Marriene Langton Principal

Marriene Langton Principal

Thursday, April 23, 2015

ABCD Term 2 Character and Collaboration

How do you develop grit, tenacity, perseverance  and resilience in children? It's not a spray on application or a one shot does the lot. We  have thought very hard about how children learn. We know that if they are just left to play that they will do the same old same old and rarely tackle a new challenge. Sometimes children don't know that there are other ways to do things either. At our school, the teachers think ahead and imagine and plan for opportunities for children to learn things that they never knew before. They are collaborative and open to their own challenges.
Our children face problem solving challenges in each area of the choices they are given.
ABCD is not free play. It is an opportunity for children to choose their activities and to meet the challenges that have been designed for them and then set better ones for themselves. It's about adventure, creativity and striving for higher achievement.
Our teachers sweat a little over ABCD time as they have to provide extension at every turn. It used to be so easy in the good old days.
I'm so thrilled with the ways in which our teachers plan for adventure and discovery so our children get to experience a sense of excitement and wonder. Some children need help from the grown ups, to be able to take risks and possibly fail. So be it. No one said learning was easy.
It's great to see excitement on our children's faces when they do something a bit risky and new.
Our teachers collaborate to ensure that the children get the very best education. 

ICT Extension Challenge

The challenge was to create a vehicle and to programme it, using coding, to get it to make a sound. The boys had one hour to meet the challenge and I was a doubter. What would I know?
I was very pleased with the ways in which they collaborated by sharing ideas, taking turns to lead and making decisions.
Well done Tony and Jared for providing the challenges and for coaching the boys through the task.