Joy in Teaching Leads to Joy in Learning
I am constantly amazed at the creativity of our dynamic teaching team at Annesley. Our teachers exude joy as they teach and engage students in their skill development, in truly magnificent ways. You may not be aware that our teaching teams meet weekly with our experienced Head of Learning and Teaching David Taylor to plan for meaningful learning engagements and rigorous assessment tasks. Sadly, these important meetings do not happen in many schools on such a regular basis. For us at Annesley, our priority is implementing a vision focused on developing skills, strengths, and passions to create belonging and impact, and so these meetings are a core foundation stone, every week.
During the last few days alone I have;
- walked into a Reception class to see our 5 year old’s playing ‘ping pong’ as a fun and meaningful way for their brain to make connections with the sounds they are learning as they develop their early literacy skills
- had students run up to me and bombard me with brain teasers they had created in a higher order thinking session with a specialist teacher
- been bursting with excitement as our World Peace Game board (WPG) is being set up in preparation for the WPG at Annesley
- observed students planning for meaningful work to support the victims of the floods on the east coast of Australia
- met with our School Leaders to ‘unpack’ how our core words belonging and impact resonate with our important Reconciliation Action Plan work
- gazed upon the beautiful art work created by our Year 1s as they ‘painted to music’ inspired by famous artist Wassily Kandinsky
- smiled as I watched groups of students develop their African drumming skills as they learnt about how different cultures commemorate significant events
We have loving, creative teachers who teach with joy and passion. We have delightful, collaborative students at Annesley, full of joy as they learn about their world around them and how they can make an impact now, not just in the future. I believe that joyful teachers lead to joyful students. That’s why we are truly rigorous in how we select our staff and develop our programs. We have only the best teachers here at Annesley, leading to the best outcomes for our students.
And as a side note, if you have not watched our World Peace Game video story, I encourage you to do so (below). Annesley is one of the only schools in Australia that can facilitate the World Peace Game and this is due to our strong relationship with its creator John Hunter through our partnership with the US State Department.
Luke Ritchie
Principal
