A Message from The Head of Lindfield

How can parents help their boys reach their academic potential?

My offering this week comes in the form of a Marshall Memo article looking at successful parent involvement in student success from a new perspective. Every parent at Lindfield wants to help their son reach his academic goals but how we help our boys is subject to much debate. The article below is intended to stimulate your thinking and discussion at home.

In this article in The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, Angel Harris and Keith Robinson affirm the importance of parents to their children’s academic success. But Harris and Robinson note that researchers disagree on the type of parent involvement that is most helpful. Is it helping with homework? Reading to children? Engaging children in home learning activities? Teaching social skills? Communicating with teachers? Attending meetings and events at the school? Being involved in school decision-making?         

So what does boost student achievement? According to the authors’ research, it’s stage-setting. The analogy is to what a theater’s behind-the-scenes workers do so actors can perform successfully in the show. “Thus,” say Harris and Robinson, “a good performance can be characterised as a partnership between two critical components: (1) the actor embodying his or her role, and (2) the stage-setter creating and maintaining an environment that reinforces (or does not compromise) the actor’s embodiment of the role. Likewise, many parents construct and manage the social environment around their children in a manner that creates the conditions in which academic success is possible.”

The most effective parents, say the authors, set the stage for their children’s academic success by the life space and messages they orchestrate:

–   They provide a secure home and neighbourhood environment so children don’t have to worry about food and shelter and getting to and from school safely.

–   They make strenuous efforts to get their children into good schools.

–   They are supportive of academics, but also of non-school activities like sport or music lessons.

–   Their support comes across as caring about children’s overall success, not pressure and micromanaging to get an A in math. This can be conveyed indirectly, for example, by a desk rather than a TV in a child’s bedroom, and lots of books and magazines in the home.

–   They convey the critical importance of academic achievement to future options and life success.

–   They show confidence in the child’s intelligence and ability to do well in school, fostering a positive academic identity and a sense of responsibility to not let the family down.

All this produces a strong academic self-concept in young people. The best outcome is both – a strong academic and general self-concept.

Harris and Robinson’s big point is that it’s parents’ stage-setting, not being super involved in school activities, that makes the difference. “Whereas traditional forms of involvement comprise any number of parental activities,” they say, “stage-setting requires that parents focus on only two factors: messages and life space. Certainly, parents can be traditionally involved in their children’s schooling to accomplish each of these factors, however, they argue that stage-setting aims can also be achieved without employing any traditional forms of involvement. Thus, a busy parent with a demanding career can be a successful stage-setter with minimal direct involvement in his or her child’s schooling.” This hypothetical parent’s influence is at work under the surface, subtly shaping the children’s self-concept, aspirations, and future possibilities.

Below are different home scenarios and the common outcomes. Harris and Robinson suggest four possibilities:

–   Parents don’t convey the importance of education and don’t provide an educationally supportive home environment – This usually produces low achievers.

–   Parents convey the importance of education but don’t create an educationally supportive home environment – This usually produces mediocre or average achievers.

–   Parents don’t convey the importance of education, but there is an educationally supportive home environment – This usually produces average achieving students.

–   Parents convey the importance of education and create an educationally supportive home environment – This usually produces solid high achievers.

Clearly some parents succeed in making these messages more central to their children’s frame of reference and creating a positive life space, thereby broadening children’s horizons, enriching their psyches, and setting them up for academic success.

Article from Marshall Memo 701 Article #5 September 4, 2017

“A New Framework for Understanding Parental Involvement: Setting the Stage for Academic Success” by Angel Harris and Keith Robinson, The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, September 2016 (Volume 2, #5)

Ben Barrington-Higgs

Faith Matters

What you see is what you get!

If I think of you as a friend and collaborator, my emotions on meeting you will be warm and positive. If I see you as an enemy and competitor, my emotions will be just the opposite.  You may know the little verse:

Two men looked out from prison bars.

One saw mud, one saw stars.

In the pursuit of the fullness of human life, everything depends on this frame of reference, this habitual outlook, this basic vision that I have of myself, others, the world, and God. (Our worldview if you like.) What we see is what we get!

Consequently, if you or I are to change, to grow into persons who are more fully human and more fully alive, we shall certainly have to become aware of our worldview and patiently work at redressing its imbalances and eliminating its distortions. All real and permanent growth must begin here. A shy person can be coaxed into assuming an air of confidence, but it will only be a mask – one mask replacing another. There can be no real change, no real growth in any of us until and unless our basic perception of reality, or vision, is change.

Peter Morphew – Chaplain

Service Page

Freddie’s Sydney to Gong Ride for MS

On Sunday 5 November, while most of you were probably inside, I was out riding in the rain to raise money for MS. 

It was a 90km bike ride that started in the Tempe Recreation Reserve, went through the Royal National Park and ended at Wollongong.  From people who raised money and including the entry fees, a total of 3.5 million dollars was raised for MS.  Personally I raised $1080 and a HUGE thank you so those of you who sponsored me.

It was a wet and tough ride, but somehow it was still enjoyable.  There were moments when it was pouring down with rain and then other times when it was just grey. There were 2 massive hills that were wet and slippery and which I was quite nervous about, but luckily the police were in force to escort us all down safely.  It was an incredibly well run event and there were lots of people on the sidelines to cheer you on.  Also riding with so many other people really kept your spirits up and motivated.

Oh I forgot to say I did this all with my Dad by my side who kept encouraging me all the way.  I don’t think I could’ve finished it without him, as I’d never ridden that far before.

I would recommend, to anyone who loves riding, to try and give this a go.  If you don’t think you can ride that far then there are other rides around Sydney that vary in distances, but all raise money for good causes.

Freddie Bourne – Year 5W

PYP

A learning portfolio

One of the things that is so great about the PYP is its emphasis on a community as learners. As a community at Newington College Lindfield, we are continually developing an understanding of the PYP and sharing our learning with others. The teachers continually learn just as the students do and there is evidence of this learning in lessons in the classrooms, in the ways we teach and the activities that are designed for learning by the teachers. As educators we recognise that learning doesn’t only happen at school and that much of what happens in the classroom can be missed by parents. Recently we set about looking for an easy way of showing student learning on a regular basis.

This is known as a learning portfolio and the purpose of a learning portfolio aims to provide a record of learning over time for each student. It bridges the gap between home and school in what the student is able to do and the development that is shown. Recently we adopted the use of an app called Seesaw which has allowed your son’s learning to move into homes in a timely and meaningful manner.  The potential for a two-way communication that this app provides fills a potential void between home and school.

We all realise, on a daily basis sometimes, how difficult is it to get anything from the boys about what happened at school that day – what they did, what they learned. Often it can be a grunt or a one-word answer and sometimes nothing at all. Using a learning portfolio, such as Seesaw, information about learning during the day has already reached the homes sometimes even before they the students have arrived there. The students post their choice of work themselves and therefore display independence and responsibility with their learning.

As a learning portfolio is a record of learning over time for each students that combines reflection and documentation it becomes a purposeful collection of student work showing the learning that is happening in the classroom. It can provide evidence of effort, progress and achievements exhibited by each student and allows for powerful discussion and conversation about not just the activity but also the understanding about the earning experienced.

Seesaw is now being used to share student learning within our school community. It engages students in ongoing, reflective, and collaborative analysis of learning. It encourages students to be responsible to not only record their learning but also for the learning that is taking place. It provides relevant and timely feedback for families which increases responsibility for learning by individual students.

For students Seesaw has the ability to empower our students to independently document their learning providing an authentic audience for their work. For families it gives an immediate and personalised window into their son’s day at school and makes communication with teachers seamless.

Sue Gough – PYP Co-ordinator

White Ribbon Day – Friday 24 November

White Ribbon Day – Friday 24 November 2017

We are on a journey to become a White Ribbon School which means that we promote the White Ribbon movement www.whiteribbon.org.au. The White Ribbon movement promotes the development of respectful relationships to reduce and eliminate violence against women. This is a generational change and one that we are proud to be a part of, especially as it ties into our existing practices and focus on ‘respect for all’.

Classes have been participating in learning experiences, at an age appropriate level, to develop their understanding and knowledge of this important issue, ranging from the understanding of what a respectful relationship is in the younger years to the issue of domestic violence in the older years.

Next Friday, November 24, we will participate in White Ribbon Day (nationally on November 25). For this event all boys (K-6, including Year 2 who have their sleepover) are to come to school in their sports uniform (due to the black and white theme) as we’ll we taking a photo on the day. All boys should wear their white (not black) PE top and shorts.

To support the work of the White Ribbon Movement the SRC boys will be selling the following White Ribbon items before school and at recess on the day, so if you would like your son to purchase one please provide him with the necessary money on the day.

Pin: $2 / Wrist Band: $5 / Small Sticker: $0.50

At this event, the boys will further engage with the theme of ‘respectful relationships’ and will take an oath to respect everyone in our global community.

The Australian Government have developed an online resource www.respect.gov.au containing a variety of resources to support initiatives of this nature and this very important issue. I recommend having a look at these resources, particularly the respect checklist as it provides some insightful prompts to have this important conversation with your son or daughter.

White Ribbon Committee – (Ben Barrington-Higgs, Pascal Czerwenka, Carol Peterson, Sam Watson)

Pastoral Care

www.kidsmatter.edu.au

www.ted.com/talks/julian_treasure_5_ways_to_listen_better

Recently the boys in Year 5 viewed and discussed a TED talk called the ‘5 ways to listen better’ which focused on the importance of listening skills, particularly in our increasing digital world. It provoked a lot of interesting conversation and reinforced the skills that the boys develop through our Second Step social skills program.

The following information is adapted from the kidsmatter website and further highlights the importance that parents, educators, employers and students should place on listening!

Active listening: Communication with Children

Communication is a key factor in any relationship, especially those with children. Active listening is a communication skill that can bring greater connection, clarity and understanding to build positive relationships with children.

Often when listening to children, adults may be distracted by something else, fidget, rehearse what they want to say in their head, interject before the child has finished talking/expressing themselves, or have closed body language. All of these things can cause misunderstandings and conflict, affect whether children may disclose sensitive information again and can damage relationships. Active listeners have the intent to listen to the complete message and its meaning by paying attention to what children are saying, how it is being said. It involves being aware of body language, voice inflection, overall attitude and the meaning of what children are saying to validate communication and help children feel supported and understood.

Why is active listening important?

By being active listeners, parents and carers can strengthen their communication and relationships with children by demonstrating interest, care and understanding. Some benefits of active listening for communication and relationships are:

• helping children to feel valued, connected, validated and understood
• building trust and credibility with a child
• helping clarify a child’s thoughts and feelings
• avoiding conflict and misunderstandings
• making it more likely a child will talk to you, express themselves and seek your views in the future

Actively listening to children can begin right from when they are born, as it is important that parents and carers communicate with babies through understanding their cues and body language. By paying attention to a baby’s body language or non-verbal cues, such as understanding different kinds of crying or noticing how a baby moves when they are distressed, parents and carers can understand what and how a baby communicates.

Skills tips: What does active listening involve?

Active listening is a skill that can be learned and practised. It can mean different things in different cultures, with some aspects needing to be altered but active listening involves the following aspects that need to be practised over time:

Give the child your full attention. This may involve stopping what you are doing (e.g. turning off the television, stopping cooking), moving away from a busy place or letting the child know you want to listen and will give them your full attention when you finish (e.g. when caring for another child). When you are talking to a child and you notice your mind is wandering, bring it back to what the child is saying. Prioritising time to listen actively and attend shows a child their feelings are important and that you are interested in what they are thinking and feeling.

Use your eyes to listen. Make eye contact and if possible, get down to their level to show them you are ready to listen.

Listen carefully to what is being said. Listen to both what the child is saying and their body language, without interrupting and avoiding questions that break the child’s train of thought. Focus on what the child is saying and the meaning behind it, rather than what you are going to say next.

Use encouragers. Show that you are interested by nodding your head, smiling or making other appropriate facial expressions, providing verbal encouragers such as “mmm”, “uh huh” or making comments like “I see”, “that sounds hard/tricky/great” to help encourage the child to keep speaking and engage in what they said.

Reflect the feeling. After the child has talked about a feeling, thought, experience, etc. use the opportunity to respond and gently describe in your own words what you think the child is feeling and why. For example, “You seem to be feeling a bit upset about not making the football team”. This can help demonstrate empathy (recognising, understanding and respecting the feelings of others) and understanding of the child’s feelings and thoughts.

Use pauses and silences. Resisting the temptation to fill silences is important when children are trying to think about what else they want to say, as it gives them time to think and respond.

Ask open-ended questions. Open questions (e.g. “What are you concerned about when you go to school?”) encourage more detailed responses where children can provide more deep and meaningful information.

Summarise. Summarising the child’s main points can demonstrate that you understand what they were saying and can allow an opportunity for the child to add something.

Make non-judgemental statements. It is important to refrain from judgement statements, such as “You feel scared about silly monsters at night”, that can prevent children from disclosing further information. Try to reflect or paraphrase what a child has said, in your own words in a non-judgemental way, for example “You feel scared about monsters when the lights get turned off”. This lack of judgement invites the child to tell you more about what they are thinking or feeling.

Choose words to start a conversation. You can begin active listening by using questions or statements such as “You seem to be feeling…about…”, “It looks like you feel…with…”, “You sound…at…”, “You seem…because…” An example might be “You’ve been sitting very quietly and hugging your teddy bear. It seems like you are feeling sad about something. Would you like to tell me about it?”

Like any skill, active listening takes time and practice to develop but is very rewarding for parents, carers and children. It is not only a skill that can help support healthy communication and strong relationships with children, but also with other adult relationships.

Pascal Czerwenka – Deputy Head of Lindfield

SRC – Kids Giving Back

The Year 6 boys and members of the SRC on behalf of all students and staff would like to extend a huge thank you to the school community for their amazing support of their collection focus for this year – collecting personal products in support of ‘Kids Giving Back’. 

Year One have done their share by helping to sort all the donations into boxes on Wednesday afternoon. Maths was alive as we sorted by product, colour and number before deciding that Colgate toothpaste was by far the most popular brand of toothpaste amongst the donations.

We look forward to presenting our amazing collection to the head of ‘Kids Giving Back’ in the near future.

Katrina James and Eva Angel – SRC Co-ordinators

Learning is FUN!

It’s 1967.  You have no iPad, no iPhone, no personal computer.  Colour television is a dream not to be realised until 1975.  It’s black and white.  Forget streaming of television programmes or movies.  If you miss it, you’ll have to wait until it’s repeated in a couple of years.  Fast food is limited to the fish and chip shop or the local pie retailer.  You can’t buy water.  In fact, the idea of one day doing so is laughable.  It is more likely than not that mum is at home and dad at work.  Breakfast is usually a cooked meal and dinner sees the family around the table. 

Some stereotypes there but this was the thrust of the current Unit of Inquiry in which Stage One is currently engaged.  The transdisciplinary theme of “Where We Are in Place and Time” was supported by the central idea “Roles and responsibilities within a society can be a reflection of the times in which we live.”  The lines of inquiry follow:

• Family life over time (Change)
• Needs of society (Causation)
• Traditions and activities within communities over time (Reflection)

A glimpse of life 50-60 years ago through the National Film and Sound Archive allowed our students to compare and contrast with their own life now.  They could see children their age at play, in school, on the sports field and in the home. 

Engagement in this unit of inquiry has been high as the boys discuss both at school and home how family life over time has changed.  Investigating the development of toys and games.  Playing a selection such as Jacks or Knucklebones and Tiddledywinks made for a fun morning.  Most interesting was the way the boys altered the rules to create new methods of playing demonstrated that games, pastimes and traditions undergo subtle changes over the years.

Integrated into this inquiry has been the study of special days in our calendar.  Following the Melbourne Cup was exciting and in the same week, observance of Remembrance Day highlighted how traditions may change but at their core, traditions endure. 

When it’s personal, meaningful and close to home it means so much more.  Learning is fun!

David Musgrove – Year 2 Teacher

Stage 2 – Ecosystems

Stage 2 have begun their sixth unit of inquiry, and the boys have been learning about ecosystems including all living things and how they interact with each other. They have been investigating the interdependence between living things and their environment, and how animals and plants adapt to survive in a particular ecosystem.

As a provocation, the chairs were removed from the classrooms and this led to a discussion about the changes the boys would have to make, what effects it may have on their bodies and how they could adapt to still make the classroom work as a functioning environment.

To introduce ecosystems, we then asked the boys about their thoughts on bees in which they responded that they produced honey, but may seem something to avoid because they sting. After viewing a short documentary about what would happen if all the bees died, they realised the importance of bees to the environment and without bees, we may not have fruit, flowers, vegetables and some plants. The boys came to realise the crucial part bees play in our world.

They then investigated into different types of ecosystems such as freshwater, marine, grasslands, desert, rainforest and tundra. They explored various resources to gather information about their chosen ecosystem and put it into a popplet (digital mind map). They discussed and shared this information in a pair/share activity with their peers to increase their knowledge about other ecosystems.

Years 3 and 4 boys are excited to be visiting Sydney Aquarium on Tuesday 28 November to learn about the environmental destruction of oil spills and plastic pollution, and how humans impact on the environment. They will also have a better understanding of how living things and the environment are connected. The boys will have some time to explore and enjoy the marine exhibits in the facility. Thank you to the many parents who have volunteered to come and support the boys with their learning on the day.

Mrs Russell – Year 4 Teacher

Year 5 Learning Collaboration

Year 5 Learning Collaboration with the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) and the International Grammar School (IGS)

The boys in Year 5 have been participating in a collaboration with the International Grammar School on an authentic and rich design thinking task. This task has seen our boys continue to focus on the concept of respectful relationships and will culminate in the creation of a short film later this term to promote the White Ribbon movement. For this task, the groups will need to reflect on what is needed for respectful relationships and how these components could be taught to robots, through the use of film.

The boys have been assigned groups (across both schools) and have met their group members through a whole group video conference and then individual group meetings online via Google Docs. The boys found this experience very rewarding and somewhat challenging as they could not communicate face to face but the groundwork has now been laid for a face to face online collaboration next week with the final session being an in person session at IGS.

In addition to this, the groups will visit the University of Technology, Sydney to participate in robotics activities and continue to build the respectful relationships focus as they learn about and explore the technology at UTS in their groups.

Additionally, both of these visits will also allow our boys the opportunity to consider the design of buildings at UTS and IGS (which is a high-rise K-12 school) which is a part of our current unit of inquiry looking into how we express ourselves and how an understanding of design principles creates opportunities for individual and cultural expression.

This unit of inquiry has also seen our boys explore the Cromehurst Public School (as a part of our Service Learning Program) and consider how this facility has been designed to best meet the needs of the special needs students who are at the school and provide them with opportunities to express themselves.

Pascal Czerwenka and Sam Watson – Year 5 Class Teachers

eLearning

YouTube – the digital campfire to all

I am constantly amazed by the number of times I need to use YouTube to help with tasks around the house. I celebrated my second Father’s Day with a very neat present from my one-year-old daughter. She knows me so well and bought me a digital coffee cup. It allows me to pay for my coffees without using cash or card. It truly is a coffee lover’s best friend. Unfortunately, the cup doesn’t clean itself and this saw me pulling it apart this week to scrub it thoroughly.

After a successful wash, I was left with seven little tiny parts to put back together. Being male, I thought not to look for the instructions but to tackle this straight on. How hard could it be? Well, quite hard actually. After 20 minutes of frustration and standing at the kitchen sink I decided to go straight to my digital campfire, YouTube. Fortunately, around 500 people had uploaded instructional videos on how to put the digital coffee cup back together. Instantly I was gifted with this week’s eLearning newsletter topic.

YouTube is an incredible source of information where people constantly share their ideas, knowledge or ‘hacks’ on certain topics. Two amazing YouTube channels that I would like everyone to discover are Life Noggin and Crash Course Kids. Here you can view any short video on a certain topic that you might be wondering about. You can understand what would happen if the earth was twice as big or even discover the difference between climate and weather with easy to understand examples. Life Noggin answers the questions for which you rarely have the answer. Crash Course Kids is a YouTube Channel put together by a young female scientist and strives to explain life mysteries to primary students at a level accessible to all. A true gift to all lifelong learners everywhere.

The use of this digital campfire can be easily forgotten and we need to remember that this source of information is what our students are accessing to gain instant knowledge. We must consider what they do with the information and how they use this information effectively in their learning journey. This is why the use of technology running seamlessly next to the core educational program is so beneficial to success in 21st century classrooms, a system that Lindfield is getting right on a daily basis.

If you have any questions about the information provided above, please do not hesitate to contact me. I’d love to hear how Life Noggin and Crash Course Kids answers the big and small questions for your family of learners once you discover it!

Tony Cross – eLearning – Wyvern House and Lindfield Preparatory School

Learning Environments

Over the last 18 months the Learning Environments Professional Learning Community (PLC) has been using the Lindfield Design Thinking process to inquire into the learning environments we have at our school and how they can be enhanced to continually improve the learning of our boys.

The group’s mission is to develop a culture and learning spaces that are engaging, functional, inclusive and nurture the curious mind and to reach this goal we have consulted students and staff and have engaged in extensive research reviews and school visits through the year.

In working towards our mission the group has had the privilege to work with Russel and Sasha Koskela (www.koskela.com.au) who are prominent designers in this space and have Anders and Mika at our school. We have been very privileged to have their generous support through ongoing consultation, sharing of experience and the actual designing of furniture pieces.

The first of these furniture pieces has the primary goal of creating unity with the surrounding natural environment whilst decluttering the space by providing an organisational structure for use by students and staff. This prototype can be seen in the Year 5B classroom and on the images in this article. This first piece was made possible by the generous support of the Lindfield P&F who funded the creation and installation of this piece.

Moving forward the College will be installing similar pieces in the Year 5W, Year 6B and Year 6W classrooms over the coming holiday break and in the coming years we look forward to a gradual change in classroom desks and chairs as we move towards our desired future state of truly flexible classrooms.

In addition to the physical components of learning environments the PLC is also exploring and implementing a ranging of pedagogical changes to further enhance the learning of our students.

Learning Environments Professional Learning Community – (Pascal Czerwenka, Carol Peterson, Philip Trethewey, Eva Angel, Patricia Kazacos)

Mandarin or Chinese? What is Pinyin? Why does my son learn these?

You may have seen the terms “Mandarin”, “Chinese” and “Pinyin” on your son’s report and wondered “What is the difference between Mandarin and Chinese?” “What is Pinyin?”

The Chinese language is an interesting language. It can be divided into Chinese spoken languages and Chinese written languages. Different areas/regions have different dialects. While Mandarin Chinese is considered an official spoken language in many countries and areas, some of us may pick up Cantonese, the second most spoken Chinese language, without realising it. For example, you have probably learnt to greet people with “Gong Hei Fat Choy” from various media during the Lunar New Year period; you have been to “Yum Cha”; or you have eaten the green veggie called “Bok Choy”.

The Chinese written language has two forms: traditional and simplified. At school we learn to write in simplified Chinese mainly because they have less strokes, however, students have the opportunity to appreciate the aesthetic value of traditional characters and learn about origin of the Chinese characters (aka Hanzi). Traditional characters are like “living linguistic fossils” as these characters have been used for many thousand of years.

Year 2 student, Lachlan, prepared a brilliant illustration to summarise the elements involved in the written Chinese language.

There is no doubt that the Chinese language is very different from languages based on the Roman alphabet. Some boys may find it a bit daunting and feel anxious about learning Chinese. As I always say to the boys, you are not just learning a new language, you are also learning how to be resilient; to have courage to deal with unfamiliar situations; to build your problem-solving skills by observing and maybe finding a pattern or two; to be kind and empathetic towards people and, most importantly, to learn not to give up before you give it a good go!

Top 10 languages in Australia 2016

Extra resource you can use during school holiday: Hello! Huayu Volume 1

The Northside Gifted and Talented Network

Newington College Lindfield is part of the Northside Gifted and Talented Network.  The network includes both independent and public schools on the north shore that organise and facilitate workshops for students in all areas from English to Art and Sport.  Teachers from these schools meet each term to discuss research and development into Gifted and Talented education.

This year schools participated in a Northside Gifted and Talented student conference at Pymble Ladies College. The conference was titled ‘Imagine…what if?’ and students worked in groups expressing themselves through film, photography, sculpture and literature. The tasks included an escape room puzzle where students needed to work collaboratively to decode, solve and unlock a series of boxes to reach the end of the challenge. Students also explored digital photography and the psychology of colour.

In Term 2, some Year 6 students participated in a Rocketry Inquiry Workshop.  The students identified variables that impact upon the flight of air powered rockets.  Students modified rocket designs, launch angles and air pressure to contribute to group data.  The students used this data to help them design and build their own custom water powered rockets.

In Term 3, we sent two of our Year 4 students to a Sculpting Art Workshop at Wideview Public School. This workshop included researching the historical background of gargoyles, grotesques and medieval castle reliefs.  Students then created their own artistic forms using dry clay.

Our boys have welcomed the opportunity to work collaboratively with students from other schools and really enjoyed using their inquiry skills.  Next year Newington College Lindfield will be hosting a workshop and we look forward to sending more of our students to participate in the Northside Gifted and Talented Network events.

Mrs Aleca Bradshaw and Miss Patricia Kazacos – Learning Enhancement