EDUCATIONAL TEAM

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Kathleen Slocombe | Principal Colonna

"Schools in the 21st Century must develop students to become curious inquirers, who are lifelong learners. As Einstein said, “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing."

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Marthinus Barnard | Vice Principal Academic

“When students are happy, they love coming to school and they enjoy their learning, they are set up for life. Add emotional wellbeing, growth mindset and good health to this equation and they are truly ready to fly and to lead successful lives. Education is about lighting fires, not filling buckets. Finding the dots, not connecting them.”

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Kara Chapman | Vice Principal - Pastoral Care

"By creating an exciting and dynamic learning environment; sparks fly, curiosity ignites and unforgettable learning takes place. With trust, honesty, kindness, support and care, learners feel confident to be brave, to be courageous, to make mistakes and to be free to express themselves. At St.Louis we pride ourselves on our thriving community and the relationships we have between our teachers, our students and our families."

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Arthur-Russell

Arthur Russell | Head of Key Stage 2

"Our aim is to provide a curriculum for our children that initiates critical thinking about the world around us, drawing upon the knowledge we acquire both in and out of the classroom, combining their practical skills and conceptual understanding of the topics covered within the British National Curriculum. Ultimately, we in the Primary team want to foster a love of learning for the students in our care, in an environment where the children feel safe and secure to challenge themselves as they move forward in their educational journey."

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Elena Brevi | Primary School Italian Coordinator

“Educating means allowing the new generations to have the tools to make better the world they live, to act with awareness, to grow and mature with conscience, a critical spirit and loyalty to themselves and others. School has to be understood as a " laboratory of life” in which to experiment, choose and act by developing a critical sense, open-mindedness and re-elaboration of contents through one's personal vision of the world. ”

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Davide ZanoniMiddle School Italian Coordinator

"I don't think there's anything more stimulating than working with students. Dealing with intellectually lively kids, at an age where the mind is open and eager to learn, brings with it a lot of satisfaction but also a big load of responsibility. I always try to keep in mind a famous quote by Sydney J. Harris: "The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows". In fact, I like to see the teacher not as someone who metaphorically reduces students to "mirrors" that uncritically reflect other people's ideas (or even worse, their own ones), but rather as someone who helps them to become "windows", something that, supported by curiosity, opens up and allows you to look far away."

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Jennifer-Smith

Jennifer Smith | Head of Key Stage 1

"Our aim in Key Stage 1 is to provide a safe, happy and nurturing environment so that our students can enjoy their time at school in a friendly, caring and inspiring atmosphere. We want them to develop a genuine love for learning in order to reach their full potential."

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James Brown | Head of Key Stage 3 Pastoral

"Our approach at Colonna is that learning is fun and that students’ everyday choices matter. I am proud that we place great emphasis on our five core values of Respect, Resilience, Care, Kindness and Unity.

We work to build self-esteem in our students so that they grow into confident, compassionate, accomplished and well-rounded individuals who leave us ready and prepared for the next phase of their education."

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Carmelo-Aragone

Carmelo Aragone | Head of Key Stage 3 Academic

"We aim for our students to be independent, inspired and driven enquirers who are engaged in their own learning rather than passive. We encourage them to become more cognisant of the importance of making progress rather than fixating on failure. As such, they foster a love of learning, learn from their mistakes and build capacity. The academically rigorous nature of this stage in their learning enables our students to enter high school fully equipped for their lives beyond our front doors."