Middle Years

World Kindness Day

Last Monday, 13th November, was World Kindness Day; To celebrate this day we encourage you to direct an act of kindness (anonymous or not) to someone else. Research shows such acts must be meaningful for optimal benefit. In a study conducted by Sonja Lyubomirsky and colleagues (2005), it was found that intentional acts of kindness increase the wellbeing of both the receiver and the giver. Greater happiness and positive social interactions are experienced when something is done altruistically. That is, for others without expecting anything in return, especially when it comes at a personal cost to the giver.

Practising kindness in your life -

Replace unkind words with a kind words (e.g., forgiving, helpful, generous).
Greet your child in the morning with a smile and choose words that demonstrate your care for them.
Really listen to what your child say -- give them your full attention, use eye contact and ask questions with genuine curiosity.
Put sticky notes with positive messages around the house.
Be aware of the little ways you could help those around you and make them feel appreciated – holding open the door, helping someone carry their shopping, making someone a cup of tea, giving them a pat on the back or a hug, smiling at them.
Give genuine compliments to friends, family, and even acquaintances when you like something about them – the way they make people feel included, the playfulness they bring to a space, their ‘give it a go’ attitude.
Think about ways you can nurture your relationships with those around you – plan a random outing, surprise someone with flowers, send a handwritten note to a friend telling them what they mean to you.

Halogen National Young Leaders Day

Our 2018 myPEC House Captains attended the Halogen National Young Leaders Day last Monday 13th November in Melbourne at the Melbourne Convention Centre. Some amazing speakers presented at this event including Nick Del Santo (footballer), Gemma Triscari (cricketer), John Coutis (motivational speaker) and Hayden Wilson (author). I would like to extend my thanks to Mrs Murphy for driving students down with me.

There were inspirational messages for the thousand students present on the day, and I will write more about these next week. Here is some advice that our young leaders were given;

Do what you love to do.
You need to invest in yourself, this is personal investment, and sometimes this means making sacrifices. There are no shortcuts.
Find what is important to you and what you value.
Resilience is about overcoming difficulties. Everyone has ‘stuff’ in their lives.
Recognise the importance of setting goals and revisiting them.
Know the importance of a positive culture that is inclusive, supportive and gives constructive feedback.

Mrs Julia Winter Cooke