Junior School – Imagine

Do Kids Still Build Billy Carts? Rediscovering the Value of a Play-Based Childhood

faithadmin Nov 13, 2024 0 Comments

Recently, I read The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt, and it got me reflecting on how much childhood has changed—and about the rise in anxiety among young people today. Haidt describes a shift from a "play-based childhood" to what he calls a "phone-based childhood." As both an educator and a parent, I see the effects of this shift all around me. It makes me wonder: are our kids missing out on something essential? How can we create more space for real play, both at school and at home? Growing up, play was simple and free. When I told my parents,…

Junior School Learning Whole College

Children as Agents in their own learning.

faithadmin Mar 13, 2024 0 Comments

‘Agency may be the most important factor in human happiness and well-being’ Johnson and Stixrud The Self-Driven Child (2018). We have been fortunate to have had Tonya Gilchrist working with staff, students and parents the past week, and to say we have all learnt a lot would be an understatement. However, for me, this idea of agency has been one of the most powerful reminders I have had in a while. But what do we mean by agency? In education, agency refers to a respectful and more empowered positioning of students to be active agents in their own learning lives.…

Junior School Wellbeing Whole College

Kids these days don’t know how to talk to each other!

faithadmin Feb 14, 2024 0 Comments

It’s normal these days to see a group of children, teenagers or twenty-somethings all sitting with each other in silence, heads down, eyes glued to a screen, captivated by the world within their devices. Simultaneous chats with multiple friends, voice messages, images, text, and videos. Communicating with animated gifs, adding stickers to images to create a message, snapping a short video, or capturing a few seconds of audio. This is the world of communication that our children, teenagers and “millennials” (and increasingly, we all) inhabit. But did you notice what was missing? Talking. There is very little talking! The most…

Junior School Lutheran Identity Whole College

This ‘ethos’ thing

faithadmin Sep 13, 2023 0 Comments

If you are reading this blog, there is a very good chance that you have some connection with a Lutheran school. There is also a fairly good chance that during your association with Lutheran schools you have read or heard the term ‘Lutheran ethos’. I have seen it written in school publications and on websites, and heard it mentioned at school information sessions and enrolment interviews. A dictionary meaning of the word ethos is ‘the characteristic spirit of a culture, era or community as manifested in its attitudes and aspirations’. If you have been part of a Lutheran school for…

Junior School Whole College

Curious and Creative Minds: Unleashing Potential with Inquiry-Based Education

faithadmin Jul 19, 2023 0 Comments

"The power to question is the foundation of all human progress," profoundly stated Indira Gandhi. At Faith, we wholeheartedly embrace this belief, recognising that questions are the catalyst for learning. Take a moment to think about the last time you embarked on a quest to learn something new. Perhaps it was to satisfy your curiosity or solve a problem at home or work. Invariably, it all started with a simple question or wonderment. As we delve into the nature of our questions, we realise their significance in shaping our learning experiences. The complexity of a question determines the depth of…

Create@Faith Junior School Principal Uncategorised Whole College

The Wonderland

faithadmin Jun 7, 2023 0 Comments

Picture yourself in a boat on a river with tangerine trees and marmalade skies. The line above is of course the opening words of the famous Beatles song, ‘Lucy in the sky with diamonds’, a trippy, probably drug induced, take on … well, who knows? Unless you are a primary school teacher, then it is basically a description of an Art lesson. I had the great pleasure earlier this week to wander through our Junior School and have a look at some of the delightful work on display from our primary kids. The theme for the work was the same…

Do Kids Still Build Billy Carts? Rediscovering the Value of a Play-Based Childhood

Children as Agents in their own learning.

Kids these days don’t know how to talk to each other!

This ‘ethos’ thing

Curious and Creative Minds: Unleashing Potential with Inquiry-Based Education

The Wonderland

You Missed

Joy

Do Kids Still Build Billy Carts? Rediscovering the Value of a Play-Based Childhood

School Leadership in Faith-Based Schools: A Unique Responsibility

It’s celebration time!