Dean of School – Paul Hughes
Education is a passport to freedom and the means to unlock the globe.
Resilience and Adolescence
Term 3 is well and truly underway and now students are being asked to turn their attention to addressing the challenges that they encountered in Semester 1.
In order to do this effectively our students need to demonstrate resilience. Although not a new concept for the adolescent developmental period, resilience is often the missing element when students struggle to move beyond the most common challenges, relationship issues, learning or behavioural difficulties.
Importantly, parents and teachers are able to support the development of resilience through a nurturing environment where mistakes are part of the learning process and practical strategies that support their emotional development. Other supportive factors include:
- Foster Strong Relationships: Positive, supportive relationships with family, friends, mentors, and educators are crucial. Encourage open communication (particularly when not feeling successful), active listening, and empathetic responses to help young people feel valued and understood.
- Encourage Problem-Solving Skills: Teach young people how to approach challenges by breaking them down into manageable parts, brainstorming solutions, and evaluating outcomes. Encourage them to learn from their experiences rather than focusing solely on success or failure.
- Promote a Growth Mindset: Help them understand that skills and intelligence can be developed through effort and persistence (critical). Emphasise that setbacks are opportunities for learning rather than indications of fixed abilities.
- Model Resilient Behavior: Demonstrate how to handle stress and adversity in healthy ways. Our (parents and teachers) reactions to challenges will serve as a model for how young people might approach their own difficulties.
- Support Healthy Coping Strategies: Encourage activities that promote wellbeing, such as exercise, hobbies, mindfulness, and relaxation techniques. Help them find constructive outlets for stress and emotional regulation.
- Teach Self-Compassion: Encourage young people to be kind to themselves, especially during tough times. Help them understand that it’s okay to make mistakes and that they can learn and grow from them. Nobody is perfect even if this is what is presented to them constantly!
- Provide Opportunities for Autonomy: Allow young people to make decisions and take on responsibilities appropriate for their age. This can build confidence and a sense of control over their lives.
- Set Realistic Expectations: Help them set achievable goals and understand that progress may be gradual. Celebrate their efforts and milestones along the way to build a sense of accomplishment.
- Encourage Social Connections: Facilitate involvement in community activities, clubs, or sports where they can build social networks, develop teamwork skills, and find a sense of belonging.
- Offer Emotional Support: Be available to listen and provide guidance when they face difficulties. Validate their feelings and experiences, and help them navigate their emotions constructively.
“Persistence and resilience only come from having been given the chance to work through difficult problems.”
― Gever Tulley
When we look for opportunities to integrate and combine these strategies, we have the ability to help young people build a solid foundation for resilience that will support them through various challenges and transitions in their lives.
In the coming newsletter items we will dive into the world of our young people, namely social media, exploring some of the factors that can diminish or enhance resilience. One thing is certain, this skill will definitely impact your daughter’s life post school and our aim of empowering young women requires us to work on this every day.
Reminders:
Uniform
- Winter uniform continues for the remainder of Term 3 – this means blazers are worn to and from school each day
- The change back to simple sleepers has been well adopted. Safety is always paramount in a school community and smaller/simpler earrings helps us to ensure this.
- Sports uniform is only worn on Thursdays and during PDHPE Practical lessons. Shoe choice is important for support (no skater styles vans, converse or Sambas). Additional jumpers are not to be worn.
Punctuality
- The school day commences at 8:35am. Any student arriving after this is considered late. Please make arrangements to be at school on time each day. Where there are ongoing issues with public transport we ask that this is communicated to the the transport company so that it can be corrected as soon as possible.
Parking
- Please remember to adhere to all road signs (particularly No Parking & Stopping signs during drop off and pick up times). This helps keep all students safe and will help you avoid fines from the Council who patrol schools in the area frequently.
Mr Paul Hughes, Dean of School