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SHINE Academy for Girls Quarterly Newsletter APRIL 2014
This newsletter contains three short segments on:
Becoming a better parent and a better person in 2014
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Classes available for boys and girls (a waiting list may apply to some classes):
· Age 5 – 6: Junior Resilience and Confidence Masterclass
· Age 7 – 10: all programs
(New class for boys on a Saturday!)
· Age 11 – 14: all programs
· Age 8 – 13: School Holiday Program Masterclass
· Individual mentoring sessions (one on one) – all ages, including adults
9592 4948
GIRLS: www.shineacademy.com.au
BOYS: www.longfordandfraser.com.au
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Segment 1: Good parenting through suffering
When I was five years old I shoplifted a small gift card that had the prettiest flower on the front.
When we got back to the car I took it out of my jacket and admired it.
Mum marched me straight back to the store and I had to give it back. Tears flowed, enduring lessons were learnt.
My mum was wise enough to force me to endure the pain of shame and embarrassment to teach me a lesson.
On a similar theme, my dentist this week shared the following wisdom – “Some lessons in life can only be learnt in the classroom of suffering, but, as parents, our natural instinct is to protect our children from suffering. Is good parenting therefore counter-instinctual?”
An enduring message to all parents is:
Stop protecting your children from emotional pain. Let them face the consequences of their actions. Help them sit with that pain, endure it and graciously overcome it. Pain is the greatest teacher.
Segment 2: Old-age solution to bullying
There's an Oriental saying quoted from "The Tournament" by Matthew Reilly
"If aggression meets empty space it tends to defeat itself".
Whether it is a kid in the canteen line or a coward at the pub, a bully gains strength from seeing a reaction. They enjoy seeing their victim squirm and this only makes the bully more confident.
Too often our children give the bully a reaction – which could be as small as a lip quiver, a shoulder shrug, a lowering of the head.
One anti-bullying strategy is to teach your children to be self-controlled and offer no reaction: ignore and look straight through him. The self-discipline involved in this strategy could be life changing.
Segment 3: The Car Park mafia
I love this term, which describes the parents (mainly mothers) who stand around the school gate and gossip (some may use the word that rhymes with itch) about the teachers, the school, other children and other mothers.
If you find you are a regular member of the car park mafia, why not try to find a mature and healthy way of handling whatever issue is frustrating you? This mature and healthy option is called: being assertive – talking calmly and respectfully about your frustration to the right person who can help you.
Talking about teachers, the school, other mothers, other children behind their back is called bullying. Time to grow and solve your problems in a mature and lasting way rather than stewing on your annoyances.
A great link to further understanding the car park mafia:
http://parenting.kidspot.com.au/classy-ways-deal-class-concerns-school#.UviNHFEazCR
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And, finally, an incredible link to a teacher whose philosophy could literally change the world: (thank you to one of our Saturday mums, Anna for sharing this)
http://momastery.com/blog/2014/01/30/share-schools/
Hitch your wagon to a star!
Happy Easter and Happy Holidays!
Melissa Anderson
SHINE Academy for Girls
LONGFORD & FRASER Leadership Academy for Boys
9592 4948
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