October 2020 – Happy Schools

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

October 29, 2020

We all know the importance of actually taking action, rather than just talking about what we are going to do. I have certainly come across a lot of “gunnas” in my career. People who are “gunna” leave teaching, “gunna” write a book, “gunna” sell real estate and “gunna” make a million dollars. The following are THREE key examples where ACTIONS speak louder than words – changing habits, establishing your reputation and doing good deeds. Changing Habits We all know what we SHOULD do but saying something and doing it are two different things – we SHOULD exercise daily, we SHOULD eat 2 serves of fruit and 5 serves of veggies, we SHOULD reduce our intake of saturated fats, we…

Difficult Parent Conferences

October 22, 2020

Stevef

Communication

There are many reasons why a parent conference can be difficult. Sometimes the content is difficult to talk about. Sometimes the student is difficult to deal with in class. Sometimes our own lack of comfort causes the difficulty. Sometimes the parent is difficult. Often there are misunderstandings that make the conference difficult. Controlling our eye contact during a difficult parent conference is critical to our success. The following are the four stages of a Difficult Parent Conference, with a commentary on the non-verbals. Our goal is to have a piece of paper eg mark book, anecdotal notes, incident report or assessment piece, represent the source of the problem. This preserves the relationship with the parent. Parent’s stage and…

If You Can’t Change It …Don’t worry about it!

October 15, 2020

Stevef

Resilience

The final term of the school year is inevitably busy. As well as the teaching, learning, assessing and reporting on this year, you’ll also have the planning, budgeting and preparing for next year as well. I never cease to be amazed at the staff who appear to be surprised when the demands of final term ‘hit’ them. It’s as if the stressors are unexpected. We all know that the photocopier will break down, the computer network freeze and the printer jam in the final 24 hours before end of year reports are due. It happens every year and yet many are surprised. Worrying about things that we can’t change is a waste of time and emotional energy. The following are…

7 Day Attitude Adjustment Challenge

October 8, 2020

Stevef

Resilience

The most important decision we make every day is our attitude. Each day you make a choice – you can be cranky, sarcastic and negative or you can be positive, enthusiastic and full of energy. We can choose to be positive and upbeat or we can choose to be negative and be filled with doom and gloom. Whilst some people make the choice about their attitude subconsciously, it is a choice that you get to make every single day. Nobody else can make that choice for you. Attitudes are important and have a massive impact on our energy levels. Our energy level is closely linked with our attitude. People with lots of energy tend to have a positive, ‘can-do’ attitude.…

Rituals to increase your happiness

October 1, 2020

Stevef

Resilience

Working in schools can be challenging. The uncertainty of COVID has exacerbated this. The following rituals can help to increase your happiness. They are based on the work of UCLA neuroscience researcher Alex Korb. What am I grateful for? This is the most important question to ask yourself when you feel down. According to neuroscientists just thinking about what am I grateful for releases dopamine and serotonin. Even if you feel that things are particularly tough at the moment and you are struggling to find things to be grateful for, the act of searching for the positives is beneficial. Remembering to be grateful is a form of emotional intelligence. Label Negative Feelings When you feel you are becoming overwhelmed by…