From the Middle School High School Principal

 The power of pausing and listening

This week we launched one of a number of projects which will be setting sail over the next few years to support voice and agency in our community.  A rather obvious point is that if no one is listening, then voice and agency are a little redundant.  Rather like freedom of speech - it's very important, but it's even more important that we listen to and empathise with each other or Babel is the result.

Often our heads are so noisy with our own thoughts and concerns, we find ourselves mentally 'checked out' or even just somewhere else, rather than fully present to those around us.  Listening takes great self discipline.  The word 'listening' nowadays means the thing you do with your ears, but the word itself  comes from Old English hlysnan which means to pay attention.  Similar to verbs like 'sentire' in Italian and 'sense' in English, there is a wider sense of just being open and receptive.

You might enjoy reflecting on ways of listening along with us, so I post here some of what the project team shared with all staff this week.  Firstly a provocation to think about what listening and responding might mean, especially for example for those who are deaf, as Rose Ayling Ellis is, who is dancing here.

And then maybe some time to pause and listen to your inner voices, and let them go.

When we listen some norms that can help us greatly are the 7 Norms of Collaboration, which are widely used in organisations and schools to support deep listening in groups.

I hope you have a great weekend, and perhaps give yourself a bit more time than usual to pause and listen to those around you.  You might be surprised by what you hear when you are even more present.