From the Director of the Junior School, Anthony Banboukjian
Prayer for the Week
As we continue on our Lenten journey this week let us pray:
Loving Father,
So many times I turn away from you and you always welcome me back. Your mercy and love gives me confidence. Thank you for the invitation to share, fast and pray so that you can form a new heart within me.
I thank you for this reminder of your love and your call that we be more patient, gentle and compassionate with others. Here in the middle of Lent, I turn to you to beg for your help.
God of love, bring us back to you. Send us your Spirit to make us strong in faith and active in good works.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
St Mary of the Cross: Pray for Us
Blessed Edmund Rice: Pray for Us
Live Jesus in our Hearts: Forever
Ms Jennifer Hoare
Just a short note to inform you that Ms Hoare will be taking two weeks long service leave from Monday March 27 through to Friday April 7 (the last two weeks of term 1). Ms Hoare will be enjoying her wedding and honeymoon in Hawaii and we wish her all the best for what will be an amazing time in her life.
In her absence, Mrs Michelle Arkins will be teaching 6 Gold. She is a very qualified teacher with many years of teaching experience. Some of you may already be familiar with her as she has substituted for a number of teachers at the Junior School a few times in the past.
Parent/Student/Teacher Interviews
A reminder Wednesday April 26 has been set aside for Parent/Student/Teacher Interviews. Please note that the online bookings close on Friday April 7 at 3.00pm. An email has been sent home with details on how to book.
Pick up and drop off
Can I please ask you to be considerate of our neighbours when you drop off or pick up your son at school. Some parents are also now simply stopping in the middle of the road and letting their sons out. Not only is this practice dangerous it also slows the flow of traffic down Henrietta Street.
Mother’s Day Mass
An early invitation to our annual Mother’s and Grandmother’s Mass to be held on Friday May 12 commencing at 12pm followed by lunch at the Junior School. It would be appreciated if you could note the date in your diaries.
Summer Sport
Last Saturday saw the conclusion of the first half of summer sports program. The same teams will compete in Term 4 for the second half of the competition. Although many games were cancelled due to the weather it was great to see every boy at The Junior School participating in our sports program. The comments re the boys at training and the games have been overwhelmingly positive. Bring on the winter season.
Lessons learned from sport
Sport isn’t just about winning or losing. For our sports coaches, the focus is on teaching young boys fundamental skills – both sports-related and life lessons. As parents, you can reinforce the following eight life lessons every boy learns from sport.
It’s okay to make mistakes
Mistakes will occur on the training field and on game day. But that’s okay. Life is about making mistakes then learning from them. Parents and coaches can challenge players to evaluate their actions and then provide guidance on how to learn from them. The same applies to failure. Arnold Schwarzenegger once said, “Anything I’ve ever attempted, I was always willing to fail … You can’t be paralysed by fear of failure or you will never push yourself.” In life, as in sport, you will never succeed if you are always worried about losing.
Be a leader and a follower
Boys have the opportunity to take on leadership roles in youth sports. This helps them develop confidence in their ability to make decisions and positively influence others. Equally, sport teaches boys how to be followers by taking instruction from the coach or captain, respectfully questioning authority, and learning to be patient with others.
Set and achieve your goals
Sport is a great setting to learn how to set goals and determine what constitutes success or failure. For a lot of coaches, youth sport isn’t about winning or losing – it’s about setting achievable goals that can be reached through factors within the boy’s control.
Win with humility, lose with grace
There is almost always a right and wrong way to win. Good sportsmanship is something that all coaches and parents should teach. This doesn’t just apply to winning, but also learning how to lose gracefully. In the short-term losing can hurt, but it’s important that we teach our boys to lose with dignity.
Know your strengths and weaknesses
A good coach helps players to identify their strengths and weaknesses so that they can contribute well to the team. Knowing their best traits can help boys work out what to do later in life. Likewise, knowing their weaknesses will guide them to know when to ask for help from others.
Learn to handle stress and emotions
Sport is frustrating no matter what age you are. For boys, this frustration can be magnified by the hormonal changes taking place in their body. To add to this, sports can be stressful. This is an opportunity for players to learn how to deal with the nerves and stress they feel from a young age. This will benefit boys later in life.
Life isn’t always fair
It’s a tough lesson to learn when you’re young but one that every boy learns at some stage. Injuries happen, referees make mistakes and winning is not guaranteed – sulking about it won’t change anything. Players have to learn to deal with setbacks and move on.
Develop good time-management
Most boys have a lot of things to keep them busy — sport, school, friends, homework, maybe even a part-time job. The best way to handle everything is to prioritise their time and stick to a schedule. Good time-management is something that you can help your son develop when he is young, so that it benefits him as a young adult.
Youth sport is a great environment for boys to learn important life lessons. Healthy competition is fine but it’s vital that parents teach their sons that there is more to life than winning and losing.
