Lynda Knight de Blois Principal Glenview Primary School
Glenview is a primary school in Cannons Creek, and like many other Porirua schools, it is small, with a roll of 100, and it is in decile 1.
Principal Lynda Knight de Blois talked to the club this week, focussing on new thinking in the teaching of traumatised and stressed students. This is especially relevant to Glenview, because it has students who are refugees from Myanmar and Syria, many of whom have very troubled backgrounds.
The rest of the school roll is made up of a multitude of ethnicities from around the Pacific and around the world, and the school’s multicultural staff reflects this.
Spurred by the work of US researcher Dr. Bruce Perry, who wrote a best-seller titled ’The boy who was raised as a dog’, Linda has created an environment at the school which is sensitive to the needs of traumatised children.
Linda explained the workings of the human brain, which she noted is not designed for 'modern life’. Babies in the womb become accustomed to a warm, calm, and safe environment, and if children are subjected to trauma or stress it disrupts their brain development and learning ability.
It is possible to counter stress and trauma at school by providing a safe and calm space, and by certain kinds of activity which are rhythmic and calming, such as music, singing and dance, and breathing exercises.
This strategy is working well; children are calmer and happier, as are the teaching staff, and relationships with families have improved, too.
This was a most interesting talk given by a dedicated principal working at a difficult educational coalface.
Best way to use leftovers?
I'm sure you've got some excess ham at home or cold roast potatoes.
What are some of your favourite ways to use leftover food from Christmas day? Share below.
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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62.4% Summer
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36.2% Winter
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1.4% Other - I'll share below
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