Respectful Relationships & Wellbeing News

Navigating Change in our community!

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new”  

Respectful relationships play a pivotal role in supporting students through times of change. When educational environments prioritise and foster respectful interactions between students, teachers, and peers, students develop a sense of security and trust that greatly eases the challenges of change. At Sacred Heart, we are endeavouring to create an environment where students feel valued and understood, enabling them to openly express their thoughts and concerns about transitions, whether they be academic, social, or personal.

Respectful relationships provide a foundation for effective communication, empathy, and active listening, empowering students to navigate changes with confidence. By experiencing respect from their peers and educators, students are better equipped to adapt, embrace new circumstances, and collaborate effectively, fostering not only their personal growth but also creating a supportive community where change is viewed as an opportunity for learning and development. Through our Respectful Relationships programs, we offer sessions on moving to high school, changing between classes, getting ready for production, dealing with puberty, or even challenging old beliefs. Nothing ever remains the same, so it’s worth exploring how we look after our emotional well-being, perspective, and performance throughout life’s changing tides.

Change is one of the few things we can actually expect in life. The trouble is, we can rarely predict exactly what, when, or how something will shift—our roles or the world around us. This is exactly the same for our kids. And that level of constant uncertainty can be enough to generate a growing sense of unease, excitement, nervousness, doubt, dread, and/or fear. The good news is, if you’re struggling to navigate change in your own life or your child's life, you’re not alone. Resisting change is one of the most human things we all do, and it’s largely due to our in-built survival mechanisms. Our amygdala's—responsible for activating the fight-flight-freeze response in the brain—automatically perceive change as a threat, and to keep us safe, they will guide us away from uncertainty and risk, rather than towards it. So, while starting a new adventure or heading off to high school may not be a matter of life and death today the primitive corner of our brains, with a negativity bias, won’t always know the difference. It’s not your child—it’s evolution!

We’re only human, and cutting ourselves some slack is an important first step in really learning how to navigate difficult things.

Simon Brown

Head of Wellbeing