Love grows here: Wayne Revitt

Wayne Revitt Head of Junior School

In recently asking our students to reflect on how they feel about their school, little Evie in Year 2 simply wrote ‘love grows here’ — she embellished her answer with a love heart and her signature. This is a beautifully succinct and revealing reflection of what our students cherish most — so much so, that it has become a motto for our new vision for the Junior School.

In recent weeks, I have presented to various groups on our new vision including the Penrhosian Club (former staff and friends of Penrhos), our new families on Orientation Day and prospective families on tour events. I begin by noting the two facts that motivate me most in my new leadership role as Head of Junior School.

Firstly, our youngest Penrhosies in Pre-Kindergarten will potentially still be in the workforce in the year 2090 — which takes them some way beyond our current focus on 21st century skills! Secondly, by 2030, our little Penrhosies will be graduating from Secondary School at a time when the World Health Organisation projects depression and anxiety will be the greatest burden of disease across the planet. These are significant challenges for educators to consider.

A proactive approach is required, to prepare our children for the challenges ahead — an approach that is backed by research (by the voices of 5,000 WA students from Year 4 to 12, in the Commissioner for Children’s report, February 2020). Significantly, female students rated their wellbeing lower than male students in areas of mental health, peer conflict, relationships, personal safety and independence — and this gap widened with age. Research like this clearly highlights how different girls are to boys, and why an all girls’ learning environment is of benefit from the outset.

“From their very first day with us, we want our students to have the courage of their convictions, the strength to speak up for themselves (and for others) and to do what is right. And from little acorns do great oaks grow; Penrhosies grow into Penrhosians — young women who are committed to the pursuit of their dreams, to supporting each other and to making a positive contribution in the world.”

What has been our response in the Penrhos Junior School? A focus on wellbeing has always been our key priority; however, the year 2020 and its global pandemic has given us cause to more keenly reflect on what is most important in our lives. Our family. Our children. In order to fully appreciate what is most important to us, we are determined to work still harder to embed a sense of love and belonging among our girls.

In the early years, evidence consistently tells us that ‘nurturing and responsive relationships build healthy brain architecture that provides a strong foundation for learning, behaviour, and health’ (Jack P Shonkoff, 2006). Simply put — love grows brains. We know that if a child is feeling safe and secure, she is ready to learn. I am puzzled as to why parents often place more importance on the Secondary School years, with some families waiting to enrol later — the greatest benefit to your daughter is in enrolling her sooner. It is in the early years that we form the secure emotional and cognitive base, from which she is positioned to then take on the world!

Through the primary years ‘children begin to hone a sense of self… it is this period of co-regulation that lays the groundwork for healthy independence and reciprocity in adolescent and young adult relationships’ (Madeline Levine, 2012).

How strong are your own memories of Year 4, 5 and 6? How crucial is this time, in becoming the person we are today? Research indicates these years are the springboard into a healthy adolescence and this knowledge informs our new upper Junior School focus. As part of our wellbeing program, we include work on a new language based on the principles of cognitive behavioural therapy; our girls learn how to re-frame their emotions, to de-catastrophise situations and to proactively use positive self-talk. Our focus is on creating a supportive environment, in which we can nurture growth mindsets and praise our girls for their efforts, along with their achievements.

This is just the start of our work towards our vision for 2021 and beyond, across the Early Learning Centre and Junior School. The core values of the Early Years Learning Framework (a focus on Belonging, Being and Becoming) are paramount and remain fundamental to all year groups, from Pre-Kindergarten to Year 12 — we all need to feel we belong, through warm relationships and a supportive culture. Our girls also have a right to simply ‘be’ — to delight in the present; they thrive best in an environment that enables them to become reflective learners and active community members.

From their very first day with us, we want our students to have the courage of their convictions, the strength to speak up for themselves (and for others) and to do what is right. And from little acorns do great oaks grow; Penrhosies grow into Penrhosians — young women who are committed to the pursuit of their dreams, to supporting each other and to making a positive contribution in the world. Penrhosians are prepared to challenge convention and smash ceilings. This is what we stand for; it is what makes Penrhos quite different, and very special — from day one.

This year seems to have both rushed by and, somehow, to also have progressed quite slowly. We have met our challenges and developed some innovative plans for the future. An ongoing positive experience for me is the continual sense of joy, humour and love of learning in which I am immersed each day, as I visit classrooms and chat to students in the playground. I am learning from you all, and I look forward to continuing to learn with you through the years ahead. As Evie so beautifully puts it ‘love grows here’ — what a wonderful starting point for us to have… let’s build on it, together.