PRIMARY COORDINATOR

Welcome back to term three. I trust all of our families had a relaxing break together. We look forward to another productive term together.

Student Reports – Semester One

These were distributed at the end of last term. By now parents will have had the time to read and digest the contents. If you have any concerns or queries, please contact your child’s teacher now to clarify the information presented or to have your concerns heard. Teachers can only address the issue if they know about it. If there is a problem teachers and parents can work together to find a way to improve the student’s social and academic outcomes. Conversely, if a teacher has requested an interview, please contact them now to arrange a time to have a meeting. You can do this by contacting the teacher through the school office.

Our school focus for this term is:

RESILIENCE – Resilience refers to a person’s ability to work through difficult situations and to “bounce back” following a disappointment. However, an increasing number of students in schools see minor set-backs as catastrophes. Resilience is a great skill that any person can develop, but according to Michael Grose – Australia’s leading parenting educator – parents often make mistakes that rob the kids of the opportunity to build resilience. The following are common mistakes that parents make regarding resilience building:

MISTAKE 1: Fighting all their battles for them. There is nothing wrong with doing this when kids struggle or are experiencing difficulty, but parents should make this the last resort, and not the first option. Instead give kids the opportunity to develop their own skills to sort things out. Help the child find a solution – don’t take over.

MISTAKE 2: Give kids too much voice. In this era of listening to children’s ideas it is easy to go overboard and allow them too much say in what happens to them. Most kids will naturally take easy options and avoid hard situations. Instead parents should discuss matters with their children but parents should make decisions for kids and help them to adjust and cope. Parents who make this mistake often disagree with simple school expectations such as homework or uniform because their child does not like the rule.

MISTAKE 3: Unrealistic or relentless pressure on kids. Expectations about success and achievement are important. Too low and kids don’t have to try, too high and kids may see themselves as failures. Keep expectations in line with children’s abilities and don’t put excessive pressure on them. Parents who make this mistake can be seen comparing their children’s school reports with one another, can be overheard talking about other parent’s children, and speak with their children more about results than effort.

Let’s work together as a team to take a step forward in making our students resilient in their everyday life.