Trust the Magic of New Beginnings

‘Trust the Magic of New Beginnings’

Just like that, the summer was over. It’s now time for a confession that could possible alienate me from many teachers up and down the country; I was itching to get back. That’s not to say that my summer holidays were not wonderful. I savoured every special moment spent with friends and loved ones, to travel, to cook, to read, to eat (excessively!). Those times are so important and we are so lucky as a profession that we get that time but isn’t there something exciting about the opportunity for a new beginning?

This eagerness and urgency really hit home on GCSE results day. I don’t think it matters how many years you have been a teacher, every year there are the sleepless nights filled with anxiety, worry, overthinking and often underestimating the wonder of this day. At MCA, we couldn’t have been prouder. Our morning started over sausage butties with a genuine celebration with our middle leaders of the overwhelming hard work, effort, commitment and determination that culminated in a truly reflective set of results. The message from our principal was clear. This day was not about the numbers and the data, it was not the time to scrutinise and, as we typically do, feel disappointed if there was a result that was not what we were expecting. This day was about our young people and sharing in that moment that will last with them forever.

What a day! Happy tears (students and staff, including me) shouts and squeals, hugs and so much shared joy. And then they were gone. Off into the big, wide world with all the potential to make a difference and be the best version of themselves. Why would we not want to get back to the business of making that happen and being a part of a moment that those young people will hold in their memories for a lifetime?

So, back to business and the time for those new beginnings. New priorities, new staff and new students. There have been some exciting developments at MCA which mark the start of 2018-2019. Here are just a few of them:

Walls: When MCA was first built more than eight years ago, the building was designed with open-plan learning spaces. Over time, teachers have felt that the opportunity to have a more private classroom space, which allows for greater opportunities for discussion and group work, would be beneficial to our learning environment. We now have walls. We have still maintained the option for more open-plan learning bases but traditional classrooms are much more of a feature across the Academy. I’m excited to see how the dynamics of learning are transformed to provide even more engaging learning experiences.

A Library: Our drive for CPD, teaching and learning and curriculum is to flood the environment with as much exposure as possible to a text-rich culture. This starts with our new library. This was launched by our student leaders during our INSET day when they led book clubs with staff on Matt Haig’s book ‘Reasons to Stay Alive’, which everyone was given to read over the summer. The discussions that were led by our students on mental health and the joy of life were astounding (cue more tears) and seeing our students arrive at school on a day when they could still be enjoying their summer, clutching a book and talking about it, magically defined the start of my year.

Reading Time: Every afternoon, at the end of lunch and before the start of the final lesson of the day, students now have 15 minutes which is dedicated reading time. They arrive to their learning areas to the sound of classical music and have the option to read a book of their choice or they are provided with an article or extract that has been chosen by the teacher. This culminates in a short discussion or reflection. Not only does this facilitate more reading time for our young people, it also provides a calm moment in the middle of the day. Maybe next year we will include breathing and meditation, too. Watch this space.

Shorter Lessons: Our school day used to be structured about three x 1 hour-50-minute lessons. This year we have modified this to four x 1 hour-20-minute lessons. Why? We recognised, with the help of student voices, that many struggled to concentrate for the longer lesson period and in some cases the time meant that pace was compromised. Already, the students are reporting greater levels of engagement and pace is much more conducive to learning. We value the slightly longer than traditional lesson times as it allows for extended writing (part of our text rich curriculum) and valuable reflection to support the metacognitive processes that allow for better learning and greater development of learning behaviours.

The list could go on (jumpers, assemblies, assistant heads of year, more Mandarin). Whilst there are many new things to revel in, monitor, evaluate and hopefully enjoy, the fundamentals here at MCA still firmly remain: A commitment to the well-being of students and staff, a relentless focus on mitigating the effects of disadvantage, a world-class service to our community and many, many magic moments.