The Year of Gratitude

Calrossy has adopted 2022 as our “Year of Gratitude”. Whilst our selection may be seen as arbitrary, there is a lot in psychology that tells us that people who are thankful and grateful generally experience a higher level of mental health and personal wellbeing. Adolescent Psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg explains his observation that thankful people, with a glass half-full outlook and looking for the positives in life, tend to rate much higher on the indices used to measure happiness and human flourishing. He also suggests that those who work in serving others are more well and healthy. It is not hard to find studies that demonstrate this.

I am not advocating blissful ignorance of the negative circumstances of life, where is it very appropriate to feel sad, be disappointed or upset when tragedy occurs or things go wrong. It is a reality that the normal circumstances of human life, especially with COVID or drought, can cause doubts, uncertainty, concern and anxiety. Some of us too are naturally more positive people whilst others around are less certain.

What is interesting though is the observation of Carr-Greg (and many others) that children, youth and adults can learn to be more positive and develop skills and attitudes to assist them in this area. The theory is that with support, people can develop positivity.

Dr Norman Vincent Peale is the father of positive thinking, well known through his 1952 classic, The Power of Positive Thinking. Whilst not modern, Peale’s advice can be summarised as follows:

1. To every disadvantage, there usually is a corresponding advantage.Behind the darkest clouds the sun is shining. In the toughest situations there is always some value. The positive thinker will look for the good, for the advantage, and will therefore do far better with the difficulty than the negative thinker will. What you deeply think and visualize has a tendency to happen. So think positively, believingly, expectantly, hopefully.

2. It isn’t what is happening but your attitude toward what is happening.Two people are facing a hard task. One says. “This is an overwhelming difficulty, more than I can handle.” So he/she is defeated from the start. The other says, “This is a tough situation, but with help, I can handle it.” And she/he proceeds to do so successfully. Peale suggests it is the attitude toward the situation that is crucial—more so than the situation itself.3. Develop a positive mental attitude toward the bottom.Peale quoted glum and discouraged people who have said, “I’ve hit bottom and there is no hope.” His response was to remind people that having hit bottom, the only direction is up. He encouraged people to take on this attitude, to good effect.4. Put thoughts of God up against your trouble.The idea was that with God’s help, problems could be challenged and people could move forward. People are not left alone in their circumstances.

Modern psychology has much to say about the ‘Science of Happiness’ and wellbeing and resilience are important goals in our society. Happiness has become an industry. There are millions being turned over to assist our community in feeling happier and more fulfilled. Of course this is something that we would love to instil into our children, to help them to be positive as they move through youth and into adulthood.

The Bible is not a recent book but it very much points towards thankfulness and gratitude, to God. “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” Psalm 118:1

Growing in thankfulness assists us all go grow in resilience and helps both students and adults to manage the pitfalls and great joys of life. I would argue that this is the way that people were created and wired. It is a worthwhile goal to encourage gratitude in our children and across our school community, believing it will have a positive benefit to us all, even after 2.5 years of COVID and three years of drought.

Mary Davis, the CEO of the Special Olympics wrote; “The more grateful I am, the more beauty I see.”

Thanks

In the spirit of gratitude, I would like to thank the following people in our community:

Staff, students and visitors to the Calrossy participation in AgQuip 2022. We sold many thousands of steak sandwiches, served coffee and our musicians entertained the crowd on Wednesday. Many thanks to all for a successful week.
Coaches and spectators at recent Rugby Grand Finals – see sport report.
For staff and parents who support our Winter sporting teams, as we approach the end of the season.
Parents, staff and officials at the recent HRIS Athletics carnivals in which Calrossy was extremely successful.
Our Grandparents, who will be celebrated in our Junior School this week on Thursday 25 August.
Our P & F volunteers who work so hard to support fundraising for students and ‘friendraising’ amongst our parent body.

Tamworth Bus Transport Survey

Since I have been at Calrossy, one of my frustrations has been with the impact of the Bus timetables on the learning time of our students. With the William Cowper Campus being the last stop for many buses in the morning and the first stop in the afternoon, we end up with a very short day in comparison to other schools. The timetables determine the start and finish to our day and often bus travellers struggle to be at school on time.

Given that transport is a State Government issue, in 2017 and 2018 I met with Kevin Anderson to discuss this problem and learned that the current bus timelines were set up back in the 1990s, when Tamworth was a much smaller centre and newer population centres such as Kingswood, Moore Creek etc hardly existed. The growth of our city and shifts in population trends have not been taken into account. A review of Tamworth transport was promised for 2022/2023 and I am delighted to inform parents that this is about to take place.

I would like to receive feedback from students and parents about the difficulties they experience with the current timetables and bus transport routes. I am aware that Gunnedah buses are regularly late and that some bus routes are unsuitable for Calrossy students. Several students are required to change buses two or more times as part of their journey. Some routes do not account for traffic or population growth.

If you have anything to include as feedback, please let me know by emailing admin@calrossy.nsw.edu.au.

Parents should feel free to contribute individually to the consultation by accessing:

https://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/projects/programs/16-regional-cities-services-improvement-program

Feedback can be submitted via:

yoursay.transport.nsw.gov.au/betterbusnetworktamworth

Emailing - RegionalCitiesProgram@transport.nsw.gov.au
Calling 1800 717 528
Sending a letter to 16 Regional Cities Tamworth, TfNSW, PO Box K659, Haymarket NSW 1240.

David Smith

Principal

Community Notices

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