Message from the Leadership Team
Greetings from your Leadership Team!
A big round of applause and appreciation to all the Fall Festival =volunteers led by event chair Tonde Razooly and the SCVi Foundation Team. The event was jam-packed with learners and their families enjoying the various booths such as face painting, pumpkin decorating, cake walking, ringing a pumpkin and more. Two haunted houses were created — one by our families, and another by our drama team. The IB Theatre learners created an immersive theater experience based on Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven.”
Finally, in the Tell Tale Heart Tent, the 9th grade English class read their own original horror, sci-fi, or fantasy short stories with their writing partner. In art, learners created books for their stories and learned about the art and craft of live storytelling in their theatre classes based on the driving question, “How do we use art and literature to make sense of the fear we feel as humans?”
All in all the Fall Festival offered a fun and entertaining time for those who attended. Thanks again to all the volunteers who made the day possible
As we approach mid-semester, our learners may be struggling with balancing work, or making school work/projects a priority. We may be tempted to jump in and rescue our learners from the repercussions of their actions, or get angry when they don’t make school a priority. We’d like to share with you an article from Love and Logic’s Charles Fey for your consideration:
The kids are back in school and it won’t be long before they start getting report cards. One of the most common questions I’m asked by parents and educators is how to respond to bad grades.
The first thing to remember is that the child’s report card is the child’s… not ours. While it’s easy to get down on ourselves when kids perform poorly, it’s very important to our mental health and theirs to remember the following:
We can’t learn for kids.
As educators and parents we can up the odds of high achievement by modeling responsibility, establishing a safe and calm environment, providing excellent instruction and demonstrating excitement for learning.
We can’t control every action they take or decision they make.
Secondly, it’s comforting to remember that some of the world’s most successful people have struggled with grades. Albert Einstein, Henry Ford, Jim Fay and Dr. Foster Cline are some notable examples. What’s most important is that our children develop good character, curiosity, and problem-solving skills.
Many highly successful people struggled with grades as children.
Thirdly, if we can consistently demonstrate empathy rather than anger or frustration, the odds of them overcoming their difficulties dramatically increase. Is empathy really that powerful? Yes indeed! In fact, a growing body of research is demonstrating that warmth (i.e., empathy) is strongly correlated with higher achievement and better behavior. (If you like reading research studies: Rivers, Mullis, Fortner & Mullis, 2012 and Silt, Hughes, Wu & Kwock, 2012.)
So… let’s remember to respond with sincere love and concern:
Oh man. I bet these grades are really disappointing for you. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help. The good news is that this doesn’t change the way I feel about you.
To read more about Love and Logic, or to sign up to receive their blog regularly, link here.
Have a great week!
Your Leadership Team!
