“If you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” – Harper Lee (1960)

First days can be tough. New people, new timetables, new classes, new teachers. Not to mention a whole bundle of feelings; nerves, excitement, dread, joy. I am pleased to say that the Year 8 girls faced this first hurdle magnificently, with lots of laughter, hugs and scrambling to check timetables to get used to our new bell times! I was especially pleased to see how our four lovely new students were welcomed and embraced into the St Catherine’s family so quickly and so kindly by their peers.

It is a year of exciting opportunities for Year 8 students with the Central Australia trip as well as preparing applications for the 2021 Global Exchange Program. With their expanding horizons comes the opportunity to connect more, both with each other and with people from throughout Australia and the globe. Because of this, the focus in Year 8 this year will be ‘Empathy’ or the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes.  This has been a huge part of our Wellbeing program ‘weConnect’ this term.

The students have taken the first step and gotten to know each other. They discussed Ted Talks on empathy and how to develop this quality. They recently watched the Australian classic ‘Babe’ to examine how a humble sheep pig used empathy to break down stereotypes, connect with others and become a hero. Yet, it is the day to day acts of kindness and empathy that I encourage you to look for and nurture in your daughter’s behaviour. Did she consider an interaction from another’s point of view? Did she make a new friend, or find out something new about someone she already knows and make a new connection? Did she treat someone else the way she would like to be treated? It is these small acts that help us flex our empathy muscles and develop them into a powerful tool to use in future relationships.

As well as developing emotionally, our Year 8 students have also been focused on developing academically in 2020 with our new Academic Advisory sessions every Tuesday. It has been stated that it can take 18 to 254 days to form a habit and whilst that is quite a gap, what it does highlight is that good habits take time. These Academic Advisory sessions are designed to be short, instructional sessions focused on developing good study habits. Thus far we have looked at things like developing SMART goals, practising mindfulness and gaining ideas for what to do when you lose focus (seated yoga anyone?!?). These are great ideas or options for your daughter to practise at home. The more we practise, the more likely we are to make our positive behaviour a positive habit.

With so many events coming up this Term including Parent-Teacher Conferences, Camp Australia Information Night, House Athletics and the ‘Keeping Children Safe on I-Devices’ Workshop, Year 8 House tutors and I hope to connect with as many parents as possible and we are all looking forward to a positive and productive 2020.