Acknowledging Success
We have always been very good at recognising the sporting success and achievements of our heroes. We can read and view daily what has happened in a range of sporting endeavors for our favorite team, player or sport. Young children, and some adults, may try to emulate the sporting actions of their heroes with varying levels of success (especially as we get older).
As young people, our heroes would have inspired us to pursue a given sport. That hero may have been a superstar or a parent or a close relative. But the fact is, we saw what they could do and wanted to do that ourselves. For me it was Julius 'Dr J" Erving. He made me passionate about basketball and, while I wasn't blessed with the required height, I filled the hours of my free time with training and practice to do my best.
With success of any kind, what can go unnoticed is the immense effort that is required for any achievement. For some the efforts may have gone on for years. Jonas Edward Salk was an American medical researcher and virologist. He discovered and developed the first successful inactivated polio vaccine. He began his work in 1947. It would be eight years before the world would learn he had been successful in developing the vaccine.
We find it simple to recognise the success of our boys in sport whether that be inter-house, JPSSA or success outside of school. By default we acknowledge the effort it has taken to achieve this success. In the academic arena, our boys have worked very hard to learn and develop their skills. In only a few years they have made a series of small steps that have amounted to significant successes and achievement.
Our Year 2 boys have been in school for only three and a bit years. They have tried so very hard to learn and improve. They have been working in the writing skills through our VCOP (Vocabulary, Connectives, Openers and Punctuation) programme. Their development, so far, is outstanding and each boy has made progress they should be very proud of. This represents the success they have enjoyed in their learning journey so far. Below are a few examples of their work.
As a Junior School we are reviewing how we can better recognise the success our boys enjoy in their academic development. I will be canvasing the opinions of parents and staff. What has always been important to me is to reward the effort perhaps more than the outcome. After all, in many cases, especially in education, it is the journey that matters most.
Sam Holmes
Vincent Zhu
Alexander Fine
Mr John Stewart
Head of Junior School
