Wednesday, 12 December 2018
In all schools at this time of year, the number of activities tend to ramp up to the grand finale of Prize Giving in a week’s time. Luckily with summer in the air, there is more energy available to meet the excitement of the end of year activities. As long as the energy is well-directed […]
Monday, 3 December 2018
As the year begins to draw to a close with only two more weeks to run, it is hard to believe that Christmas is nearly upon us. The end of year programme at Ficino is always very full with such a wide variety of differing activities, and this year is no exception. We have our […]
Monday, 26 November 2018
This morning’s assembly was a wonderful celebration of Dance and Sanskrit. Years 2, 4, 5 and 6 performed dances from a variety of traditions, including a Maori Stick Dance, traditional Indian dance and a Czech Folk Dance. The joy and variety of energies displayed by the dancers was evident for all to see. The Year […]
Friday, 23 November 2018
You may have heard about mindfulness quite a lot in the news lately. Nigel Latta has been in the media recently talking about his TV series ‘The Curious Mind’. Commenting that “If there’s one thing I could do it would be to introduce mindfulness into every school in the country.” Mindfulness is essentially the power […]
Wednesday, 14 November 2018
Ficino School students experienced several off-site learning adventures in Term 3. The chance to support their classroom learning with real world experiences provides them with a valuable means to solidify and build on their knowledge. Situated on the shores of the Manukau Harbour, Ambury Regional Park is a working farm. It provides opportunities for children […]
Monday, 12 November 2018
In a recent interview, I was asked about the benefits of Mindfulness. What I notice about the students at Ficino is that they tend to excel in high pressure situations. We have individuals who excel to high levels in their chosen fields – more than you would expect from such a small school. Similarly we […]
Tuesday, 6 November 2018
The term mindfulness came into vogue a few years ago, and has had a resurgence recently. We are especially hearing about Mindfulness in schools, which has been implemented more fully in Australia over the last few years. The fact that the term hasn’t gone away like other fashionable health and lifestyle ideas suggests that there […]
Wednesday, 31 October 2018
Ficino School recognises the important role that extended family have in the growing of happy, confident and well-adjusted children. It hosted its ever-popular Grandparents Morning in Term 3. All our students loved having the grandparents visit school, and it was heart-warming to see the interactions between them all. Our students particularly enjoyed the opportunity to […]
Monday, 29 October 2018
Philosophy lessons are held once a week for all classes at Ficino School, and from Year Four onwards they follow a programme called P4C – Philosophy for Children. In each session, the students sit in a circle and explore philosophical questions together. Following presentation of a stimulus, they are particularly encouraged to pursue directions of […]
Wednesday, 24 October 2018
Ficino School educates the whole child, with its curriculum ensuring the body, mind and spirit are developed. Not only do our students take part in some form of physical education every day, they also compete at interschool sports competitions where they are often ‘punching’ well above their weight considering the size of Ficino school in […]
