The Ridge OnAir

“Children are born wild. And that’s beautiful, it’s wondrous, regardless of gender,” says Tim Winton in an article that challenges our preconceptions of masculinity. He goes further to say that even in this born-free ‘wild’ state, children have an abundance of tenderness, which sadly turns savage in boys who are neglected or trained to follow society's perceived norms about how men should behave.
So how do we break the mould of imposed masculinity and reconnect our boys to their intrinsic empathy in order to become future leaders?

The Head of our Junior Prep, Mandy Herold​ explains that emotions are energy in motion which pass, so teaching our children to feel their feelings and then move through them is a life skill. Tools like the Mood meter (Yale) and the Feeling Buddies (Conscious Discipline) are very helpful to get the ball rolling on these types of conversations.

She also builds on this by identifying that when we empower our children to manage their feelings, we teach them to self-regulate.

Mandy also emphasises the need for CONNECTION with our children. Connection is made up of 4 components: Eye contact, Physical touch, being present, in a playful situation. These connections on the outside build connections on the inside which wire our children’s brains for impulse control and willingness.

The newly appointed Head of the Senior Prep, Nico Seakamela speaks about the development  of the boys  entrusted in our care. He outlines the need to develop tone, intellectual, moral and intelligence and not merely focus on assessment. He unpacks the great responsibility we have as educators  and reinforces The Ridge School's intention to deliver on our promise to know and grow our boys.

In this episode, our Headmaster, Mr Wayne Naidoo takes us through his views on leadership in schools. What it means for a school to be a social anchor, and what school leadership needs to do to navigate towards what all schools should look like – not just privileged ones. He also unpacks the school's role in dealing with social pressure and the community's vital influence on individual development.

On this episode  of The Ridge OnAir we're going to be meeting the brand new Head of the Lighthouse Learning Support Center, Mrs Penny Meyer. Penny has a wealth of  experience and a special interest in teaching children, join us as she talks about hidden dyslexia. We've also got fantastic music for you, two incredible sports stories and news from the Maths Department, but season 2 kicks off with us getting to know the new Headmaster, Mr Wayne Naidoo a little better.

The Ridge OnAir Podcast returns for S2. In this teaser we meet the new Headmaster, Wayne Naidoo.

In the final episode of  The Ridge OnAir for 2020, our boys might be wearing masks and social distancing, but they are still singing their hearts out,  speaking their minds and showing bucketloads of the Ridge Right Stuff! 

While parents thought they would have to miss all the wonderful end-of-year traditions like carol services,  and tribute songs from the junior grades to the Grade 7 leavers  - we've brought them to you on the podcast instead. 

In an episode jam-packed with boys' voices, we hear what some of Grade 7 consider their best memories of the school, what they have learned as Ridge boys, and what they are most looking forward to in high school. The little ones tell us about their plans for the holidays and we have very special messages from Headmaster Richard Stanley and Chairman Itumeleng Kgaboesele. 

Sit back turn up the volume and get ready for some great music and insightful musings from The Ridge School!

Did you know that Parental Burnout is a real thing?
On this episode of The Ridge OnAir, Head of Junior Primary, Mandy Herold, addresses Parental Burnout and gives us solid strategies on how to deal with it. Ridge boys from Grade 0 to Grade 6 tell us about their favourite parts of this year and what they are looking forward to next year. Felix Jackson gives a brilliant rendition of Elton John's "Electricity" from the musical Billy Elliot. And finally, Deputy Head Academics Nick Diana reflects on how the challenges of 2020 have redefined our thinking about how children learn and what is really important. You can even read the article Nick Diana wrote for the Independent Schools magazine about the subject here : https://www.isasa.org/books/summer2020/46/ 
Sit back, turn up the volume and enjoy!

A brand new episode where we ask the question "How do we evolve education to better equip our children for an uncertain future?” We chat to education specialist Neil Butcher about the skills our children really need and our Ridge School headmaster Richard Stanley joins us to discuss education beyond the curriculum.  There’s also a sports catch-up, the latest Leadership challenges and a special virtual musical performance. What's not to enjoy?

The podcast takes a personal and hilarious turn as we hear from Nico Seakamela and Sarah Behr about moms in curlers on video classes and how tough it is to be a teaching YouTube star in full makeup before 8am! Parents share their heartfelt and amusing experiences of being online learning tutors at home and there are more funny and insightful voice notes from the irrepressible boys. We even get to meet the lovely new Director of Choral Music and find out how to create a choir when you can't be together!

A jam-packed lockdown episode with voice notes from the boys on their lockdown experiences, we meet the team behind The Aviators South Africa, there's music from Simon Charinge and the marimba band as well as a one-on-one with Mrs Jan Mallen. What's not to love?

In this first episode of The Ridge OnAir, we speak to Junior Primary Principal Mandy Herold about Conscious Discipline and using connection with children as a way to encourage willingness and self-control. 

Nicci Kurz, Head of Visual Arts, Research and Innovation at The Ridge talks about the STEAM programme at the school and how teaching science, tech, engineering, art and maths through exciting projects has created benefits far beyond the academic outcomes. 

The boys also present school news, sport and leadership projects.

“RidgeUp” is a new and exciting program which the Grade 5’s and 6’s voluntarily attend.  This program shows the schools commitment to being a thought leader and offering the boys something impactful and something that will really made a difference to how the young boys think.

This project involves the boys thinking about their own happiness and those around them.  This project also allows the boys to think about things like dignity, social justice, and a sense of community.  While these topics sound overwhelming, the project is managed at an age-appropriate level and will be managed in a way that the boys can relate to.