Head of Junior School

Every week there is a buzz of work taking place across the Junior School and as Acting Head I am extremely fortunate to be able to witness so much wonderful learning each and every week. This brings me endless joy and it understandably fills ‘my bucket’.

Kindergarten Kindness Warriors

This last fortnight, I was paid a visit by our beautiful Kindergarten children. As part of their current unit of inquiry around the four zones of regulation, the children went about completing ‘random acts of kindness’. The visits were just lovely and kindness was expressed not just once but twice by both classes. Thank you Kindergarten students, what a gorgeous way to start my working week! How could one feel anything but blessed? Thank you for my ninja mask, I love it and now I too can become a kindness warrior and my lovely flowers and special kindness potion are indeed a treat. When I spoke to the Kindergarten students, they were able to tell me that kindness wasn’t just about giving gifts but smiling at others, saying kind things and helping people were also ways to show kindness. It was pure delight to witness that at four years of age these youngsters were discovering one of life’s little treasures – the gift of giving and showing kindness.

Year 2 Student Feedback

In another part of the Junior School, the Year 2 boys passionately wrote to me to try and persuade me with some changes that they would like to see take place in their school. I took the time to read and analyse the letters from each Year 2 student and tabulated those that were raising the most concern. In conclusion, the desire to have a ‘working shed’ where the boys could construct and build was their first passion, and was seconded by their absolute concern of the amount of rubbish around the school grounds. I responded to the boys about these two events along with their other wonderful ideas of constructing a fireman’s pole for a quick escape and play, or for a trampoline which would be a welcome addition to the school grounds. These secondary items I will have to come back to with the boys for myriad reasons. What did come from the first two concerns however, was an even richer desire to ‘act’ on something that the PYP programme relishes in. As such, I can see a great passion building in the Year 2 class surrounding rubbish, its impact on the world and what they can do as a class to make a difference.

Year 5 Leadership

At the top end of the Junior School, the Year 5 leadership journey starts again. The dread of public speaking, the healthy nerves that comes with this and the feeling of achievement when you persevere and push through were strong messages from those boys who have held office in Semester 1. One of the things that the Year 5 boys did share, was what they discovered after talking to their parents about their schooling journey and their thoughts on leadership. Conversations with parents included discussing the number of positions you nominate for and how this brings about the increased chance of holding office. Others discovered what captaincy positions parents held when they were at school, as well as ways to put your ‘best foot forward’ when talking to others about your strengths in leadership.

It has been a wonderful fortnight with so many rich experiences. I am in awe of the learning the Junior School students are undertaking every day and am constantly astounded by their capabilities. Thank you boys for sharing with me your learning journey.