After achieving the Quantum distinguished school status, one might think that it is time to relax a bit and enjoy the hard work.... This couldn't be further from the truth - over the weekend, the quantum facilitators are organising the 2nd Saturday Quantum Personal Development session for new staff. As you can see, the learning never stops even for the teachers at Taylor's International School Puchong.

The Quantum Learning system is based on the latest brain research and equips our teachers with knowledge about the Brain Natural Learning systems and the skills to apply this knowledge to support the children on their learning journeys. The biggest challenge of learning is Focus. The teacher can deliver the perfect lesson, but that doesn’t mean the children have been learning. The Quantum System believes that all brains should be learning all the time and provides strategies for the teachers to ensure the attention goes to the learning that is taking place.

This can be achieved through an empowering atmosphere in which children feel safe to take cognitive risks, it ensures a strong foundation with rules and agreements, it shapes a supportive environment and focuses on the design and delivery of well orchestrated lessons. If all the elements of Quantum Learning are functioning fully and are in balance, it shapes the ideal situation for learning to take place. Not only does it empower teachers, it also invites children to voice out their opinions through dialogue in a respectful manner and to develop their confidence and personal skills. They are part of the learning journey, not just passengers on the bus.

All learning should be celebrated. It should be a road of healthy struggle, getting out of your comfort zone, because that’s where the learning happens, and it should be a journey that continues throughout one's life. Not all learning that happens on that road can be measured in numbers or be easily judged. However just because it isn’t easy to measure it doesn’t mean it isn’t important. So called ‘soft skills’ are gaining higher validation these days and it is understood that to achieve or be successful in life, numbers, certificates or grades alone are not enough.

To ensure we equip our children for their future challenges we do measure the measurable (they are called the SATS or GL assessments), but we also measure other elements that matter greatly. This is communicated with you in our parent teacher conferences and through Remind. We can’t put a grade on those skills but they are valued highly in our school. They are called our core values and are our RECIPE for personal success.

Our Quantum Site Facilitators demonstrate these core values at all times and model the atmosphere, foundation and environment for our students and school. We are very proud of our Quantum team, showing off their passion for learning and we thank them for their continued strive for excellence.

I would like to end by sharing with you this quote from Andy Hargreaves - "On assessment: measure what you value instead of valuing only what you can measure"

To provide children with opportunities to think about our core value Respecting and Caring for our world around us, there will be a charity non-uniform day on Wednesday 7th October. Students are encouraged to take part on a voluntary basis and come into school in their own clothes as we attempt to raise funds in respect to World Animal Day which takes place next month. Participants are encouraged to bring in a donation of RM10 (if anyone would like to donate more/less then that is also great) for ‘Voice for Paws’ which is a non-profit organisation which attempts to rescue and rehome animals (https://www.facebook.com/voiceforpawz/). All proceeds will go towards improving and saving the lives of many animals whose futures may otherwise be uncertain.