Verita Insights Magazine VIS magazine final | Page 23

SECONDARY CULTURE BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS Our secondary culture is people, not labels The foundation of our secondary school culture is built on relationships. It means getting to know students beyond the common labels of grades and assessments. It’s getting to know them as unique individual human beings. We believe that our focus on building meaningful relationships with our teenage students is what sets us apart from other secondary school cultures. With relationships being the core of our culture, we make efforts to get to know students beyond the classroom. For instance, our secondary students went on an overnight camp trip to Alba, Iulia, where they were able to bond with their peers as well as teachers. This invaluable trip allowed us as teachers to truly get to know each student without the common stressors of a classroom setting. In turn, the relationships we had with our students became more meaningful, supportive and authentic. In addition to the memorable camp trip, some of our teachers go beyond by organising weekend outings for the students. These camp trips often generate a lot of interests among the students as they are able to interact with their peers and teachers without being preoccupied with grades, assessments and classwork. These teachers are also able to see a different side to their students. The different side of these students is often their truest and most vulnerable state. In turn, teachers are able to get to know them on a more personal level. All of these events and interactions serve to uphold our secondary culture’s relentless pursuit of building positive relationships. Article by Rico Chow Principal of Secondary VERITA INSIGHTS  |  23