VALUES

We have recently had a lot of great discussions and lessons in class around the value of 'Gratitude.' Being thankful for all of the little things that we have in our lives as well as the people and places. We have learnt that it is important to be grateful for what we have. Here are some of the children's responses, and their 'gratitude attitude':

"I am grateful for the privilege of participating in a range of sports in the afternoons," Alyssa.

"I am grateful for having an amazing education at an awesome school," Krissy.

"It is wonderful to have food to eat and I really love all the food that my mum makes for our family," Luqman.

"I am very grateful for having a loving family because they are the people who give me courage, and they're a great support when I feel lonely as they are always there to help me out." Yusuf

"I am grateful to be able to go to school everyday. At school we get a great education and I get to see my friends everyday." Grace

"I am grateful to come to a great school and get a fantastic education. I love playing football at lunch with my friends and I am thankful to be able to play a good game each day." William

With a lot happening at this time of the year, it is quite easy to lose sight of gratitude. We explored feelings of jealousy and how from time to time we can feel jealous due to competitiveness, friendships, opportunities, siblings etc. It is important to learn that we all become jealous from time to time but there are some healthy and unhealthy ways of dealing with it. Some of the healthy ways that the children came up with were:

* Managing our emotions healthily - making calm, wise choices and being mindful of how we're feeling.

* Reminding ourselves of our positive traits.

* "Just keep swimming," famously stated by Dory.

* Being happy for others successes and not getting caught up in the 'Tall Poppy Syndrome.'

* Learning from jealousy and being able to 'let it go.'

* Don't compare yourself with others and be confident.

As you can see, there are some really wise ideas and strategies created by the children of Room 18.