This week in my address to the Senior School assembly I spoke to students about being brave enough to try something new… and not always be good at it! I recounted my introduction to the wonderful world of golf, where I had begun thinking that it couldn’t be that hard and I would be great at it straight from the start. I had been a pretty decent softball player so could navigate a bat (club) and ball, but no, I was not the Tiger Woods I thought or expected myself to be. We often see the desire…
Growing up can be hard for both children and their parents. It may be difficult for you to imagine, but I can vividly recall numerous times when as an adolescent I tested the love of my parents and the patience of the staff at the boys' boarding school I attended. Now I look back with greater clarity, life experience and a little bit more maturity, appreciating the valuable lessons I was taught and enduringly grateful for the time, fortitude, and care of these influential adults. Over the…
The topic of my article today is resilience. Something which I have learned over my many years in working with young people is the wonderful ability of the human species to cope with the challenges they encounter. One might think that after two and a half years of health-based uncertainties surrounding Covid-19, we might all be very jaded and starting to wain under the pressure of the unknown. What I have seen is students rallying and rising to the challenge, and largely, getting on with their…
As we come to the end of this week, we’ll reach the point where 60% of our year has passed, and this is roughly where we’re at in terms of the school year as well. We can all feel we’re beyond the half-way point, but the end is still a long way off. It’s easy to think that there’s a window of time to ease off a bit, an opportunity to sit back and save some energy for a sprint towards the finish line, be it an exam block, a finals round, or a gala performance. I’d like to challenge this…
What is the meaning of justice? Justice is something that one may consider as a principal value of our society. When justice fails to meet our or the community’s expectations, the principle of justice moves to the forefront of public conversation, with news feeds and social commentary replete with opinion on whether or not justice has prevailed. One need only glimpse the comments on any given article concerning justice to see that our "sense" of justice plays a significant role in how we engage…
During the term break my beloved dog, Barkley, passed away. He was certainly a mature gent with a full white muzzle and greying paws but his passing was unexpected and very sad. Barkley was so much more than a dog: he was the best counsellor, personal trainer, conversation starter and friend that I could have ever asked for. He was the first dog that I purchased and owned from a puppy in my adult years. My family had dogs all through my childhood, but he was mine and my responsibility. Many…
Feedback is an essential part of the learning process. In fact, feedback is one of the most powerful tools that teachers can use to enhance learning, as it can greatly improve student development and teaching quality. For children and adults alike, feedback provides us with the information, guidance and support we need to grow and advance. However, critical and constructive feedback is not always the easiest thing for us to hear or to be presented with. In fact, it can at times be quite…
Welcome back to you all, and especially to our new families who have joined us this week. It is lovely to have you and your children with us. As I write this I want to mention the early success of our team of students who have been competing in the Snow Australia Interschools competition at Perisher this week. Our girls have achieved some excellent results in the early part of the competition, including a significant number of medals already. Congratulations to all our students who are…
I read a wonderful book over the holidays: Five Ways of Being by Jane Danvers, Heather De Blasio and Gavin Grift. Written by three passionate educational leadership experts, the book is intended for middle and senior school leaders to inspire them to continue with their own learning journeys for school improvement and personal and professional growth. As I was reading, I couldn’t help but notice how applicable this book is for everyone in our community, because each of us is, in some capacity…