From the Director of the Junior School, Anthony Banboukjian
Prayer for the Week
On Sunday 4th June, Christians will celebrate Pentecost, the feast held 50 days after Easter. We give thanks to God for the gift of the Holy Spirit. The coming of the Holy Spirit gave courage to the frightened disciples. They went out to tell others about Jesus. The Holy Spirit helps us to carry on the work of Jesus and gives us new life.
‘When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.’
A rushing, violent windstorm –
The Spirit is here!
The moving, startling, tongues of fire –
The Spirit is empowering!
The gathered, inspired followers of Jesus –
The Spirit brings us together hopefully,
and will send us out faithfully. Amen.
This week, make a commitment to share God’s love with one person each day. Challenge yourself to reach out to someone you find difficult to love. Say or do something kind; give your attention; offer some sort of service; exhibit patience; offer peace. At the end of each day, write a brief reflection on your sharing and the impact on you and the receiver, or talk about this with someone with whom you are close. Say a prayer of gratitude to the Holy Spirit who will inspire and strengthen you in your sharing.
Blessed Edmund Rice: Pray for Us
St Mary of the Cross: Pray for Us
Live Jesus in our Hearts: Forever
End of Term
With only a couple of weeks to go before the end of the term it is very pleasing to walk around the different classrooms as see the boys hard at work.
Please note: School finishes on Friday June 23 and recommences for Term 3 on Tuesday July 18.
Communication
I may be talking to the converted by asking this in the Nurrunga but I need again to stress the need for parents to read any communication sent home. Our main means is through our Skoolbag app which was discussed at the information nights at the start of the year. So if you haven’t already done so, please download it to your phone or tablet.
Resilience
I spoke to the boys again regarding resilience and how they can deal with issues that may arise both at school and home. It would be appreciated if you could continue this discussion at home with your son.
Resilient families develop their own words and phrases to help each other get through the inevitable tough times that each person experiences. The language of resilience generally refers to coping strategies such as empathy, humour and acceptance.
Michael Grose gives 10 examples of the language of resilience, the coping skills each reflects and the types of situations in which they are applicable.
1. “Come on, laugh it off”
Strategy: Humour
Good for: Kids who experience disappointment, failure and even loss.
Humour is a great coping strategy and a powerful tool for resilience as it heightens feelings of control. Some children and young people will naturally crack jokes or make fun of seemingly serious situations. This is a fantastic way to release stress and handle feelings of helplessness. As a parent you may need to lighten up tense situations by introducing humour of your own, which is something that many dads do really well.
2. “Don’t let this spoil everything”
Strategy: Containing thinking
Good for: Kids who feel overwhelmed; kids who experience rejection; perfectionists.
The ability to compartmentalise bad events and keep them from affecting all areas of life is a powerful coping skill. Sportspeople, politicians and others who work in the public arena need to be adept at it. When something unpleasant happens during recess, for example, kids need to park their thinking about that event so they can get on with the rest of the day. The ability to compartmentalise thinking is a fantastic life skill kids can learn within their family.
Two more examples next week.
Technology
I ask all parents to become more aware of their son’s use of technology which includes their laptops and mobile devices at home. I’m not a big fan of our Junior boys having a Facebook, Instagram or other social media account at this stage in their life but if you have allowed your son such a privilege it is your responsibility to ensure it is been used appropriately. Even websites like YouTube require monitoring at home. The teachers at school can only do so much but with your support the boys will be engaged in a positive way.
Edmund Rice Day
This Thursday June 8, the boys will be celebrating the life and works of the founder of the Christian Brothers – Edmund Rice – through a number of different activities. The boys at the Junior School are constantly challenged to imitate Edmund in the way he always thought about those around him who were less fortunate.
With this in mind, this Edmund Rice Day the boys will be supporting ‘Kids helping Kids’ with a mufti day ($2 donation) and a number of fundraising activities throughout the day. Your support of this initiative is greatly appreciated.
CIS Touch Football
Congratulations to Jesse Lucantonio who has been selected in the Primary CIS Touch Football team to compete in the NSWPSSA Boys Touch Football Championships in Wagga Wagga from Tuesday, 1 August 2017 – Thursday, 3 August 2017. Well done Jesse and all the best of luck.
Support for McGrath Foundation’s ‘Pull On Your Socks’ campaign
It was great to see almost half the school supporting the McGrath Foundation Pull On Your Socks campaign by wearing their pink socks at their games last Saturday. All money raised goes to supporting the work of the McGrath Breast Care Nurses. They help support more than 50,000 families experiencing breast cancer in Australia, providing free invaluable physical, psychological and emotional support from time of diagnosis and throughout treatment.
Sports Training
Please note that there will be no training for all teams in last week of the term to give the teachers an opportunity to complete reports. Training in Term 3 commences on Tuesday July 18.
Photos
If anyone has photos from Saturday sport or any other Waverley College event that they would like to share with the rest of the College community, could I ask you to send them in on a disk or memory stick to the Junior School office or email them to waterford@waverley.nsw.edu.au
