It is difficult to have such a broad age range of students in one school, make it inclusive and build community and school spirit and cater to all needs. Not saying it can't be done, but it sure is difficult!
Sunrise School is now the biggest it has ever been (165 students) and we are still trying to hold on to many of our traditions that are becoming increasingly difficult to manage. This is not to say it can't be done, but we need to get ready for change...
This week alone I have been thinking about the impact of having a larger school in terms of issues like:
Morning Circle (Problem: the groups are getting too big for everyone to be heard. Solution: Split house groups into smaller groups)
Canteen space (still just manageable, but may need to start staggering lunches)
Birthday parties (Problem: too extravagant, expensive, sugary, unhealthy, environmentally unfriendly, take time out of other activities and getting too competitive. Solution: Students may bring 1 cake to share with classmates during break or lunch? Or stop all junk????)
...and then there are the events.... Halloween being the most recent example...
In the past, Halloween was an event that all the kids looked forward too. They got excited at the thought of getting dressed up and joining in all the fun activities. For the past couple of years, Student Council have taken over the role of organising Halloween. This year they did a great job of getting the school decorated (with lots of help from some wonderful parents), organising some fun games and activities and hosting the parade.
However, we have never had so many people attend (or participate in) the parade! The bale-bale was FULL! As the kids settled, the Michael Jackson video 'Thriller' was played. Fortunately, the screen was very difficult to see, but the screams had us all on our toes. As I scanned the crowd, I saw most of the kids either enjoying or ignoring the video, but then the little kids (Early Years) came up to join us. They were there a bit too early, so heard the video. The crowds were overwhelming and the heat intense. Some were scared. This was far from ideal.
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| The Bale-Bale was overflowing for the morning's activities |
In the past, our fashion parades involved only the kids that were in costume and wanted to join the parade getting up. This year, we went class by class. Some kids didn't join, which was no problem. However, some kids found the whole idea of getting up in front of everyone terrifying. It was not meant to be about competition, it was meant to be about sharing costumes for all to see... but this year, with the bale-bale so full, it seemed a lot more competitive and the costumes were seriously gruesome.
The activities after the parade and during the Team Challenge went really well with all the older kids and the younger kids had their own activities in their area.
I have had a few comments about the 'Thriller' video and the appropriateness (or lack of) of many of the costumes. I suspect my costume (which I threw together on the morning from a mosquito net I found at school) was also a little over the top. Poor choice perhaps... :( Anyway, the point of this long ramble is that yes, some of the costumes were too bloody/violent/gruesome/sexual/inappropriate.... we can learn from this experience and will make sure we have some guidelines for next time and hope that our community will help us to scale everything back a bit. We will also look at the competitiveness in the parade and communicate better on what we show or organise for the kids.
As I searched the Internet for comments about 'Thriller' and Halloween dress codes in schools, I came across some very heated debates.
Thank you to all who came and supported (especially those who dressed up) and to those who were brave/honest enough to come and talk to me about the issues. I am sorry if your child was traumatised by any of the Halloween happenings. We will try to organise things better next year and make sure that costumes are much more school friendly.
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