research publications that informed the thinking behind Mind Yeti.

Baer, R. A., Smith, G. T., & Allen, K. B. (2004). Assessment of mindfulness by self-report: The Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills. Assessment, 11, 191–206.

Baer, R. A., Smith, G. T., Hopkins, J., Krietemeyer, J., & Toney, L. (2006). Using self-report assessment methods to explore facets of mindfulness. Assessment, 13, 27–45.

Burke, C. A. (2010). Mindfulness-based approaches with children and adolescents: A preliminary review of current research in an emergent field. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 19(2), 133–144.

Brown. K. W., & Ryan, R. M. (2003). The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 822–848.

Dekeyser, et al. (2008). Mindfulness skills and interpersonal behaviour. Personality and Individual Differences, 44(5), 1235-1245.

Diamond, A. (2013). Executive functions. Annual Review of Psychology, 64, 135–168.

Diamond, A., & Lee, K. (2011). Interventions shown to aid executive function development in children 4–12 years old. Science, 333(6045), 959–964. http://doi.org/10.1126/science.1204529

Flook. L., Smalley, S. L., Kitil, M. J., Galla, B. M., Kaiser-Greenalnd, S., Locke, J, … Kasari, C. (2010). Effects of mindful awareness practices on executive functions in elementary school children. Journal of Applied School Psychology, 26, 70–95.

Greenberg, M. T., & Harris, A. R. (2012). Nurturing mindfulness in children and youth: Current state of research. Child Development Perspectives, 6, 161–166.

Harnett, P. H., & Dawe, S. (2012). Review: The contribution of mindfulness-based therapies for children and families and proposed conceptual integration. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 17(4). doi:10.1111/j.1475-3588.2011.00643.x

Jha, A. P., Krompinger, J., & Baime, M. J. (2007). Mindfulness training modifies subsystems of attention. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 7(109). doi:10.3758/CABN.7.2.109

Kemeny, M. E., Foltz, C., Cavanagh, J. F., Cullen, M., Giese-Davis, J., Jennings, P., … Ekman, P. (2012). Contemplative/emotion training reduces negative emotional behavior and promotes prosocial responses. Emotion, 12(2), 338–350. doi: 10.1037/a0026118

Kabat-Zinn, J. (2003). Mindfulness-based interventions in context: Past, present, and future. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10, 144–156. doi:10.1093/clipsy.bpg016

Lawlor, M. S., Schonert-Reichl, K. A., Gadermann, A. M., & Zumbo, B. D. (2014). A validation study of the mindful attention awareness scale adapted for children. Mindfulness, 5, 730. doi:10.1007/s12671-013-0228-4

Sahdra, B. K., MacLean, K. A., Ferrer, E., Shaver, P. R., Rosenberg, E. L., Jacobs, T. L., … Saron, C. D. (2011). Enhanced response inhibition during intensive meditation training predicts improvements in self-reported adaptive socioemotional functioning. Emotion, 11, 299–312.

Schonert-Reichl, K. A., Oberle, E., Lawlor, M. S., Abbott, D., Thomson, K., Oberlander, T. F., & Diamond, A. (2015). Enhancing cognitive and social-emotional development through a simple-to-administer mindfulness-based school program for elementary school children: A randomized controlled trial. Developmental Psychology, 51(1), 52–66. http://doi.org/10.1037/a0038454

Tang, Y.-Y., Ma, Y., Wang, J., Fan, Y., Feng, S., Lu, Q., … Posner, M. I. (2007). Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 104(43), 17152–17156. http://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0707678104

Tang, Y. Y., & Posner, M. I. (2009). Attention training and attention state training. Trends in Cognitive Science, 13(5), 222–227. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2009.01.009

Teper, R., Segal, Z. V., & Inzlicht, M. (2013). Inside the mindful mind: How mindfulness enhances emotion regulation through improvements in executive control. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 22, 449–554.

Zelazo, P. D., & Lyons, K. E. (2012), The potential benefits of mindfulness training in early childhood: A developmental social cognitive neuroscience perspective. Child Development Perspectives, 6, 154–160. doi:10.1111/j.1750-8606.2012.00241.x

Zoogman, S., Goldberg, S. B., Hoyt, W. T., Miller, L. (2015). Mindfulness interventions with youth: A meta-analysis. Mindfulness, 6, 290. doi:10.1007/s12671-013-0260-4

 

2017 Literature Festival

Over the last week all 3 campuses of Newington College participated in the biennial Literature Festival. We were very excited to be able to bring quality literary experiences to our students. Throughout the event, the students explored ways that story can be told. 

Tony Wilson, author of The Cow Tripped over the Moon, engaged Kindergarten to Year 2 boys in how he creates a twist on well-known and loved rhymes. He also shared the skill of considering the backstory (a story that tells what led up to the main story or plot)  to rhymes. The boys re-worked Humpty Dumpty using these skills. We were very fortunate to have Tony visit our school as his book was chosen for 2017 National Simultaneous Storytime. 

They also shared stories with Kate Forsyth, the author of many books for children, young adults and adults. The boys were particularly interested in her little treasure box which held many trinkets some of which were very valuable. All of these had a story to tell. 

Years 3 and 4 shared stories with Jack Heath and Tim Harris and participated in a writing workshop with Christopher Richardson. The students explored worlds of fantasy and explosions and storytelling of an extreme nature. 

Years 5 and 6 collaborated on illustration as story with Matthew Lin creating their images in Manga and cartoon styles. James Phelan’s writing uses people he knows well as characters in his books and Jack Heath shared his early writing experiences having his first book published at the age of 19 and within the next 12 months will have published another 5. 

All classes participated in movement as story in a drama and theatre workshop. 

This type of event helps us to promote literature and a love of reading. Our visiting authors all shared the same message…start (writing or drawing), keep going (with writing or drawing), accept failures as learning (because we don’t learn unless we make mistakes), and enjoy what you are doing. 

“My heartfelt thanks to all of you for the invitation to the Newington Literature Festival for 2017. Without doubt, the festival was one of the highlights of my life as an author. It was inspiring to visit a school with such great love of reading and writing. The staff and students and parent volunteers were unfailing in their hospitality, and the planning was impeccable.” Christopher Richardson 

“Thanks for having me as part of the 2017 Newington Lit fest, I had a great time! Cool students, very cool staff and authors!!” Matthew Lin

Sue Gough – Teacher/Librarian/PYP Co-ordinator

 

 

Sport

Introduction

My thanks to all who have made me feel very welcome this term as I settle into the role of Sportsmaster while Miss Monaghan is on leave.  Staff and boys have been very supportive as I learn about life at Newington College Lindfield. 

As well, I have met with representatives of the parent Sports Committee which is a great support for the sports program at Newington Lindfield.  Having school and parents working together so well creates a very harmonious atmosphere. 

Saturday Sport

The winter sports season has begun very well.  Our football teams are playing with great enthusiasm and have posted some solid wins these past two rounds. 

Rugby Sevens has also ‘kicked off’ well.  We are very fortunate to be hosting most of the rounds this season.  Again, the standard of play from Newington teams is high and each match, be it rugby or football, I see the boys always ‘in the game’ no matter the score.  That is what we wish to see; teams showing grit and determination especially when times are challenging. 

Occasionally, teams do not have enough players due to illness or injury.  It can happen to Newington teams as well as the opposition.  When that occurs, it may necessary for boys to play an extra match for Newington or, in some cases, for the opposition.  I would like to commend the following boys for having done so already this season: 

Played for the opposition – Oscar Veitch, Christian Biasotto, Harrison Scott-Mackenzie, Jack Mannix, Diesel James

Played extra for Newington – Toby Ashworth, Mika Koskela, Oscar Veitch, Jake Ryan, Hugo, Flynn Clatworthy 

A reminder that Newington boys must commit to their football or rugby team each Saturday.  It can be very disheartening when boys withdraw for reasons other than illness or injury.  As it implies, the team is just that and without all members being present on game day, enthusiasm and enjoyment for those who do turn up to play are compromised. 

Dress

It is important that boys dress correctly for match day as well as training sessions.  On game day Newington boys do look smart and ready to play.  Training days occasionally see boys without the protective gear they need so they may participate in the full session.  A good habit to get into is to pack the night before so there is less rush in the morning.  Even at my age, I still pack my ‘school bag’ at night! 

CIS Representation

A number of boys have been nominated in various sports to trial for Combined Independent Schools (CIS) teams.  They are: 

  • Hockey – Max Yeoland
  • Rugby Union – Charles Brown, Charlie Burt, Finn Dundon, Harry Dundon, James Knight
  • Touch Football – Charles Brown, Charlie Burt, Finn Dundon, Harry Dundon, James Knight, Louis Quarello 

The process of nomination and selection to CIS usually follows the pathway of the school determining who it will send to the trials and, after skills sessions and often game situations, the team is selected.  

Sometimes, the Independent Primary Schools Heads Association (IPSHA) conducts a pre-trial as the number of nominations from various schools is too great for the CIS to manage.  Therefore, IPSHA intercedes to assist CIS and also ensure those who progress to that trial are real chances of making the team.  This was the case in rugby and touch football.  For hockey the trial is at CIS level. 

Physical Education Classes

My role while at Newington is to manage the Physical Education programme.  This term the focus is on dance and gymnastics.  We are very fortunate that, for the dance component, Ms Amy Gough is coordinating.  Amy has a wealth of experience in the teaching of dance and the boys will benefit from that.  Dance is as much about the mind as it is about the feet.  The curriculum states that dance:

“Is concerned with developing each student’s ability to express themselves through movement and their confidence to participate in dance activities.” 

“…provides students with the opportunity to explore and develop awareness of the ways in which their bodies move in and through space and how time and rhythm, dynamics and relationships influence the quality of their movement.”

(PDHPE K-6 Modules p 77)

“Gymnastics is concerned with exploring the different ways the body can move and providing a foundation for skills associated with movement activities.” 

“The focus is on initial movement exploration experiences involving locomotor and non-locomotor skills leading to the acquisition of some specific gymnastic skills.”

(PDHPE K-6 Modules p 157)

Dance and gymnastics complement each other yet there is a differentiation between the two strands.  Importantly both combine to assist students understand movement, improve coordination and develop confidence.

Conclusion

Again my thanks to all for making me feel so welcome in the Newington Lindfield community.  While I am here for just a short while, I do feel part of it and am greatly enjoying the experience.  My aim is to provide a positive sporting experience for all boys of Newington College Lindfield.

 

David Musgrove – PDHPE Teacher/Sports Master Lindfield (Acting)

PYP – The Exhibition: encouraging in-depth, collaborative inquiry

The Exhibition is an exciting time in our boys’ learning. It is the culmination of their experiences over a number of years of the PYP and is an assessment of their understandings of the programme and its framework. The Exhibition allows students carry out an extended, in-depth, collaborative project about something that they are passionate about.

As a requirement of the IBO and the PYP, the purpose of The Exhibition is to assess the students’ understanding and to celebrate their success as learners, working within the framework of the programme. It provides the opportunity for them to bring together all subject disciplines and utilise the transdisciplinary skills they have been learning through their time at school.

In 2017 at Newington College Lindfield, the focus will be on one transdisciplinary theme and one Central Idea which will be collaboratively constructed by the students of Year 6. Working as part of a collaborative group, students conduct an independent investigation into real life issues or problems of local and global importance in an attempt to prove the Central Idea. Students collectively synthesis all of the essential elements of the PYP (Knowledge, Concepts, Skills, Attitudes, Action) in ways that can be shared with members of the school community. As a result of this investigation the students are able to educate others and take some form of positive action. The findings of their inquiry are presented in the form of an exhibit.

The Exhibition represents a unique and significant opportunity for students to exhibit the attributes of IB Learner Profile which is developed throughout their engagement with the PYP. It also provides them with a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the transition of learners to the next phase of their education.

Save the date:

An information evening for parents and Year 6 boys will be held on Tuesday 16 May 2016. Please rsvp to the invitation

 

PYP Exhibition Tuesday 22 August 2017.

 

Sue Gough – Teacher/Librarian/PYP Co-ordinator

Easter Hat Parade

From traditional Easter hats to ‘superhero bunnies’ – the Junior Primary Easter Hat Parade had it all.

Parents, grandparents, students and staff from across the school, eagerly lined the JP playground to watch and wave as each class proudly marched around the basketball court, displaying their magnificent hats. We thank you all for your help behind the scenes in making these wonderful creations come to life.  

The picnic in Swain Gardens after the parade was a great way to celebrate the end of a very successful Term One together.

There was great anticipation for the Easter Bilby visit. He certainly did not disappoint! While we were at Swain Gardens, the Easter Bilby managed to spring out of the beautiful bush behind our school and visit all the boys’ Easter baskets leaving delicious chocolate eggs and only a trace of magical Bilby dust behind him.

  • My hat was blue with carrots, radishes and two big rabbits. I liked the bunnies with the glasses on my hat. I loved making it with my Dad. We used a hot glue gun.  Hamish Johnson (Kindy)
  • I had a Spiderman Easter hat. It had Spiderman Easter eggs on it and buildings. We made Easter baskets and the Easter Bilby put some Easter eggs in them. We saw some footprints on the ground that the Easter Bilby left.  Ted Ireland (Kindy)
  • My hat was made from old things that I collected from last year.  My Nan and Dad helped me glue it all together. Will Jones (Year 1)
  • My  hat was made from colourful chickens. I put a nest on top and eggs in it. I made it with my Mum.  Lorcan Bones (Year 1) 
  • I was so proud because I learnt a new stitch to sew my Easter hat.  Lachlan Williams(Year 2) 
  • My hat had chickens on it and pom poms and feathers. My Dad helped me make it using super glue.  Luc Gillis (Year 2) 

Belinda Smallhorn – Kindergarten Teacher

Unlocking the Past

Our current Unit of Inquiry in Stage 2 has seen the boys working like historians to unlock the stories of the past and to consider why remembering the people and events of our past is important.  Our approach to teaching history may be very different to how parents remember learning history at school. I certainly recall a list of dates and sequences of events that I had to memorise and then restate accurately at a later date in order to be deemed successful, only to forget them all when the test was over.  

Whilst knowledge is an important component of history as an academic discipline, it is also vital that we teach our boys the skills they need to extend their historical knowledge, understanding and perspective.   Historical inquiry is the process of developing knowledge and understanding in history by asking questions about the past, and applying skills associated with analysing, interpreting and evaluating sources of evidence to develop informed and defensible answers.  In Stage 2 we have been finding clues from a variety of primary sources and using these to develop informed historical stories.  To structure our inquiry we have been utilising the Design Thinking methodology.

SPARK – an artefact (object, photo, painting, news clippings) that grabs our attention and prompts us to investigate further.

DISCOVER – asking questions, creating wonderings and using a variety of primary sources to gather clues  (through observations, taking notes and making connections between sources).

IMAGINE – imaging a solution/story that combines the clues into a reasonable and informed story.

EXPLORE – writing or orally telling the story, receiving feedback on it’s strengths and improving it through more research or detail.

SOLVE – creating a secondary source that informs an audience about a historical person or event.

The most enjoyable part of teaching history in this way is witnessing the boys’ excitement as they discover new clues and debate with each other what these clues might mean.  Having the time to dig their teeth into something and discover history for themselves has our boys engaged and has provided a hum of curiosity into our classrooms.

 

Carol Peterson – Year 3 Teacher

Year 5 and Kindergarten Buddy Program

Both Year 5 classes have spent time building relationships with their Kindergarten buddies so far this year, exploring social and emotional literacy through the ‘Arthur Interactive Media (AIM) Buddy Project’.

The AIM Project is a fun and engaging social and emotional learning program designed for Junior Primary aged children, much like the Second Step program, aimed at building upon and consolidating the skills that the boys are already learning in class.

The benefit of AIM is that the Kindergarten boys are able to have important discussions around topics they might struggle to talk to their teachers about, or fully comprehend, but having an older buddy to chat to really helps.

There are five main areas of focus – empathy, honesty, forgiveness, generosity and learning from others. Exploring the topics with Kindergarten helps them to build their skills, encouraging positive attitudes which lead to a more caring learning and playing environment, which ties in strongly with the school’s ethos.

In the first session, the Year 5 boys unpacked the idea of empathy. Before meeting their Kindergarten buddies, they worked in their buddy groups to go through the session notes and test out the interactive comic, in effect becoming the teachers. Some of the boys even shared the content with their parents at home as part of their preparation.

The first session on empathy covered three main areas, teasing, bullying and empathy, a skill that many younger children take time to fully understand and develop. Throughout the session, the Year 5 buddies checked in with their Kindergarten buddies regularly to gauge their understanding, asking them a range of questions. The general feedback was that using the characters from ‘Arthur’ really helped as many of the Kindergarten boys could relate to the characters and their behaviours, identifying positives and areas of potential improvement in themselves.

In the next session, Year 5 will help Kindergarten unpack the theme of honesty. Being in Year 5 comes with added responsibility this year, as they undertake meaningful interactions with their younger buddies and fulfill their role as future leaders of the school. It has been great watching those interactions, not just for the Kindergarten boys but also the Year 5 boys who are growing and developing as responsible role models too. We look forward to continuing the program this year.

Sam Watson and Pascal Czerwenka – Year 5 Teachers.

Fine Motor Skills

What do we understand by ‘fine motor skills’?

Fine motor skills refer to small muscles found in the fingers hands and arms that we use to manipulate, control tools and communicate through the written form. An important component of our fine motor skill development is our hand eye coordination where we use our vision to control the movement of small muscles.

The importance of well developed fine motor skills has impact on the efficiency of a child to complete a task, a child’s self esteem, their ability to complete work within a set time frame, a lack of ability to re- read work and disappointment in the quality of work they produce especially when comparisons are made on displayed work within the classroom.

The three main focuses of fine motor skills include grasping, manipulation and hand-eye coordination.

Children who are struggling in these areas may show awkward finger movements, limited use of finger tips, clumsy completion of movements, lack of interest and confidence in use of pencils, crayons, scissors, brushes etc., use of two hands displaying a lack of dominance and poor body posture.

Features of poor manipulation skills may be swapping hands rather than cross body activity, using the palm rather than fingers when playing with materials such as play dough, dropping materials such as beads when threading and inability to adjust pencil grip or manipulate scissors.

Hand eye coordination can result in poor copying skills, lack of accuracy in size and placement when producing pre-writing skills, avoidance of drawing and cutting activities and withdrawal from action songs, finger rhymes and participation in expressive poetry activities.

Suggested activities to increase skills –

Grasping

  • making pastry
  • using spring loaded pegs to help hang out the
  • washing
  • use of tweezers to pick up small beads and lego
  • pieces for colour sorting

Manipulation

  • use of keys and padlocks
  • spinning tops
  • tower building with small construction blocks
  • turning objects – door knobs, taps etc
  • paper folding

Hand eye coordination

  • threading small objects like macaroni tubes, cut up straws, sewing cards
  • plaiting
  • pleating
  • rolling play dough

Without well developed fine motor skills the impact on learning may show an in ability to complete a task or at times an unwillingness to commence or participate in an activity. Undeveloped skills may result in poor self esteem, an inability to complete tasks within set time frames and a general disinterest in re reading written work. Children may also avoid situations where they are encouraged to share their efforts within the class and may avoid tasks that involve these skills.

 

Katrina James – Learning Enhancement