Dear Parents
All staff have been so positive about your Two-Way Parent Meetings this week – thank you most sincerely for arriving on time and for the wonderful way you have each engaged with your teachers – a terrific community effort!
Parent representation at these interviews has been very high indeed – which means you have had the wonderful opportunity to ask questions and to clarify and listen to how your child is interacting socially and emotionally with others, as well as how they are progressing academically.
While it is easy to hear all the positives about our children, it is understandably not so easy to listen when an area of challenge or an aspect of their behaviour may be of some concern at this point in time.
The important thing to remember is that all staff have your child’s very best interests at heart. Just because the teacher might point out that they have observed, for example, your child experiencing considerable difficulty managing their emotions when playing sport; or that they have presented themselves as inappropriately defending exclusive friendships; or that they are in the habit of consistently talking and distracting others more than engaging in their learning, and so on – it isn’t something to panic about or become defensive over.
Teacher feedback is very valuable to wise and discerning parents. When you demonstrate to your child that you really value, respect and support their teacher, it immediately makes them sit up, think and take notice!
Calmly discuss the area of concern with your child, listen to their challenges and offer some good advice, as well as support them to set positive goals for the future. Just remember that when your child is relaying their story they are quite often (not always) leaving out a number of other important details… and this is part of growing up and learning!
The worst thing a parent can do however, is think there is – ‘a teacher conspiracy’!
While it is far easier for a teacher to ignore and not bring things to parent attention, a good school genuinely helps children to learn from mistakes, to grow as people, to see themselves as part of something bigger than themselves and to understand that values such as honesty, co-operation, kindness, respect, compassion, forgiveness, integrity, flexibility, generosity, a sense of humour, self-control, and more … are what will ultimately help them and others to thrive in school, and to thrive in life!
Our children are relying on us as significant adults in their lives to be good role models and people who champion the often difficult and challenging path of what is good, right and just.
Being a good parent requires that we too continue to grow as people each and every day… and this requires an ongoing and sustained effort…
Lent is a good time to reflect upon any obstacles to our own growth as Christ followers and to make a plan for perhaps tweaking our own parenting choices so they better align with what Jesus would say and do!
Take care everyone, we are indeed blessed to be in a community where we can support one another in our parenting and in creating young people who go into the world knowing they can make a positive difference!
Kind regards
Tania Thuijs
