Year 12 Pastoral Guardian

“If the only prayer you ever say in your whole life is 'thank you,’ it will be enough.”  Meister Eckhart.

Hello everyone,

Welcome to the time of the term where the Year 12 students will be concerned about their exams and assessment.  One of the Year 12s said to me today, “Year 12 is stressful Miss!”  I asked her why, and she replied, “There are no more second chances!” Yes, some of the students will finally be making this realisation and some may find it stressful.  I encourage you to remind them that all the work they have been doing in their classes is designed to lead them to this point; that if they have done the work, the results will follow; that their teachers want them to succeed as much as they themselves do; and other positive messages.  Stress, anxiousness and nerves are normal, and we can turn that energy into something useful if we approach it positively.

This week’s SchoolTV is focussing on Happiness and Gratitude. You may already know that research has proven there is a strong link between these two; people who regularly practice gratitude are happier and more hopeful people overall.  Happier people live longer – so there’s a great reason for us to practice gratitude at every opportunity!

I did this exercise with my Year 12s and here are the results:

You may or may not be surprised at some of the things that made the list!  Family, friends and food were definitely the top three.  It was nice to see their teachers made it on to the list as well! There are so many great articles and videos on SchoolTV about happiness and gratitude and I recommend them to you and your family.

I also found some fascinating information in the Raising Girls edition this week.  I particularly found this interesting: “All teenagers need to emancipate themselves from their parents. What we've discovered is that when they're very close, getting away becomes more difficult, especially for girls, and to facilitate that she becomes far more challenging as a result. Communication therefore becomes fundamentally more important.”  It almost seems as if the closer your relationship with your daughter, the more challenging she may become in adolescence!  Not the news we may have hoped for, but there are lots of useful articles and information on SchoolTV to help you communicate with your adolescent and help them navigate this difficult time.

As always, thank you for your support of the College as we journey your young people through this phase of their lives and towards impending adulthood.  Please don’t hesitate to reach out if there is anything we can do to support you and your family.  I hope and pray you have all come through the floods and COVID-19 challenges safe, well, and happy – and with plenty to be grateful for!