Activism starts early

There's one thing that gives me hope for the future... and that is

1. kids these days seem to instinctively know that they have a voice
2. their teachers encourage them to use it

I remember when I was in Year 6 and Mr Williamson set us a task at the end of the school year which included a presentation to the class. The task was to pick something you want to know about, research it, and find a way to communicate what you find out to the class.

At the time Melbourne was in the throws of a really serious drought. The dams were drying up and there was no rain in sight. The media were imploring citizens to save water, and I remember asking Mum what we had to do to save water - it was the ideal topic for my research. To cut a long story short, I wrote to the Ringwood Croydon Mail and was interviewed by a journalist. It was all very exciting for my family. Mum was so proud she kept six copies of the paper (which I am now the proud owner of!)

These days kids are writing to all kinds of movers and shakers demanding social and environmental change.

Recently, Maeve in 2M has written eloquently to every single local, state and federal politician imploring them to act on behalf of the environment. And to their credit they have all replied and she has rushed excitedly to the office so we can read the letters together. We are both actually learning so much about what steps are being taken to lessen human impact on the environment in Australia.

The future is in the hands of our youngsters; let's ensure they have to tools and the voice to make the difference that's needed.

(By the way, it rained the day my article was published in the Ringwood Croydon Mail!)

Art...for art's sake!

In the years since our school opened many parents have requested more art - I sometimes think this is a response to just not knowing how often art is a feature of our every day programs. I see children painting, creating, designing, decorating, and using colour and texture in classrooms every day of the week - even though the official time allocation for this key learning area is somewhere in the vicinity of 45 minutes per week!

And then came the Art Fair! Friday afternoon was an explosion of colour, craft and visual excitment. It's clear some of our students will make their future careers in art of some sort - the inherent creativity and talent of children fostered by skillful teachers on show all afternoon was astounding. The wow factor was shining out of each child's (and many teacher's faces) as they toured the school and appraised the exhibitions.

Balancing arts with the right mix of more 'academic' subjects is always tricky in a general education program - everyone always wants a different mix. I'm pretty happy with our mix - it's collaborative, there's variety, and appreciation of the work of others underlies all activity.

Impromptu class visits

Some excited children from 32BH burst into my office just before lunch and dragged me down to their classroom to see their parachutes. They were testing different materials, lengths of string, how to carry a passenger and numerous other high level scientific theories around forces and tension. Lego people in cupcake pans have never had so much fun!

The discussion was incredible - so was the collaboration and team work. There was so much learning going on; excited voices comparing and contrasting and experimenting. This is a modern day classroom - and it also mirrors a modern day workplace. The work gets done when people talk, share, work and play together.

And at the end is a celebration of the success. Thank goodness for our double story building!

A morning in the life of PSSS...

I wandered around our school this morning reflecting on all that was going on.

There was that fantastic Assembly with 6D's Rube Goldberg machine and 1W's (also known as Super 1W) ideas for social learning.

Then our Pre-Preps from Peregian Springs C&K came for their time in the Resource Centre

3M have an army of parents in and they are building billy carts and doing hands on maths.

And there's Mr Wise demonstrating the LEEDR board to some teachers and a visiting Principal. And later he was putting in an order for 3D printers as we've been successful in securing a grant for Young Entrepreneurs.

I've had a meeting with a couple of young girls who are starting a small business selling their crocheted products - they are learning skills for a modern day workforce. Employers now want confident problem solvers who can speak well and collaborate with others.

And here's another student discussing with me how she plans to light up the world with a solar buddy project. This looks like it could be a fantastic Project Compassion for us in 2017.

Ms Marszalek is doing some exciting maths with 2G.

And Mrs Harbour took 21 children to Arcare today to have morning tea with the residents. The children heard stories from a 94 year old triathlete which brought tears to everyone's eyes.

About 590 children have said good morning to me with a smile on their face. And Elaine, our publicity officer, is struggling to decide which good news story to write next.

And it's not even lunch time yet...

NAPLAN by any other name...

I received an email from a teacher today who had elicited an apology letter from a student who had caused a little bit of a ruckus outside the classroom during the Year 3 NAPLAN Reading Test - right after the whole class had been asked to be as quiet as they could to help the Year 3s concentrate.

I opened the attachment and I couldn't help myself - I just laughed out loud. And I'm still chuckling...

Nutplan... as polically incorrect as it maybe to say - I think this little kid is onto something.