4 reasons schools should let students wear sports uniforms every day 1. Traditional uniforms are expensive For a primary-school student uniform appropriate for summer and winter, as well the sports uniform, is around P1500. The biggest saving that comes from shifting to an everyday policy of sports uniforms is that parents don’t need to buy multiple uniforms, saving around half. 2. Teachers, students, and parents prefer sports uniforms Overall, in a recent study, four in five parents and six in ten teachers support a change in uniform policy allowing students to wear sports uniforms every day. 3. Sports uniforms support physical activity Most students think they would be more active if they could wear their sports uniform every day. Older students, who are generally less active, more strongly agree they’d be more active wearing sports uniforms every day. Nine in ten parents agree school uniforms should support physical activity. Most teachers recognise physical activity is good for physical and mental health. Beyond health, active students do better in class, having better concentration, attention and classroom behaviours, which can lead to improved academic performance. But uniform changes are just one ingredient to increase young people’s physical activity. Combining factors such as the option to wear sports uniforms daily with classroom energisers, such as short active breaks from seated teaching. 4. Traditional uniforms are uncomfortable Most schools do not have enough changing facilities to allow students to switch between active wear and traditional uniforms at break. “Uniforms hold me back from running”, Enjoy the weekend!

Flourish! At this time of year, we will be meeting with several parents whose children have been identified as struggling or excelling academically. For the Std 7 parents they will be pondering over the years of secondary education ahead. Is their child on track, have they and the school done enough to allow the child to flourish? Inevitably, these families want to understand what is the ultimate aim of education at Baobab? We should be all able to answer, our goal is to ensure that each student can ‘flourish’. Flourish, even in these strange covid-19 times. Aristotle explores the question posed by Socrates and Plato before him about how we should live our lives. He uses the word ‘Eudaimonia’, perhaps best translated as ‘human flourishing’ to describe the highest human good – or what we might term the ‘purpose’ of life. Academic achievement, personal development, co-curricular opportunities, are only part of any school vision. And no individuals vision of life is the same, so too with teachers, but if we can say the following statements with confidence: • I know who I am • I like who I am • I’m good at being me Then all should be good! In order for our students and we ourselves to achieve this in life we need to find teaching stimulating, we need to develop intellectual curiosity for knowledge, explore how best to teach, how to encourage our students to be independent thinkers, and develop a love for learning. To me, flourishing is academic achievement, self-confidence and good judgement. Through all the challenges we have faced this year, never lose faith, hope or direction. Know that your life and goals can only be obtained if you flourish!

Responding Calmly to Upset Parents When an angry email shows up in the inbox, it can be tempting to respond in kind. These five tips will assist you for better responses. Working with children and families, we’ll all encounter what I call “ouch moments” A ‘WhatsApp’s’ message with a parent’s complaint about something gone wrong, for example, or a message taken out of context. The ‘ouch’ can take the form of an email in 60-point font, bold, capitalized, and underlined; or a post on social media painting you or our school in a less-than-positive light. This type of situation always seems to occur right at the wrong time. We might be heading out of the class, going to an activity or just checking email once at night when the complaint comes in. The concern may be minor; however, if we’re not in the best personal space, we may take offense at it. While we can’t control what others say about us, we can control how we respond. This requires self-regulation, collaboration, and a willingness to seek support. Making sure we’re really ready to respond constructively also takes a lot of selfreflection. Tips For Responding To ‘Ouch’ Moments 1. Sleep on it: If an email rolls in after school hours, it is completely acceptable to wait until the next school day to respond. If you’re concerned that parents will think you’re not accessible, set up an automatic reply alerting them to your teaching hours, which lets them know when you’ll be able to respond. So even if you see the email at night, you can get rest and refocus before you respond to it the next day. 2. Take a walk: Have you heard of email apnea? It occurs when you hold your breath unconsciously while reading emails, expecting trouble. The next time an email comes in with a subject line or sender that tends to send you through the roof, check your heart rate and your breathing. Before responding to a difficult post or email, I will often leave my office and walk around, spending time with the students I serve to regain perspective before I respond. Teachers might take time to play on the playground, or walk to the office and back, just to get a breath of fresh air and a little more perspective before rereading and responding. 3. Phone a friend or ask a friend before you hit Send: Not sure that your eightparagraph response is enough or more likely might be just a bit too much? (if you require more than a paragraph, don’t send, but request a meeting at a time which suits you). Ask another trusted teacher, coach, or even me to weigh in on your response. Often, we’re preoccupied with our own emotions in these conflicts, so having a neutral party review your response gives you a perspective outside of your own to reconsider and possibly revise your reply. This practice teaches all of us how to respond in a professional manner and the importance of seeking help when communicating something difficult. 4. Pick up the phone: Sometimes the best response is conveyed in real time. If you’re spending too much thinking, rethinking, and reviewing your email response to a heated question or concern, pick up the phone. Allowing the other party to hear your voice, and allowing yourself to hear theirs, creates a great opportunity for empathy, clarification, and understanding about the concern. If you think you don’t have time for this kind of conversation, think about whether you have time to rebuild or repair the relationship once it’s damaged. Be willing to start the conversation not with a right-or-wrong wrong approach but one focused on collaboration and finding solutions. No one loses when a common goal is established, one grounded in care and concern for all involved. There’s an opportunity for a ripple effect if you choose to lead communication with vulnerability and empathy: When you establish a common ground and build a sustainable relationship with a parent in tense circumstances, it becomes easier to do so in the future. The better you get at practicing this skill, the easier it becomes, and the more natural it is to generalize the attributes of positive communication to other relationships at work and at home. 5. Let it go: Sometimes the best response is not to have one. Maybe a parent hit Reply All to highlight the three spelling errors in your most recent newsletter. Or maybe you put a lot of time into a recent school event, only to see negative feedback from families in a thread on Facebook. You’ll never win a fight on social media, but don’t use that as an excuse to stop telling your school’s story. Showing grace in your interactions online requires that you use your communication skills to defuse difficult situations rather than exacerbate them. Ultimately, using strategies to build up your ability to handle difficult situations and conversations will allow you to free up space in your mind and reduce the stress in your day, giving you more time to engage in teaching and leading without worrying about the next notification that might pop up on your phone.A final thought: Too often we extend grace and forgiveness to others more easily than we receive it. But we should be open to receiving grace and forgiveness: Many of my ouch moments ended up being positive turning points in my relationship with a family, staff member, or student I would love to know the “little things” that you do in your classrooms to make a big impact. No matter when you start doing new things, it helps, Thank you for teaching! Enjoy the weekend!

“Teaching is a work of heart! Happy Teacher’s day!” I would like to begin by saluting the Baobab teachers, who toil day and night to ensure the overall development of our students. There are only a few beautiful souls in this world who dedicate their time, hard work, and life to give a bright future to every child whom we call Teachers. It’s a good day to remember those at the frontline of Education — teachers — who play the critical role of advancing the right to education and equipping students with 21st century skills. We have all had that teacher. The one that inspired us. The one that encouraged us to ask questions, discuss topics and research. The one that affected our choices of subject for university. The one that helped us get where we are today. The one that made learning fun. This year, our teachers are leading the way into a new type of classroom that has not yet been created. With the circumstances brought on by the pandemic since last year, our teachers have been working harder than ever. Many you had to transition to virtual learning and completely rework your teaching plans and living arrangements. Teachers are putting themselves at risk every day to make sure children get the best care possible. That’s why, this year, it’s especially important to celebrate and support Baobab teachers on our National Teacher’s Day. Today is a great opportunity to thank all of our teachers for all you do for the Baobab community today and every day. Once again, I extend my Thanks to all for today, our Teacher’s Day and pay my tributes to Baobab’s teachers for the countless sacrifices you have made. Our nation stands and rises on the shoulders of our teachers. Enjoy the weekend!

The Baobab staff have been nothing short of heroic and it is a privilege to work beside you during this difficult time. Although we face different challenges each day, we recognise that we are a school of enormous privilege and that many other schools in Gaborone, are even more vulnerable, at this stage. I am hoping and praying that teachers and school staff will be vaccinated in the coming weeks. This will bring much needed protection, to the staff, who place themselves and their families in harm’s way each and every day, to ensure that our students get the education they so desperately deserve. Self-motivation is key to the success of daily living. As teachers, it is imperative that we not only have realistic expectations on what our students can handle, but also, we must create a learning environment that sets ourselves up for success during these times. To understand the times we teach in, we must adequately address all the concerns staff have which is related to our responsibilities such as marking, moderating, student/parent/family contact, and consultations, planning for term 3, and preparation for our own professional learning via online webinars. Thank goodness our WiFi capabilities will assist with classroom management. Make use of the internet to broaden our students knowledge and interest in learning. Remember that you can’t inspire someone if we’re not taking care of ourselves. Everyone needs to be honest with themselves about when they need to recharge their batteries, and don’t be afraid to discuss it with management. Once you get past taking care of yourself, then you need to do what you have always done best when you are face-to-face with your students. That is, they need to have fun. We are all a little frazzled, but you have to have fun with teaching and find creative ways to connect with your colleagues and students. Project and Inquiry based tasks allow the students to express themselves, keep looking at ways to challenge them. We are looking at a staff inter-house song sing-along to show off to our students. We can livestream the event and I urged everyone to get behind the initiative and sing and have fun. Everyone has fun. Everyone feels good. Looking towards the Tokyo Olympics, lets tweak their interest in the games. A reminder that should you need to vent, or talk, you are free to express how you are doing and how you are feeling, my door is open. We must tend to our mental, emotional and physical demands and challenges, support each other, support the students.It’s about relationships, having fun on the job, loving the kids and making sure you are still inspiring people. Focus on service and stay positive. I’ve added a page or two of great sites to visit, especially now your classroom might have internet. I enjoyed the site where a celebrity reads a book to students, numerous options to be creative and change our educational strategy for a while. Have a safe, restful weekend.

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday He who thinks he knows doesn't know. He, who knows that he doesn't know, knows. True happiness involves the full use of one's power and talents. I use always use my full power and talents to have a Happy Friday! Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word. You never need to hunt for the meaning of having a Happy Friday! Eleven Ways to be Happy Hugs may not be on this list, but they should be. Especially for certain staff! Spend money on other people. Studies show "the happiest people were the biggest givers, no matter what they earned." Count your blessings. A study proved that people who wrote down three good things that happened to them every night were significantly happier than control group who did not. Try something new. People who try new experiences are generally happier, research has shown. Delay gratification. Anticipating happiness actually makes you happy. Studies have shown that it's human nature to forestall an enjoyable event. Expose yourself to more blue. Researchers showed that exposing yourself to the colour blue sent "self-confidence soaring, cut stress, and boosts happiness." Set goals for yourself. Psychologist Jonathan Freedman claims that people who set objectives for themselves are happier than those who don't. Go to church. In a study, people who attended church regularly responded that they were happier and more satisfied with their lives than people who were not religious. Sleep at least six hours every night. Six hours and 15 minutes a night of un-interrupted sleep makes for the happiest people, a study found. Make sure you have at least 10 good friends. Adults who said they had 10 good friends were happier than those who could count five or less close friends. Fake it 'til you make it. Several studies have shown that just the act of smiling can cause people to experience happy feelings. Have a romantic relationship. People in relationships were generally found to be happier than other people, and spouses have the highest sense of well-being whether they are happily married or not, according to a study. Of course, listening to "Don't Worry, Be Happy" always makes me smile. When I wake up, my premature optimism is always rewarded, especially when I have a Happy Friday!

Courage in the Classroom

Good morning, e-friendly staff. Curro Century City, like all schools, is a unique social environment. This year could be the very best year in your life; imagine that. This could be your year. You could be what you dream to be. You could achieve your patronising goals, and people around you could see you at your best. You have that capacity – but it’s going to take a little work on your part and a whole lot of courage. And I’d like to talk about courage a little this morning, because it can be confused with bravado and ego and posturing – and that’s as far away from real courage as wisdom is from foolishness. Courage, we can recognize, is derived from the same Latin root that gives us the French word, “coeur”– which means heart. In its simplest form, then, when we do what our hearts tell us to be right and good and true, we are acting courageously, and I think that that’s the purest definition of true, moral courage – and it’s so incredibly rare. We admire it in others when we see it, we often pray for a little bit of it at difficult moments in our lives, and we are very thankful at those rare instances when we exhibit for ourselves and others true moral courage. We will be all faced, at times in our lives when we need to be courageous, especially when those around us have lost their way. I started this note this morning with the idea that each day is a new start. Let me start the day by asking ask you to add courage in your heart, because without courage we will never dare to act on our core values of Respect, Responsibility, Honesty and Compassion. Without courage, those will be reduced to merely words on a wall and abstract ideas in your brain - and nothing else. You must hold the core values in your heart and have the courage to act on them in those moments in your life when they are called into question. Today, tomorrow and every day following, have the courage to be your best self. We all know what the right thing is to do; We aren’t perfect, but it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t strive to become better each and every day. In closing I challenge you, as I challenge myself, to dare to be your best self. Listen to your heart, and dare to be courageous. Thank you for the work you do, and have a super weekend. Sean