From the Preschool/Elementary School Principal

 

In speaking with the teachers, it seems that our Parent-Teacher Conferences were positive and enormously productive occasions to discuss your children - their progress, their feelings and perceptions, their goals and their next steps. 

 

We are keenly aware that children are so much more than students who just ‘appear’ in school from the hours of 8:15 am to 3:00 pm. When thinking about Parent-Teacher Conferences this year, and the wide-ranging and holistic nature of the discussions that take place in these meetings, I was reminded of an extremely timely message that our previous Preschool/Elementary School Principal, Don Newbury, shared at this time last year. I kept a copy of this message and feel that it is important to share it once again. As you read it, imagine that your child has written you a memo about how he or she would like to be raised.

 

A MEMORANDUM FROM YOUR CHILD

Re: Me

1. Don’t spoil me. I know quite well that I ought not to have all I ask for. I’m only testing you.
2. Don’t be afraid to be firm with me. I prefer it. It lets me know where I stand.
3. Don’t use force with me. It teaches me that power is all that counts. I will respond more readily 
4. to being led.
5. Don’t be inconsistent. That confuses me and makes me try to get away with everything that I can.
6. Don’t make promises; you may not be able to keep them.  That will discourage my trust in you.
7. Don’t fall for my provocations when I say and do things just to upset you. Then I’ll try for other such “victories.”
8. Don’t be too upset when I say “I hate you.” I don’t mean It, but I want you to feel sorry for what you have done to me.
9. Don’t make me feel smaller than I am. I will make up for it by behaving like a “big shot.”
10. Don’t do things for me that I can do for myself. It makes me feel like a baby, and I may continue to put you in my service.
11. Don’t let my “bad habits” get me a lot of your attention. It only encourages me to continue them.
12. Don’t correct me in front of people. I’ll take much more notice if you talk quietly with me in private.
13. Don’t try to discuss my behaviour in the heat of a conflict. For some reason my hearing is not very good at this time and my cooperation is even worse. It is all right to take the action required, but let’s not talk about it until later.
14. Don’t try to preach to me. You’d be surprised how well I know what’s right and wrong.
15. Don’t make me feel that my mistakes are sins. I have to learn to make mistakes without feeling that I am no good.
16. Don’t nag. If you do, Shall have to protect myself by appearing deaf.
17. Don’t demand explanations for my wrong behaviour. I really don’t know why I did that.
18. Don’t tax my honesty too much. I am easily frightened into telling lies.
19. Don’t forget that I love and use experimenting. I learn from it so please put up with it.
20. Don’t  protect me from consequences. I need to learn from experience.
21. Don’t take too much notice of my small ailments. I may learn to enjoy poor health if it gets me much attention.
22. Don’t  put me off when I ask HONEST questions. If you do, you will find that I stop asking and seek my information elsewhere.
23. Don’t answer “silly” or meaningless questions. I just want to keep you busy with me.
24. Don’t ever think that it is beneath your dignity to apologise to me. An honest apology makes me feel surprisingly warm toward you.
25. Don’t ever suggest that you are perfect or infallible. It gives me too much to live up to.
26. Don’t worry about the little amount of time we spend together. It is how we spend it that counts.
27. Don’t let my fears arouse your anxiety. Then I will become more afraid. Show me courage.
28. Don’t forget that I can’t thrive without lots of understanding and encouragement, but I don’t need to tell you that, do I?

This list, and the importance of taking a holistic approach to children development and learning that we endeavour to emphasise in our Parent-Teacher Conference meetings, reminds me of another message, which I keep posted on the wall in my office. I’m not entirely sure who to attribute it to, but its key message is a powerful one:

Don’t become preoccupied with your child’s academic ability, but instead:

Teach them to sit with those sitting alone;

Teach them to be kind;

Teach them to offer their help;

Teach them to be a friend to the lonely;

Teach them to encourage others;

Teach them to think about other people;

Teach them to share;

Teach them to look for the good.

This is how they’ll change the world.

Upcoming events

As we head into the final five weeks of school in 2022, our calendars will become stuffed with events. You might well be suffering from information overload - especially if you have children in several different grade levels (or even in different sections of the school). My one recommendation is that you routinely check the Community Hub, which is regularly updated and houses both the Daily Notices and the Events Calendar. 

Two important events happening this coming week, for example, are the Grade 2 play (The Legend of Skeleton Cove, written and directed by Mark Wood) and Children in Need Day. The play will be performed in the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on Monday, November 14 at 4:30pm, and again on Tuesday, November 15 at 6:00pm. 

Children in Need Day is Friday, November 18. The children have been encouraged to (1) wear spots and (2) bring in a donation to support this important charity. The Grade 4 students have taken on the leadership role for this event and have prepared a series of maths activities (related to measurement and finances) for the children in Preschool through Grade 5 to do on the day itself.