Flourishing Minds – Strength to Strength
Each year our College introduces a theme that allows us to align our goals and provide opportunities to engage our students in reflective thinking. This year our theme, ‘Strength to Strength’ deliberately highlights our rich history and draws attention to the strengths that have emerged from the collective wisdom and contributions of the College community for over 25 years.
Leveraging these strengths allows us to imagine, set and achieve our most ambitious goals. I am certain it is this mindset that allowed a farm in Upper Coomera to grow into the flourishing community it is today.
Flourishing – Mind, Heart, Soul, Strength is the language we use to articulate ways we all can focus on improving our wellbeing. Flourishing describes the ultimate goal for our College community. Each component of the flourishing framework identifies elements we can focus on to give ourselves proactive strategies to flourish.
Flourishing Minds includes actively engaging in learning. Engagement can be amplified when we know and use our strengths. One framework for identifying strengths is the language of character strengths. Character Strengths are the positive parts of our personality that impact how we think, feel and behave. Scientists have identified 24 character strengths that we have the capacity to express. You can do a quick survey at home to identify your own signature strengths. https://www.viacharacter.org/character-strengths-via. Discussing strengths is a great dinner-time conversation to have with the family. Engagement in learning doesn’t have to relate to academic learning. We all have the opportunity to learn each and every day, indeed one of the core goals of educators the world over is to create life-long learners. Whether it be learning a new recipe to cook or how to build a deck in the backyard, we can engage in learning that utilizes our strengths which can in turn contribute toward flourishing in life.
Ben Campbell
Head of Student Development (P-6)