Our modern world has morphed from a mindset of producer to consumer. As we shift from industrialised economies in countries like Australia to evolve as knowledge economies, it appears some critical skills are at risk of being diluted in our youngest generations. If we consider the mantra of ubiquitous convenience, espoused and driven by commercial [...]
Author: Dr Andrew Bell As parents, or as teachers, how often have we deliberately or inadvertently praised a child for their innate abilities? I would suggest we do this more than we realise, and this has been happening for generations. Of course, the intent is all positive, but the reality is quite the opposite and [...]
Author: Andrew Bell, SMGS Principal This article first appeared in SMGS newsletter, Aspects on Friday, 18th May. Peak Performance I recently read the book, Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise, by Ericsson & Pool. The authors describe how certain individuals develop their performance to reach excellence, while others with seemingly similar capability only [...]
The Snowy Monaro community has again showed its strong support on ANZAC Day at our local commemoration ceremonies. Today our students took part in the Jindabyne, Cooma and Berridale ceremonies. SMGS staff and students are proud to honour those who have served our country as we contribute towards preserving the ANZAC spirit through a new [...]
On Tuesday, 10th April, the SMGS Netball team played in the Jindabyne Netball Association’s grand final. SMGS was triumphant in the Junior Division, defeating their competition, the HotShots, 24-23 in a gripping final. Both teams played with great intensity and sportsmanship as they lifted in their quest to take home the coveted title of season [...]
With students now well into their learning routine, it is timely to raise again the concept of a growth mindset versus a fixed mindset. This concept is so critical to all types of learning in life, and applies to all of us, not just ‘students’. Today I presented this concept to our Senior School students [...]
I recently addressed students on what it takes to make it as a world-class elite performer in a range of different disciplines, including academia, sport, the arts, chess, or similar. I pointed to a study by Bloom (1985) who looked in depth at well over a hundred world-leading performers and traced back their history leading [...]
Friday 17 June is Foundation Day for Snowy Mountains Grammar School, which is an important milestone, as we celebrated the completion of twenty years at the start of 2016. SMGS had its first cohort in 1996, beginning with just sixteen students, and grew to sixty-nine by the second year, 1997. We have been in the [...]
I recently read an article in the media that, in essence, stated that the use of personal devices (laptops and iPads) was responsible for Australia’s drop in the global rankings in the Programme for International Student Achievement (PISA) tests from 2000 to 2012. PISA is a triennial international survey test of around 500,000 15 year [...]
"There is no shortage of challenges in school education", writes Professor Geoff Masters (CEO of the Australian Council for Educational Research - ACER). He continues, to state that "some of the biggest challenges we face can appear frustratingly intractable. Despite reform efforts, regular government reviews and ongoing calls for change, progress in addressing our most [...]
