Building Resilient Children

Resilience is a term that is thrown around frequently in the education and parenting sphere but what does the term really mean?

When we are referring to the term, we are discussing a person's ability to handle difficult situations in their life and their ability to build and move on from the situation, (Beyond Blue). Some examples of this might be moving houses or schools, dealing with the stress of school assessments or coping with the death of a loved one. 

As Teachers, we try our best to teach resilience and to help students to become resilient learners, but why is resilience so important and can the life skill really be taught or developed? 

The simple answer is yes and research suggests that helping students from an early age to develop resilience may be the best way to set them on the right path for success, particularly in their mental health and well-being. 

According to the Melbourne Child Psychology, Psychologists have identified two main areas of adversity.

The first is Low-level adversity and this refers to times where the person may experience stress, such as a bad result in a report card or a challenge in a social situation. The second is characterised as Major adversity. This type is commonly seen as a mental health issue or can be caused by situations such as bullying. 

This year, there has been higher levels of stress seen more than ever before and more children are appearing to be suffering from Mental Health problems due to the current COVID-19 crisis and changes in their normal routine. 

So, it is important that we ensure that we are helping our young people in the best possible way to not only develop their resilience but also to support them in identifying when they are feeling anxious or stressed and where to seek help. 

The following are some helpful tips from Melbourne Child Psychology surrounding ways that you can help your child to develop resilience:

1. Cultivating a Growth Mindset. This is a focus on the effort that your child applies to a task, rather than it’s outcome. Displaying helpful thinking such as “I know you did not receive the result that you were aiming for but what can you do to improve next time?”

2. Encouraging your child to practice gratitude regularly and being a good demonstrator of this yourself. 

3. Encouraging their awareness of “letting go” of negative thoughts. By encouraging your child to do so, they will be able to reduce the stress of a negative situation.

In conclusion, resilience in young people can help them to respond to low and major events in a less stressful way and can and should be taught to young people. Particularly after the last few months, I have been encouraged by the Bible verse from Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you, be strong and courageous. Do not be disheartened and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”  We serve an Almighty God who has been and is continuing to walk with us and we never have to feel alone. 

Laura Ferguson — Academic Coordinator

Grade 7/8 Enrichment

Adding a third Grade 7/8 class in the Secondary school created a problem, luckily, it was a good problem.

When the timetable was created and each of the subjects were allocated their given times, we realised that there were an extra three periods within the weekly timetable that needed to be filled. Luckily, during Semester One Mrs Newitt’s passion for the National History Challenge allowed us to offer each of the Grade 7/8 classes an extra opportunity to get their Contested History projects up and running. 

So as Semester Two rolled around, I pondered what we could do with the extra lessons.  Something that we love to be able to do at Emmanuel is provide students with opportunities outside the core Australian Curriculum subjects, opportunities that they wouldn’t normally receive. Here was another of those opportunities. Mr Pascal quickly put his hand up to get involved with the older kids and Mr Winkler and I decided between the three of us we would share the load, with three weeks each.

So ‘Enrichment’ was born. At the time, Mr Winkler was not convinced, it was the right title so I decided to look it up. The dictionary gives us the definition as, “the action of improving or enhancing the quality or value of something.” It was at this point that I too began to worry.

However, two weeks into my allotted three-week block with each of the classes and I am happy to report that it has been a great opportunity to work with all of the Grade 7/8 classes and focus more on how we learn, rather than, what we are learning. The three topics I am looking at throughout this Term are:

Week 1 – Neuroscience: We started by looking at in interactive 3D model of a brain, identifying the different parts and working out what they do and control. Also, we looked at whether you are more dominant in using the left or right hemisphere of your brain and how understanding this can improve your approaches to learning.

Week 2 – Growth Mindset, The power of yet: A “fixed mindset” assumes that our intelligence, character, and creative ability are all set and that they can’t be changed. However, a “growth mindset,” on the other hand, sees individuals thrive on challenges and they view failure as an opportunity for growth and for stretching their abilities with effort. The research gave students an opportunity to measure their own Mindset score. Hopefully, students gaining a better understanding how their mindset can fluctuate between a growth and fixed position can assist them in developing strategies to always keep trying in difficult times.

Week 3 – Grit: The last topic students will be looking at is Grit. The founder of the Grit concept, Angela Duckworth, grew up with a father obsessed with being smart, always judging people by their intelligence and comparing one genius to another. When she began her career as an educator, teaching 7th Grade Mathematics, she soon realised that intelligence alone was not an accurate indicator for students becoming successful. Becoming more and more intrigued with her developing concept of Grit, Duckworth left education and studied Psychology to further understand the importance of traits such as showing courage, displaying resilience, being meticulous, remaining confident and staying committed. Many of these, are better indicators of individuals seeing something through and becoming successful in their pursuits. How Gritty are you?

It has been a pleasure to work with the Grade 7 and 8 students so far.They have engaged very well in each of the lessons, asking great questions and appearing genuinely interested in the topics covered. Although I am far from an expert in any of the above fields, I find the fact that we can be lifelong learners fascinating. Not just this, but to have the opportunity to help our young folk understand that there is more than one way to demonstrate success in life is a real joy.

Drew Roberts — Deputy Principal

To Sleep, Perchance to Dream...

I’m considering getting an old-fashioned alarm clock, one with hands and a bell on top.

My phone is my alarm at the moment and each night I have to fight the urge to check my emails one last time, or a last quick scroll through one of my apps as I’m turning on the alarm. If I struggle not to check, I’m sure that children struggle with electronic devices in their bedrooms too. On the weekend I went to a dinner party and didn’t get home until after midnight and when I got home I had a lot of trouble getting to sleep. The next day I was decidedly crabby, I couldn’t remember simple things, I made mistakes and needed a lot of coffee. This got me thinking about people and children, and their need for sleep.

Most teachers will tell you that Monday is the hardest day, behaviour wise, of the week. I think it could be linked to late night weekends. Sundays particularly. When parents don’t want to have to growl and the day has been more relaxed and less routine than weeknights and you let them stay up just a little longer than usual. I remember when we had a lot of churches with Sunday night services, and you could literally pick the students who went to church on Sunday nights (My own kids included). They would be fuzzy around the edges, sleepy-eyed and less likely to pick up any new learning.

With my Grade 3/4 class we have been looking at the United Nations rights of the child. One right is to be cared for and have a home, another is to live and grow up healthy and a third is the right to a good education. Maybe we need to combine those three and educate children and their parents about how much sleep they need to be as healthy as possible. Particularly in this digitally electronic age. I decided to do some research and found lots of articles to support good sleep patterns.

The Queensland Health Department fact sheet says; Sleep is essential for growth, immunity, learning and memory and is important for helping a child heal and recover. Healthy sleep means a good quantity and quality of sleep, with regular sleep routines.

Alternatively, the same site tells me; What happens if my child doesn’t get enough sleep?

A child who does not get enough healthy sleep may experience difficulties with concentration, memory, regulating their emotions, organising tasks and creative thinking. These children may be easily distracted, irritable, disruptive or generally hyperactive and restless. A lack of healthy sleep has been linked to mental health problems, poor growth, excessive weight gain, and reduced school performance.

So, what is healthy sleep and how long do children actually need?

I found a few sites where you could pop in a person’s age and wake-up time and it would tell you their bedtime. I apparently I need to go to bed by 9:45pm. You can see your suggested time is via the Sleep Calculator. Generally the consensus seemed to be that; 3-5 year olds need 10-13 hours; 6-12 year olds 10-13 hours and 13-18 year olds 8-10 hours.

Most professionals also encourage;

• a regular time for bed and waking; whether a weekday or weekend

• bedroom is quiet, dark and comfortable

• exercise outside during the day

• no electronics in the bedroom and limited exposure before bed

• a regular going to bed routine eg. Teeth, pjs, story and bed

It also needs to be taken into account at the moment that COVID-19 may have disrupted sleep for many. When our minds have space to think quietly at night, we may find ourselves dwelling on the fears and unresolved situations in our lives. This includes worldwide pandemics with unknown solutions. We need to keep allowing our kids to discuss any worries they have and providing them with safe settling routines to calm and reassure them that all is well.

I will endeavour to follow my own advice and will greet you bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in the future.

Annie Joy — Primary Coordinator

Focused on the Big Picture

“Do to others as you would have them do to you”

— Luke 6:31

The Big Picture has never been a better name for a school produced feature document than now. We have had, and still do have the issues and modified practises around COVID-19 and keeping our students and each other safe. 

We are viewing survey and anecdotal feedback on the distance learning program and the return to face-to-face learning at school. We have learned a lot and want to make sure we capitalise on these learnings.

Planning for the courtyard redevelopment set for term three is exciting as is planning for 2021. There is nothing little going on. The Big Picture stuff is time-consuming and culture changing. As a school and community, we are continuing to place the building blocks for considerable success. 

It doesn’t matter what the topic or issue is or how big it is, everything filters down to our core business of providing quality education through a Christian lens within God’s caring oversight and our wonderfully supportive and nurturing community.

I am bursting with pride and joy to be part of Emmanuel Christian School, and all we stand for and all the families we support. As we continue to embed our school values of courage, integrity and respect in all we do build-up of our core Biblical values of faith, hope and love we will see amazing things happen around us and through us.

Courage, integrity and respect are three fundamentals to really help our students shape their attitudes and ideas to stretch themselves and bless others with their presence and support. 

After a strange term, I trust you will all have a blessed holiday with your kids ready for a solid nine-week term three.

Scott Winkler — Principal

Love Your Neighbour as Yourself

“Love your neighbour as yourself ”

— Mark 12:31

This term the COVID-19 pandemic has prevented our Kindergarten students from visiting two Aged Care Facilities. These were regularly visited last year by Emmanuel’s Student Leaders. However the Kinder have been able to correspond in written form with residents in both Regis and Fairway Rise.

In consultation with the Leisure and Lifestyle Coordinators at both facilities our Kindergarteners have been able to participate in an exciting new venture called the Adopt a Grandparent Program, where individual students are beginning to form a bond with particular residents through the mutual sending and receiving of letters, cards and pictures. 

On Monday, I was privileged to bring a package of replies from Fairway Rise for our Kindergarten students to open, and the accompanying photographs pick up beautifully on the spirit of eager anticipation and joy that was present across the room as we took the time to read and display each child’s personal response from a resident.

There are no words that can truly capture the value of this program for these residents, many of whom have been deeply impacted by loneliness, due to the isolation imposed on them, because of the pandemic. Some of them let their adopted grandchild know in their replies that they were keeping the pictures the student had sent them displayed in their rooms.

Through this inspiring initiative our youngest students in Emmanuel are learning from the beginning of their education the value of caring for another person in a practical and meaningful way. They are being taught the importance of building a loving relationship with someone who is very different from them in many ways. They are discovering how to find ways to connect with their adopted grandparent, and appreciate their differences and find things they may have in common.

Above all, they are learning the value of reaching out beyond themselves and the power of friendship to bring lasting joy and hope to some of society’s most vulnerable people in a time of great global need, and in the winter years of these elderly folk’s lives.

Jenny Berry - School Chaplain