OUR ETHOS
Mrs Crane, Mrs Gartner and the students from B1 are all responsible for creating a space where we learn and grow together. In this space we respect each others' strengths and achievements. There are lots of ways to show how good we are.
We can be:
Mrs Crane, Mrs Gartner and the students from B1 are all responsible for creating a space where we learn and grow together. In this space we respect each others' strengths and achievements. There are lots of ways to show how good we are.
We can be:
In this classroom space we learn that everyone has strengths and weaknesses. We learn to think about our learning and choose ways to improve.
And importantly, we learn to celebrate mistakes. These are the stepping stones to learning. Parents can help us too by encouraging us to find out what good learners do, by having faith in us as learners and by supporting us to learn the skills and habits we need.
In this classroom space we also begin to understand that being clever is more than just being good at reading and maths.
Consider…
* communication skills * pro-active friendship skills
* artistic expression * self regulation
* positive thinking * physical skills
* higher order thinking * coping strategies
*habits for effective learning
(eg concentration, persistence, attention to detail, knowing what to do when you don’t know what to do, learning to be your own teacher…)
B1 is also not a space where we measure our success against other students. We would love it if parents could help us to achieve this.
Encourage us to think about what we say to others.
e.g. "Are you only reading the blue books. I'm on the purple books!" (which makes the other child feel lesser)
As teachers we encourage kids to recognise that we are all at different starting points in learning and each child needs to celebrate the progress made from that point. As parents, please don’t measure our success by comparing us to our classmates. Instead focus on the progress we have made and help us to understand that if someone is better at something, it is usually because they have spent more time on it. We want to avoid 'fixed mindsets' which make kids think they are either 'good' or 'bad' at a skill and there's nothing they can do to change it. With a 'growth mindset' kids can get better at a skill. "If I work hard and don't give up even when it gets hard, I know I will learn this. Some kids are better than me because they have spent more time at it.
Finally and importantly, we learn to celebrate mistakes. These are the stepping stones to learning. We want kids to feel safe enough to take risks and make mistakes in our classroom. The best learning happens when we are making mistakes so we are encouraged to give a 'silent cheer' when we make a mistake because it helps us to learn.
As teachers Michele and I both encourage open communication between home and school. Please feel free to celebrate successes with us and to discuss any queries you may have.