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Dear Parents and Guardians
This fortnight's newsletter will be brief as we are in the middle of exams for most of the College and there have been no school assemblies in which achievements have been recognized. I do, however have some news and thoughts to share.
We have been doing some research on the effective reach of the newsletters across all three campuses and it has shown that approximately half of the emails sent are opened. In order to have greater impact with regard to communication, we are looking at changing the day of the release of the newsletters to see if that produces a better response in terms of readership. So much information is shared via these newsletters and it is important that they are read as widely as possible. We intend having a brief survey early next year to see if sending the newsletter on a Monday or Tuesday will result in a greater readership or not. The downside of this would be that the week’s activities and achievements, as covered in the Friday assembly, would not reach parents at the same time as the boys but it may be worth trying.
Values Statement
The boys have been widely involved in the creation of a statement that tries to capture our school values. While we are aware that the boys from the Prep have used the acronym MITRE to describe the values of Manners, Integrity, Togetherness, Respect and Empathy, these boys represent just under half of the boys in the College and so we asked the College boys to come up with a list of values they felt should be ones we have as our unique values. These were debated in Tutor groups and given to the staff for further comment. The end result appears below and is the five top values from that exercise. It is our intention to have these values at the forefront of all we do, linking into our revised Vision Statement and tying into the various other school policies. The statement has also been ratified by Council.
BISHOPS COLLEGE VALUES
Institutional values are a foundational and aspirational declaration. They are intrinsic guidelines, not dependent upon any particular situation, for making choices that shape behaviour, and that determine what may be expected from that institution.
They are a uniting set of desired qualities that play a critical role in organizational culture.
Values determine just how the institution conducts its business and are deeply held ideals and priorities; their underlying assumptions influence the institution's day-to-day behaviours as well as longer-term planning.
They are simply what we believe in – as a school
- Courage
The ability to be brave in the face of adversity, exhibiting not only physical courage but, more importantly, moral courage and courage of one's convictions. Having the strength to stand up against injustice not only with opponents but also with friends and peers.
- Humility
Having a modest view of one's own performance. Recognising personal ability and privilege yet not being boastful, understanding that others may not be in the same position. Not thinking less of oneself but thinking of oneself less.
- Integrity
The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles that are lived in everyday life. Doing what is right, according to personal, family and institutional beliefs whether or not anyone is watching.
- Kindness
The quality of being friendly, generous and considerate. Treating others well, as they would like to be treated. Having a gentle, empathetic heart and a forgiving nature that recognizes others may fail yet remaining kind and understanding.
- Respect
Respect for self, for others, for the school facilities, the property of others and the environment. Lived respect allows for disagreement in an appropriate manner, recognizes the importance of good manners and how we treat each other. Respect is shown not only to those like us but also to those different from us in terms of appearance, beliefs and world outlook.
Vision Statement
I trust that parents have read the revised Vision Statement which was sent out this week. The statement was revised by a committee of Council, with very careful thought to each word and phrase and my thanks go to all involved in its creation. My thanks too go to those parents who wrote in to share their thoughts and ideas. If you have not read it as yet, it is on the school website.
Closing thoughts
I subscribe to an online newsletter, the Marshall Memo, which is a collection of educational material, curated from a wide range of articles and shared in summary, together with the original links. I often find inspiration from these articles and share them with the teaching staff or the parents and boys.
A few weeks ago, I read an article that spoke about the dangers of personalizing good or evil by associating a single person with that act of good or evil. The author, Cathryn van Kessel, said “Heroification creates larger-than-life, perfect heroes separated from their community context, while villainification shifts our perspective away from systemic (or structural) harms to the individual evil-doer. In both cases, complex and enmeshed processes between and among individuals, communities, and broader society are flattened into a focus on one person.
It is easier for us to condemn an individual rather than look at the context in which that individual operated and those who contributed to the deed of evil. Similarly, creating a hero, doesn’t give adequate credit to those who worked alongside her or him.
This was fascinating to me and I encourage those interested to read the full article at “Deindividualizing Evil and Good in Social Education” by Cathryn van Kessel in Social Education, October 2022 (Vol. 86, #5, pp. 347-354).
I wish you all well for the upcoming few weeks. Our Grade 10s began their Epic this week and we wish them a safe and happy experience in the Cederberg. Our Grade 9s will also be departing shortly on their various camps and again, I wish them a safe and enjoyable time wherever they are. To all boys, may this time of examinations be both challenging and rewarding, free of anxiety and giving an opportunity to show what has been learned this past year.
Kind regards
Antony Reeler
Principal
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