Back in August I spent half a day in Prescott Primary – Southern School in Adelaide. I will jot down a few points from my conversation with the Principal Christine Clark. She is shown here with teacher Tamara Rosenberg. The other picture shows some school values on display. Here is part of our conversation.
BH How long have you been here Christine?
CC I came here in 1987 and became principal in 1990. In 1987 there were 28 students and now there are 257 with 13 FTE teachers. Since 1987 there have been 9 building programs here.
BH What are you trying to do here?
CC We are trying to lift the perception of the identity of the school as an Adventist school and show who we are. I think we are seen as a very positive high quality school.
BH How do you cater for students with special needs?
In all classes we try to extend the more capable students and cater for a range of student needs but there are a couple of interesting programs that we are developing.
BH What are these?
CC Our Neurofeedback program runs on the principle that you stimulate the brain to strengthen parts of it to assist in student behaviour management and learning. This is particularly for children who find school challenging, who find it hard to get organised, and who cannot concentrate easily. There is one session a week for each child. We hope to have 3 staff trained to run this program by year end. The program has to be supervised by a psychologist.
We also have a listening program referred to in the literature as Auditory Re-training. It uses music and filters or enhances certain frequencies to stimulate the fluid of the ear which in turn can help stimulate aspects of the brain not normally stimulated.
BH How do you reach out to non-SDA students?
CC Our relationship with God is invaluable as we reach out to the community which is a positive one to work in. Our parents from all faiths feel they are part of the school. We try hard to relate to non SDA people, to be there for them and to care and support them. About 8 per cent of our students are non Christian and this group provides a great outreach.
There were plenty of good features of the school that made my visit memorable. One line that stuck with me was “we are always building, changing, modifying – we are never static”. I agree heartily.
News about the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South Pacific.
BH How long have you been here Christine?
CC I came here in 1987 and became principal in 1990. In 1987 there were 28 students and now there are 257 with 13 FTE teachers. Since 1987 there have been 9 building programs here.
BH What are you trying to do here?
CC We are trying to lift the perception of the identity of the school as an Adventist school and show who we are. I think we are seen as a very positive high quality school.
BH How do you cater for students with special needs?
In all classes we try to extend the more capable students and cater for a range of student needs but there are a couple of interesting programs that we are developing.
BH What are these?
CC Our Neurofeedback program runs on the principle that you stimulate the brain to strengthen parts of it to assist in student behaviour management and learning. This is particularly for children who find school challenging, who find it hard to get organised, and who cannot concentrate easily. There is one session a week for each child. We hope to have 3 staff trained to run this program by year end. The program has to be supervised by a psychologist.
We also have a listening program referred to in the literature as Auditory Re-training. It uses music and filters or enhances certain frequencies to stimulate the fluid of the ear which in turn can help stimulate aspects of the brain not normally stimulated.
BH How do you reach out to non-SDA students?
CC Our relationship with God is invaluable as we reach out to the community which is a positive one to work in. Our parents from all faiths feel they are part of the school. We try hard to relate to non SDA people, to be there for them and to care and support them. About 8 per cent of our students are non Christian and this group provides a great outreach.
There were plenty of good features of the school that made my visit memorable. One line that stuck with me was “we are always building, changing, modifying – we are never static”. I agree heartily.
News about the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South Pacific.
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