Beauty amidst the mess
with Felicity Marlow , Principal Norwest Christian College
Schools are messy places . Let ’ s think about Norwest Christian College for a minute . It ’ s a complex community made up of over 1000 students , each at varying stages of development , with different strengths , gifts and challenges and , from varying family backgrounds .
The Norwest community is also comprised 150 staff , each with varying approaches to teaching and with a set of unique life experiences that influence the way that they relate to one another and to our students . With so many influences bearing down on them at any one time , be they political , cultural or social , schools are very complex and pressure-filled contexts .
Yes schools are messy , but gosh I love it ! I love it because what actually emerges from the mess , with careful planning and structure is something very beautiful - the learning and growth of young people .
As a music teacher , the unity of voice that is so apparent in orchestral settings is what has always excited and fascinated me . How is it that 100 instruments , each made of different materials , each played by a unique individual , can all come together to create something so beautiful ? There is so much potential for disaster in an orchestra .
Only one instrument has to be slightly out of tune for the whole orchestra to sound terrible . So how is it that such beauty can emerge from a context where there is so much potential for it to go very badly very quickly ? The answer is quite simple . Every member of the orchestra plays from the same song sheet , tunes to the same tuning note and follows the same conductor . Every member of the orchestra is aligned to a common purpose and plan .
Alignment around a common purpose and plan is equally relevant for us at Norwest Christian College , when thinking about ensuring that learning and growth happens amidst the messiness that can be schooling . If we are going to build purposeful lives , lives that love learning and seek to make a difference in the world by using their learning in the service of others , then we all need to move in the same direction .
Each member of the college community , staff , students and parents need to sing from the same song sheet . The college ’ s Building Purposeful Lives framework ( BPL ) is our song sheet . It provides the plan to ensure that the beauty of learning and growth emerges from the pressure-filled context that is schooling .
A simple life truth is that we only align ourselves under a vision when we believe that vision is valuable . The members of the orchestra only follow the score given to them because they know that if they each perform what is given to them beauty will indeed emerge . So what is valuable about BPL ? Simply put BPL ’ s value lies in its capacity to grow the whole child ; head , heart and hands , to confidently navigate an increasingly complex world . At the heart of BPL is the acknowledgement that each child has been designed and made by God to make a unique contribution to the world and needs to be equipped to pursue that purpose .
BPL is our plan to equip each and every young person to lead a purposeful life , one that makes a meaningful contribution . What could be more beautiful and valuable than growing young people who know that their life has purpose and that learning supports them in building their capacity to pursue that purpose ?
If you would like more information about education at Norwest Christian College , please visit www . norwest . nsw . edu . au .
30 ISSUE 150 // NOVEMBER 2022 theindependentmagazine . com . au THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT