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the ruyton reporter
To reflect new foci in our curriculum, this year we have created two new Year 6 leadership
teams, the Mindfulness Leadership Team and the Science, Technology, Engineering and
Mathematics (STEM) Leadership Team, in order to provide relevant experience for our girls.
Mindfulness
Being part of the brand-new Mindfulness Leadership
Team for 2016 has been a great experience. We were
able to try new things that no one had tried before.
At the start of the semester we brain-stormed and
experimented with many different initiatives we
believed would be beneficial to the Junior School. Some
ideas included conducting a Mindfulness Assembly,
five-minute classroom sessions, creating mindfulness
strategy cards for parents, a mindfulness colouring-in
session and spreading awareness about mindfulness
in the Wednesday Weekly.
We started small and introduced a colouring-in session
for the Preps at lunchtime in the library. We were
worried that none of the Preps would come, but it
was the exact opposite. So many girls showed up that
we didn’t have enough chairs for everyone! As a
result of this, we were inspired to dream even bigger!
We decided we wanted to include the whole Junior
School in some way. At the next Assembly we explained
what mindfulness was and talked about the benefits
of being ‘in the moment’. My team even conducted
a quick exercise with all the girls, teachers and parents.
We followed up with a series of Just a Minute (JAM)
classroom sessions, whereby we carried out a short
mindfulness exercise with all the girls. We also
submitted an article for the Wednesday Weekly
and recommended some useful websites for Ruyton
families.
It has been an honour to be part of this team and to
have had the opportunity to work with Dr Evie Bowtell
to spread awareness about the positive effects and
benefits of practising mindfulness daily. Furthermore,
to be chosen to be part of the very first Mindfulness
Team has been very rewarding. We’ve learnt a lot about
mindfulness this year and have recognised that it
helps to reduce stress, increase our self-awareness and
provides us with a way to handle our thoughts and
feelings. As Year 6 leaders, we have benefitted from
using mindfulness in our everyday lives and we know
that we will definitely use these strategies as we
move on to the Senior School.
Finally, we’re grateful to have had this opportunity to
work with the younger girls and, hopefully, we have
played a significant part in inspiring them to be more
mindful and present.
Tara Minehane
(on behalf of the Year 6 Mindfulness
Leadership Team for Semester 1 2016)
Co-Captain:
Tara Minehane
Co-Captain:
Alannah Chau
TeamMember:
Priscilla Yang
STEM
‘Science is not a boy’s game, it’s not a girl’s game. It’s
everyone’s game. It’s about where we are and where
we’re going.’
Nichelle Nichols, former NASA
Ambassador and actress
Historically, women have been under-represented in
the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and
Mathematics (STEM). Now, more than ever, there is
a greater need to attract and encourage girls to
participate in these fields. In light of this, a new STEM
Leadership Team was announced for Year 6 this year.
It was created to show the Junior School girls that
they can be involved in STEM too. We wanted to
correct any negative perceptions out there about
these fields being areas dominated by boys. By
developing their interests at an early age, the hope is
that more girls will be drawn to STEM and pursue
these subjects in Senior School.
Every week, during Leadership sessions, we met
with Mr Julian Mutton, Digital Learning Mentor and
Deputy Head of the Junior School. Under his
mentorship, we discussed a range of activities we
could organise with the different year levels. There
were just so many possibilities and so little time!
In Semester 1 we used our iPads to create codes to
control cute little robots called Dash and Dot. We
were privileged to spend time in the Prep Classrooms
promoting STEM with the younger girls. We enjoyed
playing Dash and Dot with the girls and helping them
to think of different ways to make the robots move.
They were able to learn about coding and robotics in
a fun and exciting way!
Our team also presented a new segment called Tech
Time in Assembly, whereby we researched and shared
useful tips for using the iPad with the Junior School.
We found interesting educational Apps the girls could
download and use at home, without the need for
wireless access.
It has been an honour to be part of this new Year 6
Leadership Team and to have the opportunity to
share our skills and knowledge with the younger girls.
As a group, we have been inspired, fascinated and
intrigued to learn more and teach others what we
have learnt in our sessions with Mr Mutton. We have
found endless possibilities to incorporate technology,
science and maths into our daily lives, whether it
is sharing with our family and friends all the
interesting and innovative things we have discovered
from our STEMmeetings, or taking home the robots
to play with!
We wish to thank Mr Mutton and the Year 6
Classroom teachers for their support and guidance
this year. We hope that the Year 6 girls next year
will express interest in being part of this amazing
Leadership team. Our hope, also, is that Ruyton girls
will genuinely be interested in pursuing these career
paths in the future.
‘Every girl deserves to take part in creating
technology that will change the world and change
who runs it.’
Malala Yousafzai, co-winner of the
2014 Nobel Peace Prize.
Scarlet Gregory, Charlotte Muir, Jessie Toh
Co-Captains of the 2016 STEM Leadership Team
New Leadership Teams