Nuestra psicóloga de Primaria, Silvia Sanchis, anticipa unas breves líneas sobre el estrés infantil que analizará en profundidad en su próxima charla en el colegio el próximo martes día 31.
En ese mismo encuentro propondrá diversas estrategias de prevención y de recuperación de los efectos del estrés.
Están todos invitados.

“El estrés está presente en nuestras vidas. Cierto grado de estrés es necesario para el normal funcionamiento diario, de este modo,

mantenemos nuestras defensas alerta y estamos preparados para afrontar las situaciones que se nos presentan a lo largo del día. Sin embargo, cuando se producen situaciones a las cuales no sabemos cómo responder, se generan reacciones en nuestro organismo para acomodarse a la nueva situación. Si estas reacciones se prolongan demasiado en el tiempo, experimentamos tensión, inquietud, irritabilidad que pueden desembocar en depresión.

El niño también puede experimentar estrés y además es más vulnerable que el adulto, puesto que no ha aprendido estrategias adecuadas para gestionarlo.

Cuando la conducta del niño cambia, se vuelve difícil, irritable o involucionan algunos de su comportamientos, podemos pensar que está experimentando estrés. En la niñez, las principales fuentes de estrés pueden ser los padres, los profesores, los compañeros y también el ritmo de vida al que están sometidos.

¿Sabian ustedes que existen estudios que avalan la hipótesis de que el contacto con la naturaleza es un factor protector del estrés en los niños?, ¿Es bueno que los niños se aburran?, ¿Cuántas actividades extraescolares deben realizar? Esta generación es la más sobreestimulada en décadas y debemos prestar atención a su bienestar emocional.”

Silvia Sanchis, Psicóloga de Primaria en Caxton College

The Primary Psychologist, Silvia Sanchis, has written a few lines about childhood stress, which she will go into in much more depth in her next talk at school. It will take place next Tuesday, 31 May.
During the talk, she will also propose different strategies for preventing and recovering from the effects of stress.
All of you are warmly invited to attend.

“Stress is present in all our lives. A certain level of stress is necessary in order for us to function normally, because it enables us to keep our defences alert and prepares us for the situations which may arise during the day. 

However, when situations arise to which we do not know how to respond, these can produce reactions in our organism to help us to adapt to the new situation. If these reactions go on for too long, we can start to feel tension, anxiety or irritability and they can even lead to depression. 

Children can also experience this stress, and they are even more vulnerable to it than an adult, as they have not yet learned appropriate strategies for dealing with it.

When a child’s behaviour changes, and becomes difficult, irritable or develops certain behavioural problems, we need to think about whether he/she is experiencing stress. In childhood, the main sources of stress can be the parents, teachers, classmates and also the child’s lifestyle.

Did you know that studies exist which support the hypothesis that contact with nature is a way of protecting children from stress?  Is it good to let children be bored sometimes? How many extracurricular activities should a child do?  This generation is the most over-stimulated in decades, and we need to start thinking about their emotional well-being.”

Silvia Sanchis, Caxton College Primary Psychologist

Book of the Month at Caxton College

“Reading a book is like re-writing it for yourself.” Angela Carter

We have some avid readers here at Caxton College and we thought it was about time that we gave students and staff an opportunity to share the books that they love. Therefore, each month we will feature a reading recommendation from a student and also one from a member of staff.

Here you will find books that have challenged, changed outlooks, provided an escape in times of stress and even changed lives. If you would like to share your own recommendation, we’d love to hear from you.

Happy reading!

Lindsay Kelly, Secondary English teacher at Caxton College

Down and Out in Paris in London – George Orwell

Recommendation by Kevin Worthington, Secondary Maths teacher at Caxton College

I remember reading Down and Out in Paris and London when I was still at school myself. It was one of a few books I´d read by George Orwell at the time.

In this book, Orwell first tells of his experiences living on the breadline in 1930s Paris and then later wandering the streets of London, staying in homeless shelters and hostels, surviving on charity. As opposed to interviewing people who were living on the streets, Orwell actually experienced the life himself. He set off for France with just enough money to get modestly settled and then relied on wages he made from cleaning dishes in a Parisian restaurant. In London he simply left his house with nothing but the clothes on his back and lived on the streets.

I remember being impressed by how the experiences were related first hand. Tough experiences too; living rough, Orwell talks about the troubles and issues he faces trying to get by. It made the accounts more believable to me. You could trust what he was saying. What has remained with me the most though are his descriptions of the people he meets. Among the personalities we learn about are academics, artists, ex-army generals… all with a variety of reasons for how they have found themselves there on the streets.

As well as being honest, insightful and thought provoking, Orwell´s writing is clear and accessible. In Down and Out in Paris and London he opens your eyes to a whole different world which is right on our doorsteps – a world we are fully aware exists but are far from understanding or appreciating.

I would recommend you read all of George Orwell´s novels and essays. His books are among the most important pieces of work of the last century. If you have yet to read any of his work, Down and Out in Paris and London is an ideal place to start.

There´s an old saying in cricket; “never set fields for bad bowling.” Put simply, don´t make your plans according to what you think your bowler will do wrong or the chances are they will do exactly that. It´s a neat phrase, but how can it apply to education?

The expectation effect matters. Medics have used it for centuries, giving placebos to patients with the shared expectation that they will improve. A 1996 study showed significant increases in pain tolerance in those given placebo pain killers. Blind tests of wines often show no difference in taste tests between bottles of different costs, despite the opposite occurring when the price is known. Behaviour changes in both instances according to the expectation.

In the Caxton College maths department we use this to good effect. Each student studies the same course of maths, no matter the set they are in. The class sizes vary, but the expectations remain the same. Every student has the opportunity to achieve the highest grade in every year. We expect them to strive for high grades.

In the lead up to exams, students are often given the answers to the revision questions they do beforehand, so they can check their answers. They could cheat, but there would be no benefit to them. The expectation is clear; ´we expect you to take the work seriously and use the resources properly.´ For those who don´t and just copy the answers into their books, they find out quickly, when test results are given out, that this has no benefit; no learning takes place. Handling trust and expectation is a skill to be learned, like multiplication, and like multiplication, we can´t expect students to improve unless they get chance to practice.

The majority of students enjoy the benefit of being able to check their own work immediately, meaning they can move on more quickly and focus on their areas of weakness. High expectations breed efficiency.

Lewis Wright, Secondary Maths teacher at Caxton College

Música en Caxton College

Como muchos estudios demuestran, la música tiene un papel muy importante en la educación de los niños.

Esta disciplina ayuda a desarrollar el lenguaje y la capacidad de razonamiento, aumenta la coordinación, la sensación de éxito, compromete a los alumnos con el colegio y estimula el desarrollo emocional. Además, ayuda a fomentar la imaginación y la curiosidad intelectual. Me gustaría añadir que tocar un instrumento musical y practicar de manera continua implica disciplina y mejora el espíritu de equipo.

En Caxton College, le damos mucha importancia a la música y contamos con interesantes iniciativas que potencian las competencias de nuestros alumnos:

• Con tan solo un año nuestros alumnos ya reciben clases de música impartidas por un profesor especialista.

• Aprender canciones en inglés es fundamental en nuestro colegio ya que, como muchos estudios han demostrado, la música desarrolla el área del cerebro relacionada con el lenguaje y el razonamiento. Las canciones pueden dejar huella en la mente de los jóvenes.

• Con 6/7 años aprenden a tocar la flauta.

• Los alumnos tienen todo el material didáctico en sus iPads, incluidas varias canciones. Las nuevas tecnologías ayudan a facilitar el aprendizaje y lo hacen más divertido.

• Los alumnos están en contacto constante con su profesor de música ya que tienen la posibilidad de enviarles sus propias grabaciones. El profesor analiza el progreso del alumno y le da consejos para mejorar.

• Si los alumnos quieren ir más allá pueden apuntarse a la Escuela de Música Caxton College, cuyas clases se imparten durante el periodo lectivo o cuando este finaliza. Estos jóvenes músicos tienen la posibilidad de realizar los exámenes de la Associated Board of the Royal School of Music (ABRSM), una junta examinadora del Reino Unido que realiza y evalúa exámenes de música en centros de todo el mundo. Este mes, 12 alumnos realizarán el examen en el teatro de nuestro colegio.

• También pueden formar parte del coro de Primaria, donde entonamos una gran variedad de canciones en inglés y a veces ¡incluso en indio o africano! A los alumnos les encanta formar parte de este grupo de canto y participar en conciertos, como el que hicimos en Navidad en el Mercado de Colón. Ahora, ¡ya estamos preparando el de fin de curso!

La música existe para disfrutarla y compartirla. Por eso, la constante interacción que provoca su práctica y la realización de conciertos sirve como nexo de unión a toda la Comunidad Caxton.

Mariette van der Woude, Coordinadora de Música de Caxton College

As many studies over the last years have proven, music should form an important part of a child’s education.

Musical training helps to develop language and reasoning, it increases coordination, it gives students a sense of achievement, it keeps students engaged in school, and it stimulates children’s emotional development. Music also builds imagination and intellectual curiosity, and I’d like to mention as well that the practice of musical instruments can teach discipline, and it enhances team spirit.

Here at Caxton we take Music very serious and there are several interesting initiatives in our school to stimulate musical curiosity in our pupils.

Children receive music lessons from a qualified music teacher right from the start when they are still only one year old.  Studies has found that children who have early musical training will develop the areas of the brain related to language and reasoning. The left side of the brain is better developed with music. Songs can help imprint information on young minds. Learning songs in English is a vital part of education in our bilingual school.

When children reach the age of 6/7, they start to learn to play the recorder as is usual in many schools. Here at Caxton College we include modern technology to make learning easier and more fun. The children have all the learning material including background tracks on their Ipad’s. They are in constant contact with their music teacher as they have the possibility to send recordings of their daily practice directly to the music teacher, who then can assess their progress and give individual advice on how to improve.

If children want to take things even further, Caxton College offers private classes in our Caxton Music School, which take place during and after school time. These young instrumentalists then have the possibility to take the exams of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. The ABRSM is an examinations board based in London, UK, which provides examinations in music at centers around the world. This May around 12 students are taking their ABRSM exam in the school theatre.

Children can also participate in our Primary Choir where we sing a range of songs in English, but sometimes even in Chinese or African! Children enjoy being part of our singing team and love performing together. Our last performance this school year was in the Mercado Colón at Christmas time, and we are now preparing our end of year concert.

Music is there to be enjoyed and shared between pupils, teachers, and parents in a constant interaction between practice, performance and concerts inside and outside of the school walls, thus connecting all of the members of our diverse school community.

Mariette van der Woude
Head of Music, Caxton college