Before I could open the door, I was stopped in my tracks by a small army of Year 2 students – had they successfully started a takeover of the APS campus? Were they coming to steal Ms Easter and take her for their own? Fortunately, neither were applicable – Year 2 had come to test and evaluate some games designed by our Year 8 students.
The room was filled with excitement, smiles and above all else, learning. Year 8 were receiving valuable (and honest!) feedback from Year 2 regarding the games they had programmed using Scratch. Year 2 were idolising their newfound Year 8 heroes, perhaps dreaming of being ‘big’ like them too. The atmosphere was enthralling – I could have observed for far longer than I did, but as I left the room a quote from Dostoyevsky’s Notes from Underground resonated strongly:
What makes a hero? Courage, strength, morality, withstanding adversity? Are these the traits that truly show and create a hero? Is the light truly the source of darkness or vice versa? Is the soul a source of hope or despair? Who are these so called heroes and where do they come from? Are their origins in obscurity or in plain sight?
I couldn’t resist an ironic smile as our school canteen and an almost forgotten series of university lectures on the ‘untranslatability’ of a 19th Century Russian Philosopher’s works converged.
What makes a BIS HCMC hero? For me, our BIS heroes are certainly not in the shadows – they live and breathe our aide memoire – integrity, respect, care, enquiry, reflection and perseverance. Students, parents, support staff and teachers, we all play our role in ensuring a bountiful crop of BIS heroes from Fundinotots to Year 13.
So as this term draws to a close, we should be grateful to be part of such a great and vibrant community – thank you to our Year 8 students for sharing your learning and being good role models to Year 2; thank you to our teachers and support staff for a fantastic term; thank you to our valedictory prefects for being an excellent leadership team and good luck to the now incumbent prefect team – our BIS HCMC heroes.
Lee Falconer, Assistant Headteacher – Teaching and Learning