Principal's Report

Resilience is the capacity to face, overcome, be strengthened and transformed by adversity.

Michael Carr-Gregg

Last Monday night, nearly three hundred parents from the Greater Hamilton region gathered in our Simons Auditorium to listen to leading adolescent psychologist, Dr Michael Carr-Gregg, share his ‘five greatest challenges in parenting’.  I am sure several other teachers will draw attention to his lectures in this newsletter but my favourite thoughts related to his belief that instead of shielding children from adversity, we should promote some key characteristics to encourage resilience as defined above. These are:

1. Ensure access to a charismatic adult who can make your child feel safe, listened to and valued.
2. Develop social and emotional competencies so children know how to act and respond to different situations rather than escape problems or go into denial.
3. Teach positive self-talk to help improve children’s confidence and self-esteem. They must learn to change their mindset, if the change they wish to see does not evolve.
4. Help children to find their spark or passion whether it be an interest in art, music, dance, drama, sport, whatever.
5. Finally, we must assist children to identify and discover a belief system(s) that ensures a sense of connectedness in order that they feel part of something bigger than themselves.

Michael rightly announced to the audience that our College proudly affords all five goals.

We all need constant reminders of the challenges in raising children and good suggestions to how we might improve as parents. I am immensely indebted to our Parents’ and Friends’ Association for so generously sponsoring this opportunity.  Each year they enable experts to travel to Hamilton and share such important insights as above.  Thank you.

Please contact my assistant, Mrs Linda Archer if you would like my note summary of Michael’s excellent presentations.

Dr Andrew Hirst