Bolton School Primary Division Junior Boys’ School Thursday 9th February
Spring Term, 2023 — WEEK A
Practice makes perfect or…practice makes automaticity, reduced cognitive load and a state of flow? OK, so the latter phrase won’t stick quite as well as practice makes perfect. However, last week, we had our Times Table Rockstars Day. In a recent assembly, we had a number of boys competing against each other on their times tables. The speed at which they were reading, computing and responding to the questions was quite breath-taking.
Thursday 9th February Jujitsu, 4-5.30pm LAMDA, 4-5pm Cubs, 6.30pm Friday 10th February Water Polo, 4-5pm Monday 13th February Music Festival, all day Judo, 4-5pm Mad Science, 4-5pm Ski Lessons, Chill Factore, collection 6.30pm CF, 7pm PR Y5/Y6 Hockey Festival, LP, 4-5.30pm
Mrs Hough and I both commented that boys were able to answer questions in the same amount of time we were able to read the questions. Of course, this speed does not come from talent alone. It is the result of continuous and deliberate practice, and this practice leads to automaticity.
Automaticity is the ability to do things without occupying the mind, allowing automatic responses to patterns or habits. By reducing the amount of thought to answer these questions it frees up the mind to carry out more challenging tasks, such as problem solving. It is why all top athletes and competitors continually practise drills and techniques. Lastly, when the boys have the right level of pitch for their ability, they can enter a state of flow. Flow, or ‘being in the zone’ is the mental state in which a person performing some activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energised focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. Despite distractions on the day, the boys were in the state of flow and clearly enjoyed themselves. We hope that the boys learned and continue to learn a great deal from such practice and see how it can be applied to other aspects of their development. Well done, boys, and thanks to Mrs Hough for facilitating the day! Many thanks once again to all of our parent volunteers and PA members who so kindly helped us to run the phenomenally successful Book Fair last week. The boys all bought so many books, and, as a result, we will be purchasing many new library books very soon—Miss Cox is delighted with the amount of new stock we will be receiving. Last night, we held our Year 5 concert in the Great Hall and the boys graced this magnificent venue with some fantastic performances and lots of determination. It was an excellent turnout from our parents and families, who were treated to singing, drums, piano, violin, cello, guitar and recorders. Well done to Miss Ormerod and her team for producing such a fabulous event.
Contacting the School Office Park Road, BOLTON, BL1 4RD. t: (01204) 434735
Tuesday 14th February Music Festival, all day Chess, 4-5pm
e: parkroad@boltonschool.org.uk. www.boltonschool.org
The School Office is open from 8.15 am — 4.15 pm during term time. Please note that any texts sent by the Office cannot be replied to. Please direct all enquiries to parkroad@boltonschool.org and always include your son’s first name and surname, as well as his form. Please note that ParkRoadOffice email is no longer monitored. If your son is going to be absent from School, whether he be off sick or attending dental, medical or any other appointment, please email parkroad@boltonschool.org so that the registers may be marked accordingly. Please use this email address for all day-to-day enquiries relating to school matters to ensure that your enquiry may be dealt with in a timely manner. For all coach / transport enquiries: Logistics Co-ordinator: Mr B. Gould, t: (01204) 434711, e: bdmgould@boltonschool.org.uk