SomeyearsbackI whohadbeen “selected”tolead 19thNovember) toacrowdofsom orts,hermethod wasquestionedan avealwaysbeen waryofawarenes y”(13thJanuary) snuckintoourpu seeminglyit celebratesDuckie ration Ever
WhyamItellingy
etalkaboutitin Assembly,formpe ntMowdenians toberesilient,buttobecreativeintheirwaysoflearningaboutit.
AtthestartoftermIchallengedallthechildrentoprovetheirresilience,andIsharedwiththemthatIwasgoingto dothesameasthemintermsofa10kmrunninggoalthatIcannotcurrentlyachieve.IsupposethatIthoughtthey wouldcomebackwithsimilarsportingendeavoursshowinghowtheyhavetriedharder,trainedabitmoreorrana bitfaster…howwrongIwas.
OverthepastweekIhavebeenmovedbythedramaticallyvariedwaysinwhichMowdenchildrenandstaffhave proactivelytakenonthatchallenge.Youngboardershavebeendeterminedtobemoreindependent,childrenhave acceptedthechallengeto“playupayear ortwo”innetballandhockeymatches,somehaveevenovercometheir inabilitytodrawcertainobjects,determinedtogetbetterandnotacceptdefeat Manychildrenhavetakenthe opportunitytocreatea“BookofGratitude”,notingthingstheyaregratefulfor;highfivesfromclassmates,parents supportingthemtogetintoschoolontimeafteranaccidentalliein(wecouldalldowiththat!),deliciousfoodfrom thecateringteam,evenahair-basedcomplimentfromanotherpupil.Thisexercisehasallowedchildrentoconsider whatisgoodintheirday,ratherthanfocussingonwhathasgonewrong.Findley(HeadBoy)says“completingthis taskhasmademereflectoneachdayandfocusonthesmallpositives,ratherthangoinghomeandtalkingaboutthe negatives-it’smademefeelgood!”-Ithinkthechallengeworked!
ResilienceisaskillthatIbelievecanbelearned Childrencanachieveitinmanydifferentways,buteveryone benefitsinthesameway-itallowsthemtoovercomeadversityandeveryoneexperiencesthatatsomepoint.For me,thatmeansitisjustasimportantastheiracademicsuccessanddeservesaplaceinthetimetable.
Ihopethechildrenhaveenjoyedtheirprojectsandthatmorewillbeforthcomingwiththeireffortstoo.Themore resilienttheyare,themorelikelytheyaretosucceed Mr. Phil Sturt
Engaged Minds and Resilient Spirits: A Week of Discovery in Pre-Prep
IthasbeenanotherbusyweekinPre-Prep,withmanyfamilieslettingusknowhowmuchtheyappreciatethe earlieropeningtimeof8.00amandtheextrasupervisionforchildrenwaitingforsiblingsinthePrepSchool freeofcharge.Aswereacttotheneedsofourfamilies,allfeedback,bothnegativeandpositive,aregratefully received.
BrainshavebeenwhirringatfullspeedatMowdenHall,aweekfullofinvestigations,discovery,andamazing newknowledgeacquisitionacrossallyeargroups.InassemblyonMonday,MrsMackiesharedthepoetryand historyofRobertBurnswiththechildren,whoweredelightedtoseethediningroomdecoratedinafull tartandressfromlastweek'sBurnsnight.Ihaveenjoyedseeingchildrenineveryyeargroupthisweek completelycapturedbyandactivelyengagingwiththeirclasstopics,eagertosoakupandlearnalltheycan. Ourvalueofresiliencehasbeenfullyevident,fromNurserychildrenaskinginsightfulquestionstoYear2s discussingmoneyandrelatedissuessuchasinvestmentsandratesofpay.Somepaymentsforchoresand playroomcleaninghavegonedownpoorlywithsomechildren!
InOWLsessions(OutdoorWildlearning),thefocuswasonbirds,buildingnests,crackingcodesandmaking birdfeeders.Creativegamesareinventedonadailybasisontheplayground,fromourveryowndrivethroughMcDonaldswithtouchscreenordering,targethittingthecrossbaronthefootballpitchandsculpting withtheverylasttracesofsnow.Childrenshowresilienceinplaybyovercomingchallenges,tryingagain aftersetbacks,andfindingnewwaystosolveproblemsorworkwithothers.
Lookingahead,ifyouwanttoengagewithyourchild’sMathslearning,cometoyourchild’sclassfrom8.00am to9.00amonNSPCCNumberDay,Friday,February7th,toparticipateinsomeNumberFunorganisedbyour schoolcouncil.
Year2isperformingattheCreativeWorkshoptodayat1.00pm.Wehopeyoucancome.Then,onMonday, January27th,theyareofftoSafetyWorksintheafternoon.Theywilltravelintwominibusesaccompaniedby MissPembertonandI.Wewilleatlunchatschoolandreturnfornormalpick-upsafterexploringrealisticand interactivescenariosinasafe,controlledenvironment.
Havearestfulweekend
Mrs. Kirsten Knight Head of Pre-Prep
ThisweekYear7havebeendrawingplantcells,humantissueand bacteriausingtonalpencilsandblackpen.
