Responsible Thinking
Principal's Message
When it comes to your child’s education, we want the same as you – a solid partnership between home and school to build and develop outstanding young people.
As the Principal of Calvary Christian College and a father to three school-aged boys, I place high importance on providing a Christ-centered learning community that enables our students to strive to be the very best they can in everything that they do.
The development of outstanding young people does not just magically happen, it takes commitment and hard work from a lot of people over a long period of time.
The Responsible Thinking Process (RTP) and Responsible Thinking Classroom (RTC) is an important part of this process. It equips students with the tools and strategies needed to think and act responsibly, problem solve and effectively deal with a variety of life situations and circumstances, enriching the learning environment and overall culture of the College both in and out of the classroom.
At Calvary, character is key – every school is about education, but an education system isn’t worth a great deal if it teaches students how to make a living, but doesn’t teach them how to make a life.
— Mr Steve Downes, College Principal
The Responsible Thinking Process (RTP) and Responsible Thinking Classroom (RTC) work hand in hand to help guide the College’s behaviour expectations.
RTP (the process) is founded on the Perceptual Control Theory (PCT) and is designed to intervene before a student’s behaviour intensifies in order to help students learn self-control.
RTC (the classroom) provides a space to learn responsibility, self-control and devise strategies for positive life choices.
At Calvary, we believe that behaviour is a concept that is taught just like any other subject and sometimes students need time and space to understand the impact of their behaviour choices.
The Responsible Thinking Classrooms is a place:
- To help students consider what they would like to achieve without violating the College Code (Safe, Respectful, Learner);
- To devise strategies so that a student can consistently meet our College Code;
- Where students can feel supported with the learning of making positive behaviour choices;
- Where students are provided time and space to understand the impact of their behaviour choices;
- To learn how to behave responsibly at the College; and
- To learn self-control in the classroom and the playground.
The Responsible Thinking Classroom is not:
- A place for ‘naughty’ students to go;
- A means of punishment;
- A place to write lines;
- A detention;
- A sign that the student's enrolment is being questioned;
- An opportunity for students to get out of doing classwork; or
- A place to control or manage a student.
There are three main reasons why a teacher would refer a student to the RTC:
1. Continuous disruption to the learning environment.
2. Unsafe behaviour that puts themselves or others in harm’s way.
3. Disrespectful behaviour towards others.
These behaviours are at the point where a student is disengaged with the learning.
RTC is a place for students to learn new behaviours; some students take longer to learn certain behaviours than others, and therefore may be referred to RTC more often.
The RTC process is designed to intervene before a student’s behaviour intensifies in order to help students stay engaged in the learning environment and to remain safe and respected in the playground.
A session in RTC is sometimes all it takes for them to remember how to think responsibly about their behaviour.
RTC is designed to be a supportive, non-threatening environment whereby students can openly discuss their thoughts and feelings knowing that they will be listened to.
The RTC Facilitators first seek to understand why a student is behaving a certain way in order to help guide them into making positive choices in the future.
We believe that there is always a reason behind a child’s behaviour when they are in breach of the College Code.
At Calvary, we believe in open communication between home and school, and will make contact with parents/guardians each time a student is referred to RTC. We do this to ensure parents/guardians are made aware of their child’s behaviour choices at school. Parents are not expected to respond to each communication, sometimes it is for your information only.
Who to contact?
Parents/guardians should contact their child’s classroom teacher about any issues relating to their child. Alternatively you can contact RTC directly at - rtc@calvary.qld.edu.au.
Home Support:
Once a student has completed the required attendance at RTC, the incident is considered ‘over’ and students have a ‘fresh start’ to try the strategies that they have agreed to as part of their goals. We encourage students to talk to their parents about the goals that they created in RTC, including the strategies that they agreed to implement. Parents/Caregivers are encouraged to talk calmly with their child about their RTC referrals using the same questions that the College uses during the responsible thinking process:
Q1 "What are you doing?"
Q2 "What should you be doing?"
Q3 "What was the College Code you were not following?"
Q4 "What changes will we see in you as a result of your goal/s?"
Q5 "What is your plan from now on?"