Year 5 & 6 took part in the termly virtues day celebrations today. As part of a special, off-timetable day, everyone in the school spends time taking part in activities and lessons involving focussed teaching of a small selection of virtues.
Today the virtues under the microscope were ‘Self-discipline’ , ‘Courage’ & Determination.
In the morning Year 6 began the day by discussing ‘Knightly Virtues’ and what it meant in medieval England to be a knight. They went on to discuss the story of Gareth and Lynette and how Gareth had to show his virtuous character in order to become a knight himself. Through his role-model Lancelot, he was able to demonstrate his self=discipline and courage and showed mercy to his enemies. The children then went on to role-play how their self-discipline may be challenged in the face of temptation from a corrupt king.
Soon, after a brief break, the Year 6 children returned to class to discuss the virtue of forgiveness especially in the face of conflict. They discussed the different ways different people react to conflict and conflict resolution and discovered that some psychologists equate human behavior to that of various animals, in this case a rhino and a hedgehog. Where Rhino’s tend to go on the offensive and will attack back when provoked, Hedgehogs tend to try to avoid conflict altogether and become spikey and defensive when forced into conflict. They discussed the different approaches and agreed that conflict can be positive if handled well and is aimed towards achieving an outcome. They also adopted the phrase, ‘Forgive but do not Forget’.
In the afternoon – with the Year 5s joining them – the children spent an extended period discussing the life and achievements of the great Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson. Throughout her life she has faced obstacles but has been hailed as one of the most successful Paralympians in history. The children discovered that her determination and positivity helped her to achieve her goals and to get back to her best on more than one occasion.