As a Foundation Phase teacher, I have experienced many incidents of anxiety in young children. These have presented themselves in different ways. Most common are the morning drop off and saying goodbye to parents, transitioning from one task to another and making connections with other children. The anxiety that children experience can differ in severity. …
Continue reading “Alleviating Anxiety at Kairos, by Teacher Karen Grade 1”
Over the past decade, our school has welcomed numerous children grappling with anxiety, nervousness, shyness and a lack of self-expression. Despite the gradual nature of the process, I have seen significant transformations in these children, witnessing them become more relaxed and less anxious within a few weeks to a full year of attending our school. …
In my previous Headmonsterly Hmmm (7 February), I offered an observation that at Kairos there is a noticeable presence of empathy in our school, especially when compared to most other schools in our country. I do hope you agree. We often hear stories of incidents in the playgrounds and classrooms out there which sound foreign …
Continue reading “Headmonsterly Hmmm — On Anxiety — March 2024”
Two days after our Kairos students returned to school, with a bounce in their step and a glint in their eyes: obvious joy in seeing both classmates and teachers again to see both classmates and teachers, the Department of Education released the 2023 Matric results. You can probably imagine the customary pomp and ceremony surrounding …
“Creativity is contagious, pass it on.” — Albert Einstein “All children are born artists, the problem is to remain an artist as we grow up.” — Pablo Picasso As an educator, I always look for ways to make learning engaging, inspiring and fun. Children learn by seeing, listening in other words observing and then doing something …
Continue reading “Chalk to Talk, by Sidrah Amer, Grade 3 & 4 Class Teacher “
Contemplating A Night at Dundalk, by Jason Higgins, Grade 2 Class Teacher As I sat at the entrance of Kairos school of Inquiry during our “Night at Dundalk” event I overheard a parent remark as they were leaving, “what a wonderful way to celebrate Halloween”. As a new teacher at the school, experiencing this and …
Continue reading “Contemplating A Night at Dundalk, by Jason Higgins, Grade 2 Class Teacher”
A contemplation from our Symposium on Progressive Education by Marc Loon Last month our school hosted a symposium on the trends in progressive education in South Africa. This felt like a landmark event for our school. Perhaps it represents a milestone of our journey. We’ve been chugging along for these years, enduring all sorts of …
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We have had an annual tradition in Kairos since our first Winter Kaleidoscope to create a collaborative art piece for the occasion, involving the entire school. This year we invited our pupils to play with our school logo in any way they chose. Lacking the self-conscious inhibitions of adults, their boundless creativity sparked ideas of …
It is my second time observing the Kaleidoscope Event, but this year I joined as a co-planner. I got to experience how the event unfolded from the ground up and I want to express how very proud I am of the results. I am delighted how we are learning, as a school, how to create …
Along with several similar school projects around the world, our Kairos Arcade is inspired by the acclaimed short film, “Caine’s Arcade”, a tribute to a child’s creativity and the power of community. The film was such a success it instigated the formation of the organisation Imaginate.org, which: “imagines a world where creativity and entrepreneurship are core …
