A Great Partnership

from The King's School Gazette January 2021

Make Your Mark in History

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

Character Education and Outdoor Education

A person’s character plays a pivotal role in successful relationships. One can possess extensive knowledge and have visionary ideas, but a flawed character can diminish the impact of these elements into a successful implementation within an organisation.

“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”

A person’s character has always received significant attention at The King’s School since it’s inception.

“The commitment to students at The King’s School is to provide academic excellence with character development in the context of a Christian community in order that they might graduate as leaders of Christian wisdom and integrity for a world in need.” This was the founding purpose of the School by King William IV, in 1831, to provide leaders for the emerging colony of New South Wales.

Character education remains today as one of the three distinctives of the School. This has further been reflected by the reorganisation of the School’s leadership, with a Deputy Head being appointed to co-curricular on all three campuses.

Outdoor education is a perfect vehicle for enhancing character education. It is during many of the outdoor education activities that the boys are taken out of their comfort zone. They become risk-takers by trying something new, such as mountain bike riding through a skills course or bush trail, or even by learning to ride a bike for the very first time. Boys show resilience by continuing to work together to solve a physical challenge by working as a team. A further example recently experienced by Year 2 boys at Prep, saw the challenge of erecting a tent without instructions or assistance from an adult. They learnt that failure can be a wonderful educator. In trekking across the bushland fringe of the property, they learnt to appreciate and investigate the numerous habitats and eco-systems that are abundant within our School property.

The Prep School’s Outdoor Education Program extensively utilises the School grounds and has been one way for the staff and students to take time, in what has been a difficult year, to improve wellbeing and remember that God has created this beautiful earth. Indeed, it is a great blessing to come to school each day and be surrounded by its beauty. While not all boys may have appreciated the significance of this dedicated outdoor time each week, the staff certainly did and frequent comments were made about the healing impact that communing with nature bestowed. It was a great way for us to focus on the social, emotional, and physical wellbeing of both the boys and the staff during this time.

As restrictions eased, we were able to recommence our normal activities in Term 3 and 4. We look forward to expanding the Outdoor Education Program further in 2021 and providing more opportunities to refine character.

Years 3 to 6 Inter-House Cross Country Carnival