From the Principal

- Becoming Accountable

We live in a world of accountabilities. As adults, we understand that we must pay the bills, make our appointments follow the guidelines, show up on time, and so on. For our children, the bigger picture around why we need to be accountable is not always so clear. Our role as parents and educators is to help our students to see the bigger picture and to fill in the gaps of their understanding.

In our Restorative Practices work with Graeme George this year, College staff considered what this looks like in our context, working with our students. He reminded us of the neurological development that goes on in the physiology of a young person. The reality is, we are working with young people whose brain, with its full range of cognitive and regulatory process is substantially unformed and underdeveloped.

One of the most arresting and interesting things that Graeme said to us was that our role as parents, educators and caring adults is to be for our children, their prefrontal cortex  as they develop executive functions, regulation and decision making. In our love, support and guidance, we must be the regulating brain for our children!

Becoming accountable comes with a considerable backstory. Ultimately, we do things because it is the right thing to do. How do we know? – Somebody showed us. Often the showing came in the form of love, patience, and modelling correct responses. Our Pastoral Care Framework directs toward accountabilities, but we understand that the path there must lead through the development of faith in our relationships, a trusting care for one another, and the determination to uphold human dignity as a prized goal.

Our work in restorative practices aims to do just that.

Be the Light of Christ.