Chaplains Spot

Kindness – what does it look like? 

The internet has a lot of helpful suggestions about being kind. This poster has some of them. When I was growing up, our parents talked about the Golden Rule – ‘Treat others as you would like to be treated’. 

This is a beneficial way to develop empathy, to see how others feel. Another saying was ‘Put yourself in another person’s shoes’. This meant try to imagine what they are feeling. Perhaps you also had sayings that helped you develop empathy for other people.  

What about the benefits of kindness? These are from … where else – the internet!

1. Kind children are happy children: Acts of kindness are associated with the brain’s production of endorphins. Kindness can help promote feelings of pleasure, trust, social bonding, empathy.

2. Kindness improves health: According to numerous scientific studies, kindness can trigger the release of a hormone known as oxytocin, helping to reduce stress.

3. Improves self-esteem: Acts of kindness can improve one’s sense of self-worth and wellbeing by releasing endorphins and the feeling of pride that comes with helping others.

4. Help students to form meaningful connections: Kindness can boost one’s ability to connect with peers. Kind children are often well-liked and tend to make long-lasting friendships that provide security and comfort.

5. Better concentration in class: Kids with kind, positive outlooks tend to have strong attention spans and are more willing to learn than those not been taught kindness.

6. Enhance memory and learning skills: The increased serotonin levels released through being kind can enhance a child’s learning capabilities and ability to retain information.

7. Reduce levels of bullying: Teaching kindness is a great way to stop bullying before it even starts. This is because it improves children’s capacity for empathy.

8. Improve your well-being as a teacher: Teaching a classroom full of kind and considerate students can help improve the well-being of teachers, by reducing conflict levels and mitigating the need for disciplinary measures.

9. Teaching kindness is beneficial for society: Students who learn about kindness from a young age will often apply what they have learned daily, helping others in society.

10. Increase feelings of gratitude: Teaching kindness is a great way to encourage children to be thankful, reducing materialistic desires and increasing desire to help others.

11. Improve feelings of belonging: Feeling that you belong is fundamental to building healthy self-esteem. Kindness is an effective way of nurturing feelings of belonging.

12. Kindness is a natural anti-depressant: Kindness is strongly linked to the release of serotonin, a helpful chemical in the brain, if someone is struggling with depressive feelings.

13. Teaches kids to see beyond grades: While attaining high grades is important, so is building a healthy social-emotional life.

14. Remember that you are building the leaders of tomorrow: Empathy and kindness are traits that are fundamental to great leadership.

15. Kindness teaches tolerance: Teaching kids to be kind also teaches them to be accepting of those that are different from them.

16. Teaching kindness improves home lives: Teaching kindness can help parents struggling with disciplining their children. It can teach kids to reflect on bad behaviour and reduce conflict with their parents.

I trust that these have been helpful for you. 

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Toast Tuesday: Our free Toast Tuesday program runs from 8.30 until start of school. 

Toast Tuesday Roster: The roster for this term is filled except for June 25. If you would like to help out, please go to the following link - volunteersignup.org/3JJT4.

Our second-hand uniform stock is also available for gold coin donations. 

If you have any polo shirts that are too small, we would greatly appreciate if they can be recycled to us – spares for Sick Bay, and for s/hand sales. We are especially needing sizes 6-10. We are also aiming to build up our emergency food supplies, if you ever have some non-perishable items to spare. 

Contact: Feel free to email me, phone me or see me at school on my days listed below.

Fun Facts for Kids:

Cows can walk up the stairs by themselves but can’t get down without help!

Kangaroos can’t walk backwards 

A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out! 

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Alan Silverwood: Chaplain - Pastoral care for our community. [Tuesday, Friday]

[alan.silverwood@education.vic.gov.au] Supporting the School community in emotional, social, spiritual and practical wellbeing. 

Our Chaplaincy program is funded by the Federal Government’s ‘National Student Wellbeing Program’, the GRPS School Council and donations.