Happy children, learning together!
Mr Colin’s Column
Colin Sinclair
Head of School
The last few weeks have seen progress on all fronts of the school development. Starting with the school campus, the primary school building is almost complete and ready for the ministry inspection. The changes are evident from the road and you can see the wonderful colours being added to the walls.
We welcomed all our new teachers, who arrived in Cyprus over the last few weeks. A big thank to our existing staff who have been working relentlessly through their summer holidays to prepare for our opening.
The past two weeks have seen the start of our induction training for all staff, the sessions began with our founder, Natalia, who explained her passion and reasoning behind developing a non-profit school on an island in the middle of the Mediterranean.
Staff then paired up to get to know each other and throughout the following days presented what they had learnt about their fellow colleague. Loads of Fun Facts were discovered between the more serious sessions of discussing our schools Vision, Mission, Values and Ethos.
Our staff were introduced to our pastoral, wellbeing, safeguarding, inclusion, and academic framework, amongst many other topics to prepare for the opening of our school in September.
Health and Wellbeing
Fixed vs Growth Mindset
As part of the Lumio initial staff training sessions in August, teachers have discussed the notions of Fixed vs Growth Mindset (Carol Dweck, 2006) and how Lumio students can be encouraged and supported to have a Growth Mindset, in different contexts.
A Fixed Mindset refers to a person’s belief that we are all born with a set of abilities, and there is nothing we can do to change that. A Growth Mindset refers to a person’s belief that talents and intelligence can be developed through hard work, dedication and most importantly, a willingness to learn from mistakes and to see challenges as opportunities.
Parents are also very influential in determining their children’s mindsets, so feel free to try these ideas to help foster a Growth Mindset:
- Model it: show your children that you challenge yourself and learn from your mistakes. Share stories of when you try to do difficult things and what you do to overcome your obstacles.
- Praise the process: praising children for their intelligence (for example, “You’re so clever!”) has been shown to foster a fixed mindset. Instead, praise the process your child goes through to accomplish things. Praise their effort, determination and resilience. For example, “I’m so impressed that when you got stuck on that Maths problem, you tried a different strategy and didn’t give up!”
- Set challenges: set meaningful challenges for your children such as things they want to do but can’t do yet, and give them your support and encouragement to achieve them.
“We found that students’ mindsets – how they perceive their abilities – played a key role in their motivation and achievement, and we found that if we changed students’ mindsets, we could boost their achievement. Students who believed their intelligence could be developed (growth mindset) outperformed those who believed their intelligence was fixed (fixed mindset).” – Carol Dweck, PhD
Campus Update
We are delighted at the progress our school has made over the August period. While many businesses were closed, our contractors worked tirelessly to ensure we are fully prepared for the upcoming ministry inspection. Our team have been on site daily overseeing, planning and making sure that everything is on track to provide our students with an environment where they can be happy, learning together!
After-School Day Care Programme at Lumio!
We are pleased to inform our parents of our planned After-School Day Care (ASDC) programme for Grades 1 to 5!
Starting at the end of September, this service is perfect for parents who need reliable childcare after school hours. Available Monday through Friday, the ASDC will provide a safe and engaging environment for your children.
During the ASDC, students will enjoy a variety of activities, including outdoor play, reading, homework support, and collaborative projects. They can also join school clubs (included in the extended day fee) or enrol in additional courses (available for an extra fee), beginning in November. The programme runs until 19:00, with flexible pick-up times between 18:00 and 19:00, featuring fun leisure and outdoor activities. An afternoon snack is included as well! 🍎🥪
Grade 6 to 9 students can remain at school after classes to join either school-provided or paid activities, they must be picked up by 19:00.
