From the Deputy Head of Junior School – Wellbeing

From the Deputy Head of Junior School – Wellbeing

Lighting the Spark

Our MLC School motto Ut filiae lucis ambulate (‘Walk as daughters of the light’) guides our goal to bring out the light, the best, in each one of our students.

Peter Benson was a groundbreaking researcher who focused on building strengths (positive psychology). He found the single most important factor for thriving is the idea of the ‘spark’ in each of us. The spark, which starts the light inside. The spark is a metaphor for the deep interests and passions that lie inside your daughter.

Every child has a spark. It is our job, as the adults in their lives, to help them find their spark, do the practical things to make it possible and then stand back and enjoy seeing the light shine out of them.

Children that find their spark are far more likely to lead happy, successful lives. They spend a lot of time being exposed to lessons, to facts, to information…and of course, this is important. But for Benson, the single most important concept was lighting children up from the inside out.

Benson’s Search Institute has identified over 220 types of spark. A spark, says Benson

  • gives energy and joy
  • provides the feeling of being alive, useful and purposeful
  • is absorbing to the point that you “lose yourself in the moment”
  • originates from inside a person
  • is a skill, talent, interest or gift
  • is a person’s prime source of meaning, self-directed action and purpose.

Benson’s team found that sports and arts are the most common sparks for young people, with animals coming in third. How wonderful, then, that MLC School provides so many opportunities in these fields both within the school day and as part of our Cocurricular program.

Studies show that having an area of strong interest is of benefit to almost every other aspect of our lives. It can make your daughter better at school, kinder, feel a sense of belonging and believe in the future. A true spark will be energising and fun. Beware of activities that are too competitive or driven or based on being perfect – for some these will be energising but we all need some downtime, some fun and something we enjoy for no other reason than to enjoy it.

What can you do, as parents, to help your daughters find their spark?

Talk to her about what makes her tick. What’s that activity she loves above everything else? If she hasn’t found it yet or is shy about articulating it, take the time to go through some of cocurricular activities we have on offer at MLC School. If she already knows what her spark is, take the time to talk about it in a little more detail. Ask her what she loves about it. Ask her if she feels she is getting the support she needs to pursue it. Ask how you can help her. Help your daughter to find the spark that will change her life for the better.

Once the spark is lit and the light is shining fully through your daughter, the light can then radiate to others, bringing warmth and love to all those she meets. What a wonderful gift for self and others. And she will, indeed, walk as a daughter of the light!

– Joanne Sharpe
Deputy Head of Junior School – Wellbeing