At Lyonsdown, we often talk about a culture of collaboration. Indeed, it is one of the Lyonsdown Learning habits and a skill that our boys and girls excel at. With this in mind, the whole School community shared a lesson this week – one of e-safety. Pupils, staff and parents alike were all taught some important messages throughout the day on Tuesday; how to stay safe online and be responsible digital consumers.
As with all visitors to Lyonsdown, our speaker was mightily impressed by the knowledge and skills of the boys and girls. In fact, as I listened to Mr McKenzie (and learnt about “ghost mode”), I realised that learning new things is something we tend to do less often as adults.
One question I always ask the Lyonsdown pupils is “What have you learnt today?” Without fail, they are able to give me examples of fantastic new facts they have learnt, or an amazing new talent. Only yesterday, I overheard Year 2 talking about the differences between English and Italian spaghetti bolognese; will this be of any use to them later in life? It is possible I suppose, but what is certain is that the group of children talking here will only discover this particular culinary controversy once.
As a prep school pupil at Lyonsdown, it is impossible not to learn from your wonderful teachers: the boys and girls are taught a great many important lessons and are encouraged to be curious about their learning and the world around them. It is a wonderful age to be: a great many things are still to be discovered, and opportunities to develop come on a daily basis. Their enthusiasm for learning is infectious and, as parents and teachers, we are fortunate enough to be reminded how vital having a growth mindset is from the younger generation.
I hope that, over the weekend, you ask your son or daughter what they have learnt this week. I am confident you will learn something interesting.
C. Hammond