From Assistant Principal Pastoral Care
Look at the scoreboard…
I was chatting with a nonteacher acquaintance on the weekend who, unfortunately for him, made the classic, “So school must be winding down now” line. This is probably why not many people engage me in casual conversation, because off the top of my head I pulled, “Yeah mate, winding down – Yr 7 Orientation Day, Primary disco, Yr 6 Graduation and trophies, marking a couple of assessments, couple of masses, couple of BBQs, reporting, planning for next year, Semester 2 Awards….” And this is some of the stuff that I have in my head and every teacher would have their own unique list. If you want to find a staff member really under the pump, find a timetabler or a Principal (Annual Reports, staffing, enrolments, Strategic Plans – good luck.)
I am however, a little reflective in December and I do think that 2022 has been a demanding year, but I get to that a little later.
Yr 12 - thanks for the memories. Sounds so harsh I know, but that is the nature of very busy schools. The “gaps” are only ever momentary and, of course, the new recruits keep coming through. As I have written previously, they finished tremendously well and their Retreat and Graduation events are standouts for me. Very confident about some HSC results of which they can be proud. A sense of wonder at new beginnings…You might be aware, as an aside, about a growing debate around the HSC credential. There has always been controversy about the validity of an external exam and its nexus with learning, reducing kids to an ATAR score and so on – I’ll leave that to others more knowledgeable than I. The latest is the flood of early offers from Unis and how this impacts on schools and classes when many have “their future secured” a long way out from the exams. Interesting.
Yr 11 (the new Yr 12s ) – tremendously impressed with them in Term 4. Enthusiastic, well considered Captains and House Captains who have already shown the ability to empower their peers and to really lead. Many great stories about growing maturity, even over the course of the last six months (ie. the boys don’t play chasings around Block 3 or dig holes in the gardens any more – well done.)
Yr 10 – becoming more difficult to make generic statements. Some could skip Yr 11 happily and commence Yr 12 without ever missing a beat. Some are wrestling with life after school sooner rather than later. For some, this is a blessed release, for others a bit daunting to contemplate life away from the security we have afforded them. But like Yr 11, a time of rapid maturing for the vast majority and a beginning to find a sense of self. Again, particularly noticeable in boys. A strong sense of imminent rite of passage. They have a sense of humour.
Yrs 8 and 9 - In a group of about two hundred 13 and 14 year olds, you have everything under the sun, psychologically and physically. Some behave like twenty year olds (yes, scary) and some like five years olds, finding the “level” is pointless, they’re all over the place. Friendship disasters, romantic tragedy, paralyzing wardrobe malfunctions, search for identity, peer pressure temptations, who is looking at me? Hormone overdrive. Too young to have empathy / very ego centric, nothing interests them… the ages to most take the COVID hit – limited (if any) formal transition from primary, a lack of role modelling / “cultural” direction because of the lack of assemblies, community events, excursions. Far too much time at home on screens. Significant issues with gaming. Learning gaps. Where cyber bullying is most likely to occur… many girls maturing rapidly, many boys unravelling…too young to have a sense of purpose, direction in the world. They don’t really see a point in stretches out endless in front of them…
It's a wonder that anyone survives Yr 8 and Yr 9, but of course logically everyone in Yr 10 and beyond has, and in the vast majority of cases come good(ish) by sixteen or seventeen. Certainly the Forrest Gump box of chocolates cohorts. Don’t get me wrong – no one loves them any less, it’s just that they are often more exhausting than other secondary years. “90% of the time is spent on 10% of the kids” in Pastoral Care you have heard before; but did you know that 90% of the 10% (yes my head is hurting) are Yr 8 and Yr 9.
Of course I exaggerate – many kids fly through thirteen and fourteen; but they are the difficult times for many. Schools try to respond in all sorts of different ways (bet you that a thirteen year old male inspired the first outdoor education program back in Mesopotamia) and parents do at home (organised sport is often a go to). In terms of teaching and parenting, if I was a football coach, I would say that you can’t win the game with a thirteen year old (wait for eighteen?), but you could lose it. Their demands on patience and tolerance and forgiveness are often great and we adults just have to stay as close as we can and again, in football terms, defend as hard as we can. Look at the scoreboard when they’re older. Stay in the game.
I shouldn’t neglect Yr 7 – often a joy before adolescence really hits. Enjoy them, work out some ground rules while they are still listening. Still a sense of wonder and new possibilities, reminds me a little of Yr 12s…
