Upper School
Upper School
Mr Tim Rayner – Head of Upper School
Mingle, chat, make friends
MR TIM RAYNER HEAD OF UPPER SCHOOL
A walk around our campus on any given day gives some insight into the diversity of our school, but by no means gives a complete picture of our community
While it is possible to see differences in physical characteristics of boys and staff at first glance, taking the time to interact is often the beginning of appreciating others’ perspectives, cultures and world views.
Classes, sport, music and services all allow boys to mingle, chat, make friends and meet people who may come from different backgrounds and have different interests and views. There is a richness in the diversity of our boys’ experience, every day. From being taught by a diverse range of teachers to the boys themselves, whose backgrounds reflect the diversity of modern day Australia, it is evident that our community is not homogenous.
Outside of the school day, boys meet other children at Saturday morning sport, exchanges, trips, school socials or debating, and they come across a range of identities and backgrounds. It is here that stereotypes can be reassessed, cultures valued and acceptance occur.
But issues of such importance cannot be left to chance. Our pastoral care program teaches about respect and relationships, and our Christian Education department is central to reinforcing the message of tolerance and acceptance. More recently, the Big Ideas program has led to Year 11 boys being challenged to think about topics such as the Holocaust, feminism and the suffragettes.
This year has witnessed momentum in the role our boys want to take in tackling issues of discrimination and inequality. Pleasingly, many initiatives have stemmed from the boys themselves. They were disturbed that some peers were seemingly not concerned that some boys felt they were not valued, or that peers were insensitive to their identity.
In setting the tone, Oliver McLeish spoke in an Assembly led by Year 12 boys about our school culture, and what we want our community to stand for. Tolerance and acceptance were the central themes of his speech, prompted by a call for these qualities to be front and foremost in our interactions.
The forming of the Acceptance and Diversity group this year, led by Year 12 boys and supported by Ms Alice Cook and Mr David Skelt, has helped to galvanise many into action. Starting with a forum for the whole of the Year 12 group, without teachers in attendance, the issue of homophobia in our school was discussed through a panel of boys and facilitators.
Once the momentum grew, a series of talks occurred: Peter Ho( Year 12) spoke to a Year 7 Assembly about the issues of racism in our society; Ms Angie Greene of Stand Up Events spoke to our Year 9 boys about prejudice within sport; Mrs Morgana Walker, our School Psychologist, spoke to Year 12 about mental health issues; and the Rev. Grant Watson spoke to Year 8 about religious diversity and acceptance.
It is heartening that our boys want to get involved and take leadership on confronting issues that can easily be ignored. By older boys taking the lead and setting an appropriate tone for the younger boys to adopt, we can enable all our boys to have a voice and, importantly, feel valued.
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