Prototyping is building, testing, and then reworking an idea as necessary until an acceptable form of a product is finally achieved. It sounds like failure is just another word for prototyping.

Sir James Dyson was knighted in 2006 for his ‘inventive mindset’. In the process of inventing the cyclonic cleaner, he made 5127 prototypes in his backyard shed before he came up with one that worked. This product, known globally as ‘The Dyson’ disrupted the vacuum cleaning industry. What if James Dyson had considered himself a failure and stopped at prototype #5126?

“Failure is interesting - it's part of making progress. You never learn from success, but you do learn from failure.” Dyson, November 2012

As adults, we need to be very careful when applying the word ‘fail’ to any context. If failure is part of making progress, we need people capable of applying what is learnt in meaningful ways, rather than just reproducing knowledge.

It is an important part of the process of learning, that we establish contexts where our children purposefully struggle with tasks and ideas. When this occurs they have breakthrough moments that are a necessary element of higher order thinking. Last week I wrote about the risk of giving children a ‘fast food’ version of education, treating children as empty vessels to fill with facts and information to pass statewide examinations. Of course, examinations are an important passport to further learning, but we should never view them as the benchmark by which we label people for life.

I have always thought that the best measure of a successful education would include an assessment of the capacity for a young person to continue with further learning and to make a positive contribution to their community within their field of endeavour, whether that be locally or globally.

In my reflection this week I encourage all adults in the NBCS community to never focus on a concept that their child might ‘fail’, but rather see it as the opportunity for further growth, recognising that the majority of success pathways are not linear.

When Sir James Dyson looks for the right people to work in his entrepreneurial company he says,  “It's a matter of having the right attitude -- humble, curious, determined, willing to fail and try.” Sounds like the students at NBCS.

Read more about James Dyson: Using Failure to Drive Success

Mr Stephen Harris
Principal

For those who are new to our community – welcome! Wavelength is the main publication for the NBCS community, including feature articles, upcoming events, resources, and more. Wavelength is sent as a weekly email, typically on a Monday.

The Wavelength website is available throughout the week, with the school calendar and frequently downloaded documents available to parents. Please note that a few resources are password protected (password: orange).

If you have any questions, feedback or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact us via return email at any time across the year. We will do our best to help where we can.

– The Wavelength Team

At NBCS it is our priority to foster student wellbeing. To this end we welcome two new members into our Relationships Team, which provides key support to our students.

Heather Wrathall
Heather has joins the NBCS staff as a member of the Student Welfare team, assisting Anne Jobson in her role as Counsellor. Heather comes to us as a trained counsellor, having worked with Relationships Australia after a career in community development work. Heather will be available to provide support for students who need assistance to work through relational conflict or other issues. Heather will be available on Mondays and Fridays.

Malcolm Smith
Malcolm is a Provisional Psychologist with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Board (AHPRA) and comes to us as an Intern, following on from a prior internship with Knox Grammar. Malcolm has more than 20 years experience teaching in Secondary schools, including Broughton Anglican College, SHORE and St Luke’s Grammar. He is completing his practical training as a psychologist, having completed his postgraduate Diploma in Psychology at UNE in 2012. Malcolm will be working with us on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Families in our Primary community are warmly invited to attend a special event  – a picnic on the oval on Friday 21 February, 5-7pm.

The picnic will be a great opportunity to welcome new families, strengthen connections, build community and continue to grow relationships.

We hope you are able to join us.

View calendar entry

Any parent wishing to participate in activities at the school must first attend a Parent Involvement Training Workshop. Workshops last for approximately 45 minutes and cover WHS issues, privacy legislation, Child Protection legislation and working with staff. All required forms will be distributed on the night.

Upcoming dates:

• Wednesday 12 February at 5:15pm (prior to the Stage 1 Parent Information Night)
• Monday 10 March at 6:30pm

Please note that current parents who completed accreditation prior to 2012 need to be re-accredited this year, as accreditation lasts for a period of 3 years.

Uniform Shop – Cotton/Polyester Jumpers

A one-off order of Cotton/Polyester Jumpers will be placed at the end of February for delivery end of March. These jumpers are identical to the standard woollen ones available from the Uniform Shop, including the ‘NBCS’ embroidery, and are primarily for students who suffer from eczema and skin allergies (any student who may choose to wear one). These jumpers will cost $70. If you would like to place an order, please do so in person at the Uniform Shop, by email to uniformshop@nbcs.nsw.edu.au or fax (02 9450 0601) including student's name, year, size required, and credit card details for payment. All orders need to be received by the Uniform Shop by Thursday 27 February, 2014.

Notice of Withdrawal

Parents are reminded that one full term’s notice in writing is required for students leaving NBCS, otherwise one full term’s fees are payable in lieu.

Ms Sue Durant
Registrar

This week’s Michael Grose information sheet:
The power of a sincere compliment

In association with our Empowering Parent Seminars, we have been providing additional weekly parent information sheets to support NBCS parents. Some information will be more relevant to Primary than Secondary and vice versa. This is to support families within our school community covering all age groups.

If you would like an information sheet on a specific topic sent via Wavelength, please contact Mrs Anne Jobson via the School Office (9450 1311).