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Friday 26 February 

To be a Pilgrim is to Grow (Part ii), Episode 18

It was wonderful to hear Prime Minister Boris Johnson announce on Monday that Pilgrims’ can reopen our gates and our classrooms for boys and teachers and return to physical lessons on 8 March! Despite the very real challenges of the lockdown and the pandemic that we feel every day, I sense that change and growth is definitely in the air. For example, not only is School reopening, but it really is starting to feel like Spring, the days are suddenly noticeably longer after half term, there are crocuses and hyacinths sprouting around the trees the Close, and we are in the season of Lent, a time of preparation.

With Spring and growth in mind I want to return to Growth Mindset, a world beating concept originated by Professor Carol Dweck and her team at Stanford University, that I wrote about on 29 January in ‘To be a Pilgrim is to Grow (Part i)’. The concept is that a growth mindset is when children or adults believe that they can grow their intelligence over time through effort and hard work, through making mistakes and learning from them, with teachers’ and parents’ feedback and encouragement, and by teachers and parents praising their effort and the process of learning they have undertaken, rather than their achievement. A fixed mindset is the belief that one’s intelligence is fixed. For example, “I am just hopeless at maths” often followed by “It is pointless trying” is a fixed mindset. Someone with a growth mindset might say, “I don’t know how to add fractions yet but I am working hard to learn the steps …” A boy in Year 1 demonstrated his growth mindset earlier this week in a lesson I observed when asked to identify two words that rhymed in a poem they were looking at. This was a tough question and he had been chosen by the teacher to answer it. He said to the teacher in front of the class, “I am not very good at rhymes at the moment but if I keep practising I will be.” She said encouragingly, “Yes, you will” and he then proceeded to underline two words in the stanza that rhymed. That young man has won a Head’s Show Up as it was my number one learning moment of the week!

How much difference does a growth mindset make? The following examples are from Professor Dweck’s research in the US. There is a lot of other research which similarly shows that having a growth mindset has significant positive effects on children’s learning outcomes, as well as on their confidence and wellbeing.

Maths grades (GPA below is grade point average) increased in a sample of pupils after they had been taught about Growth Mindset, while the averages fell in a control group who did not have the same intervention.

A growth mindset correlates with higher attainment many times more than lower attainment. For example, in a large sample of high school children Dweck found that those with a growth mindset were represented 3 time more than those with a fixed mindset in the top 20% (top quintile) of a US-wide achievement test, but they made up less than 25% of the bottom 20% (bottom quintile).

Fiske Elementary School is in Boston. It is a diverse, urban school. Fiske’s pupils were achieving maths results at the same level as the mean for the state of Massachusetts. Fiske rolled out a programme to embed growth mindset throughout the school in 2011-2012. By 2013, maths results had risen significantly and Fiske’s pupils were vastly outperforming the state. This difference was replicated in 2014.

In another study, two groups of children were given difficult maths problems to solve. They struggled. One group was praised by the teachers for their resilience, effort, and the process they went through to answer the problems (Effort Praise). The other group who had solved 10% more of the problems in the first round was praised for their intelligence (Intelligence Praise) and what they achieved – right and wrong. The initially weaker group’s performance increased after the praise for their effort and the process (Growth Mindset). The children who were praised for their intelligence struggled even more in the later trial than they had in the first, and their performance declined.

This and other research illustrates how praising the process that leads to that learning outcome (including the child’s effort, resilience, strategies, focus, perseverance, courage), rather than the outcome itself, leads to a growth mindset and increased outcomes. It also makes for happy, secure learners. Here at Pilgrims’ we love to celebrate successes but we always celebrate the process that leads to that achievement. The process is something boys can replicate in other situations to further achievement. To be a Pilgrim is to grow. To be a Pilgrim is to have a growth mindset.

Artwork of the Week

'Self-Portrait after Munch' by James (8C)

Both 8C and 8S have just completed their lockdown Art projects. They were tasked with drawing a self-portrait in the style of another artist, inspired by Art Pedagogy's Threshold Concept (#4): "Artists use (and abuse) traditions".

This week's Artwork of the Week was one of several outstanding submissions. If you are on Instagram, you will be able to see eight more of these works on our 'art_at_pilgrims' page. Please follow this account and share widely if you can!

James has captured the spirit of Edvard Munch's "Scream" (1893) for his self-portrait, utilising the iconic power of this image to great effect. But this drawing also captures something of this present moment. I'm willing to wager that I'm not that only one who has, at times, felt a 'primal scream' welling up from 'the deep' as we deal with the ongoing effects of the pandemic.

Well done on an excellent work of Art, James! Have a Show Up for your efforts.

Mr Walters

From the Chaplaincy 

Psalm 23 

¹ The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
²     He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
³     he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.
⁴ Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me. 

⁵ You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
⁶ Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever. 

Psalm 23 is attributed to King David, who as a young boy beat the might Philistine giant-soldier Goliath in hand-to-hand combat using only his sling shot and a few pebbles. David was a young boy at the time, no more than about fourteen years of age. And yet, he beat Goliath in a fight. 

Goliath was massive. The toughest soldier of his age. His reputation preceded him. Not only was he a giant, but he knew how to fight. No-one had ever beaten him in combat. So, when he challenged the Israelites to send out a soldier to fight him – the winner would enslave the opposition – not a single Israelite soldier was prepared to stand up and accept the challenge. Their courage failed them. Except for David. However, when he offered to fight Goliath everyone laughed at him. But David stood his ground. He told the king that he would fight with God on his side. No-one else was brave enough anyway, so what choice did King Saul have? In the end King Saul tried to fit his armour on David, but it was no good, it was far too big and heavy. David went out to fight Goliath with no armour, no sword, no shield, just his sling shot and his faith in God. 

When Goliath saw David walk out onto the battlefield, he mocked him and the Israelites. ‘Why do you send out a boy to fight me? Are there no men left in Israel? I’ll feed him to the birds!’ But still David stood his ground. His simply told Goliath that he would know that there was a God in Israel. Now, we know that David won the fight. He used his slingshot to fire a pebble into Goliath’s forehead and knock him out. When Goliath was lying on the floor, David took Goliath’s sword and chopped off his head.  

In Psalm 23, we can feel the faith that took David to victory on the battlefield against Goliath. Even though he walked through the darkest danger David knew he need not fear evil. He knew that God would protect him and help him defeat his enemy. Wouldn’t it be amazing to have such faith, to have such a God to stand up for you? 

The good news is that the Bible teaches us that we can have just such a faith as David. If we trust God and obey his commands, there is no obstacle we cannot overcome.  

 Mr Bryant

e-Safety with Karl Hopkins

Thank you to all those parents who joined the Zoom call with Karl Hopkins Thursday evening on e-Safety. We will circulate the link to the recording of the meeting in case you would like it. I hope you found it useful. I thought he interwove a very strong and compelling evidence base, with excellent resources we should all use.

This week, I joined a number of the sessions for boys of different ages, staff and parents. My commendation so far goes to the Pre-Prep who were mature beyond their years as they reflected on the story of the farmer and the hen who amongst other things kept buying expensive things like tractors and motorbikes using the farmer’s computer because he did not have a logon password. The boys understood that they should keep passwords private and some were very able to articulate why their parents had put child settings on devices. They focused brilliantly, put their hands up and made comments and asked questions. I had to pinch myself to remember that they are only 4-6 years old.

Seeing the boys reminded me of my nephew, Thomas, who one afternoon when has was nearly two years old, managed to teach my mother (she is of the typewriter generation) how to manoeuver a mouse and how to click for the very first time so that she could open cBeebies for him! The process took more than an hour and his motivation was to watch Thomas the Tank Engine on her computer. Thomas (the boy not the tank engine) is now 21 years old a final year History undergraduate at Durham. He does not remember this of course. My mother, meanwhile, surfs the internet with ease.

Dr Essex

From the Base

During Children's Mental Health Awareness Week, I did some work with Y6-8 entitled the 'Cognitive Triangle'.  At its heart it is based on:

THOUGHT leads to FEELINGS leads to BEHAVIOUR

So, a negative thought brings negative feelings which brings negative behaviour.

'No one likes me,' leads to, 'I feel lonely and sad,' leads to 'I want to be by myself and shut everyone out'. 

The negative behaviour often reinforces the negative thought as well, so the person above, by isolating themselves, then feels even more that no one likes them.

The good news is that the opposite is true.  Positive thoughts lead to positive outcomes. 'I am loved' makes us feel 'happy and secure' which leads to 'I show others how much I love them too'.

Positive thinking can be a difficult thing.  But coaching and encouraging our children to challenge their thoughts can make a real difference.  The next time someone in your family behaves poorly, try working backwards to feelings and thoughts, and see if there could be a change made. After all, we want to be in charge of what we do, and by consequence of what we feel, so we need to be the boss of our thoughts.

Please do join me on Saturday for our parent coffee and chat.

Mr Shroff

Best Lockdown Book  - Book Club and World Book Day

Book Club this term will take a different slant. There will not be an assigned list of titles. Instead, pupils are invited to suggest the book they think deserves the Best Lockdown Book title.

This must be a book the boys have read themselves, or have read with someone else during lockdown (watching the movie version of a book does not qualify!).

These are some of the criteria:

• Which book has entertained you the most among the ones you read during lockdown?
• Which one has made you want to read on?
• Which one has made you feel part of the story and identify with the characters?
• Which one made you wish it would go on forever?
• Send your suggestions to: lbrill@pilgrims-school.co.uk or post them on the stream of the Briggs Virtual Library (ztpc6rw)

We will chat about them and select the Best Lockdown Book at the end of the term.

Plenty of reading inspiration can be found on the World Book Day 2021 website  and this year will fall on Thursday 4 March. 

We look forward to celebrating it later in the term. In the meantime, we invite you to make use of the fantastic links to free audiobooks, authors’ and illustrators’ workshops and activities available from the website. A link to a virtual £1 token will be also made available and will be valid until the end of March.

Mrs Brill

Accelerated Reader

There has obviously been some fantastic reading and quizzing taking place over half-term!  The updated set results are in… And Saxons have lost their lead!  The Wrens now have a narrow lead, with the Saxons and the Normans following closely behind.  A huge surge from the Romans sees them move into 4^th place but the Monks are not far behind them.  It is terrific to see so much brilliant reading taking place; nearly 1000 quizzes have been completed since September and a total word count of nearly 34 million words read!  Wow!

Miss Higham

The Sky at Night - February 26 Onwards

The Snow Moon

The February full moon, known as the Snow Moon or Hunger Moon, will occur at 2017 on Saturday February 27, and always shines in or near the stars of Leo. Since it's opposite the sun on this day of the lunar month, the moon is fully illuminated, and rises at sunset and sets at sunrise. When full, no shadows are cast by the lunar terrain — so the variations you see are the variations which are there!

I hope the weather allows good viewing – please send pictures in!

Mr Hammond

Home Drama Half Term fun

Do take a look at this video that brothers William and Jacob from Years 4 and 2 made by themselves during half-term, purely for fun, and because they love drama! 

Miss McGrath

The Castle Building Challenge

Please enjoy some more castle model images created over half term for the Challenge. Head's Show Ups for them all! Amazing attention to detail shown, and very well done to all the boys and their supporting families.

Mrs Bailey

Year 4 Maths

Quick fire maths - Cole beats Mrs Thorne and the box, proving our favourite games can still be played on Zoom!

Mrs Thorne

A View from the Boundary

Recently, I witnessed a remarkable performance by a team that was faced with a daunting task to win a match. Back in January in the fourth and final test match of the series, the Indian cricket team chased down 328 runs to win the match, and the series, against Australia. You may say that there was nothing remarkable about that victory, after all India are a strong cricketing nation. However, there is a back story that precedes this one match which makes the victory so noteworthy.

Let’s go back to the first test of the series at Adelaide that Australia won comfortably by 8 wickets. India were without several of their key players and were humiliatingly bowled out for a mere 36 runs, the lowest test match total for 66 years. Imagine how that felt for the Indian team in their dressing room in the post match debriefing.

The second test at the MCG in Melbourne saw India missing four of their senior players through injury or personal reasons ( including captain Kohli ). Two of the replacement players were making their test debuts and Rahane was appointed stand in captain. India impressed and, despite all the changes to their team, won by 8 wickets to level the series.

In Sydney the third test ended in a draw but the manner in which this was achieved made for fascinating viewing. India had been set a massive 407 runs to win in the fourth innings. They had a go but lost wickets and were forced to bat defensively to ensure that they didn’t get bowled out. Two Indian batsmen Ashwin and Vihali, suffering from a bad back and pulled hamstring respectively, faced 256 deliveries to blunt Aussie bowling attack to see India through to a draw. Incredible resilience under immense pressure was worthy of all the praise it received in the media.

The final test at The Gabba in Brisbane was set up to be a great spectacle. Australia had to win to clinch the Border-Gavaskar Series Trophy, India needed a draw to retain the Trophy. India won the test in extraordinary circumstances against insurmountable adversity. Here are some of the facts that stacked up against the Indian team. The combined number of tests played by the Australia team totalled 516 tests compared to the 238 tests of the Indian side. A significant difference in experience was mainly highlighted between the two bowling attacks. Australia’s much vaunted attack could boast 250 tests between them, big names such as Lyon, Cummins, Hazlewood and Starc. India could only muster 11 tests between their 5 bowlers. Siraj, Natarajan, Thaur, Sundar and Saini hardly household names! Six of India’s XI had played under 5 tests each. Also, Australia had not lost in Brisbane for 33 years. Perhaps you could compare this to Pilgrims’ fielding a 2nd XI against Twyford’s 1st XI, at Twyford, on a hot Saturday in front of a capacity crowd all expecting Twyford to trounce our valiant lads.

So in the face of overwhelmingly low odds India responded with courage and belief to triumph. Brave India, fearless India took on the Aussies in their own back yard and chased down a record run chase of 328 with 18 balls left in the game. They backed themselves with their young and inexperienced side and came out on top in style. As an entire squad, they showed immense mental strength to bounce back so convincingly after being humiliated in the first test. To cope with the injuries that left them with an inexperienced playing group demonstrated their trust in each other. What an advertisement for tenacity and resilience.

Mr Whitman

Our Year 8 Qs recorded Mendelssohn's 'Lift thine eyes' - you can hear it here

Mr Ionascu

Photography Commoner

The theme this week was Reflection. There were many ways in which this brief could have been interpreted and, as ever, there was no right (or wrong) way of doing it…

The boys were invited to take a photograph of their own reflection, or their reflection of them taking a photograph. It did not have to be a self-portrait, it could have been more abstract, such as taking a photograph close to a chrome/glass/metal/reflective surface. They were also given the idea of exploring the brief in the context of water reflections, or even reflection of light. 

And here below are the results.

Mr Armstrong

From Mrs Ross

This week has been a very positive one for the Pre-Prep in so many ways.  It has been wonderful to catch up with the boys and staff after a restful half term.  The increased energy and enthusiasm is palpable, along with the feeling that Spring is now just around the corner.  The exciting news that we will return to school on 8 March also seems to have lifted everyone's spirits!  

The boys were treated to a special e-Safety Assembly by Karl Hopwood on Tuesday.  Karl was very impressed by the Zoom skills that Pilgrims' youngest boys have developed.  He was also delighted by their engagement and contributions.

I hope that parents who attended Karl's presentation yesterday evening found it informative. I am sure that you will agree that we must continue to reinforce the importance of the four e-safety rules, both at home and at school.

Year 1 

Year 1 have returned from half term with energy and enthusiasm for their virtual lessons.

The boys have been practising counting in twos in Maths lessons and have tackled some tricky fluency and problem-solving tasks in which their explanation work has especially impressed me!

Pirate hats have been created, along with pirate maps on which the boys have been learning to use co-ordinates. I am so excited that in just over a week we will be together again in school and judging by the boys' reaction I believe that they too are thrilled at the news!

See our video here: Things that make us happy!

Keep going boys and parents, just one more week of virtual life!

Mrs James

Hooray! The sun finally came out for our Forest School lessons. Year 1 sharpened up their observational skills and went on the hunt for items that fitted in with the given criteria. Finding something crunchy, something that made them happy and something multicoloured are just a few examples of the challenges they were given.

Year R used their imagination to create a Tipi for their favourite teddy bear. Using sticks, leaves and barks a suitable home was designed for these cuddly companions.

Year 2’s lesson had a mathematical focus and the boys explored repeated patterns. By using a selection of leaves, stones, twigs the boys created their own repeated patterns and challenged others to identify the pattern they had created.

Mrs Walker

This is The Pilgrims' School Outreach Programme event taking place on Saturdays from March to the end of May. Please share it widely!