Mr Anthony Sparrow, Deputy Headmaster spoke to the boys regarding four key pastoral issues:
1. Privileges document
Each of you has been given a copy of the revised privileges document, which you need to read, understand and commit to fulfilling. These are the ONLY privileges for the day school. Nothing is to be added or taken away. If during the year anyone would like to see an addition or subtraction to this document, these must be submitted through the school’s RCL.
2. RCL Voting
This week boys will have the opportunity to nominating their peers to serve on the school’s Representative Council of Learners (RCL). These boys will play an important rule in the school leadership system.
3. Mentor Lessons
Boys were reminded of the value of the mentor sessions and to show Respect, Leadership and an Attitude of Learning in their mentor lessons.
Respect
Mentors spend a significant amount of time preparing for each these lessons;
- Respect the preparation that has gone into the lesson, whether you think it is interesting or not.
- Respect your teacher or House leader for the leadership role they are fulfilling.
- Respect the other boys in your class enough not to complain, interrupt or disturb the lesson in any way.
- Respect your school enough to ask your mentor if you can give a suggestion regarding the mentor lesson, in this way you are not breaking down but helping build our school.
- Respect yourself enough to listen and perhaps learn something you did not expect to learn.
Leadership
This is especially for the older boys. You are all leaders in your own right in the school and part of that leadership role is being a role model to the younger boys in your class and to your peers.
But we all know that good leadership starts with leading yourself. Only with doing this well can you be a good role model. So, if a topic being covered in a lesson is of no interest to you, you need to be able to have patience and, despite your personal feelings, try and interact positively in the classroom so that you are modelling the correct behaviour to those around you.
Attitude of Learning
When walking into your mentor lesson by prepared with an attitude of, “let’s see if I can learn something today or be reminded of something that I need to do. There are many adults that still struggle to follow through with many of the character traits that you will be going through. Remember that you have only learnt something when you can do it without being told to. You might think, that this is easy. But I challenge you to stop, think, and look carefully at your day to day behaviour.
Setting goals is easy. But, have you set the right goals?
Do you have a plan set to reach those goals?
Do you check on your goals weekly to ensure that you are on track to reaching them?
Do you ever review and reset your goals during a term?
Setting them is easy but if you are not doing any of the other things I have mentioned then setting them is pointless and you are going about your week with no clear direction at all.