Restraint

The thread for this week surrounds restraint and restricting our interactions. Living in such a fast-paced world, it is easy to slip into the notion that we need to be available at all times and in all realms. This mindset can allow us to become reactive to situations that may not require much thinking and miss vital parts of the whole picture.  

I showed a video clip at assembly that required the students to follow a moving jellybean hidden under a cup. The student's job was to follow the jellybean as the cups were shifted on the mat. After the students followed the cup, they were excitedly pointing out the location of the jellybean. They didn't notice that the colours of one set of cups had changed, an extra hand appeared, and a fluffy toy was placed in the middle of the challenge. All of these significant changes were missed by the students (and staff!) as they were so intently watching for the position of the jellybean.  

Showing restraint in situations allows us to see the whole picture before we decide on an optimum path. When problem-solving relationships and situations with our students, they can see the more complete story through opportunities and conversations before we move forward. The restorative frameworks allow us to explore this notion of restraint and guide our students to see a complete picture. By restraining our emotions and being logical in our thinking, we remain focused on facts and allow emotive thinking to subside.

Emotional Resilience

"Things are neither good nor bad but thinking makes them so." ~ William Shakespeare 

This famous quote by Shakespeare captures the essence of how our view of events can at times overpower events or happenings. We cannot control the actions of others as individuals, but how we react to them is most certainly within our realm of control.  

As part of the You Can Do It program, emotional resilience helps children recognise how we can shape how we encounter events, words, and actions. In turn, this allows us to shape our gratitude and sense of belonging when relating to others. 

Various brain researchers have shown us that by the age of 6-8 years old, children have developed the ability to reason about demanding and threatening events. By thinking logically and forming conclusions and predictions that are true, we begin to think about how we can promote helpful and healthy emotions and behaviours. With the force of such rational thought comes emotional control and relief.

Throughout this term's assemblies, we have examined 2 of these tools associated with emotional regulation, the Emotional Thermometer and the Catastrophe Scale. Both resources provide a visual cue to recognise the strength of our emotions and how events or actions can be identified in terms of significance. Changes in an emotional state, anger, anxiety or happiness are all offset by physical and mental changes. When recognising our bodies' signs, we are more inclined to focus our emotions and channel our thought processes on the rational component. These tools help our students by providing an alternative to pessimistic or irrational thinking and focusing on more optimistic reasoning.

Sport at Pacific

This week we have major sporting events held here at the College. On Monday, the P-2 Athletics Carnival was enthusiastically attended by our Foundation College. There was great participation and house spirit, and we congratulate Wira house for their success on the day. 

Thursday was the first of our Gala Days for Semester Two, with students from Year 4-6 attending various venues around the coast and having the opportunity to play many other Independent Schools on the Sunshine Coast. 

The opportunities provided by the College further enhance the experiences that our students get to grow through. The elements of our You Can Do It programs, such as resilience and persistence, were on show for all to see. We thank the P.E. staff and especially Head of Junior Sport, Mr Darren Hooper and College sports aide, Mrs Natalie Campbell, for preparing both days.  

Take care and God Bless. 

Mr Damian Davis, Head of Staff and Students K-5