Dear Parents

We were blessed with lovely, sunny weather last week, after the gale force wind and heavy rain of the week before. Even a family of geese seemed confused by the early spring weather and paraded around the school with their goslings.

The Pre Reception and Nursery girls learned about people who protect and help us and the Reception girls learned about farm animals.

We enjoyed belated birthday treats at school for those girls who celebrated their birthdays during lock down.

DIANE VILJOEN

Head Preschool

Dear Parents

The importance of routine - not just during COVID, but always.

People are creatures of habit, and routines offer a way to promote health and wellness through structure and organization.

Having a routine can greatly improve our children’s health and productivity and many children who don't have sufficient structure in their daily lives, risk suffering from elevated levels of stress and anxiety. Routine helps productivity, which in turn feeds motivation. Lack of motivation is dangerous as it leads to many other complications - when one feels that you haven't accomplished much, feelings of frustration, uselessness, and despair can set in - and it's a difficult cycle to get out of.

Routine anchors children and provides a compass or map for their day - pre-COVID this was naturally structured by bells, starting times, ending times, and the rituals of sport and extramural activities. With those gone, we now have to work extra hard as parents and teachers at providing the structures that they thrive in.

Routines make children feel safer, because they know what to expect. This is particularly important during this unpredictable, haphazard time we find ourselves in. We need to accept that where we are at the moment is the new normal, for as long as it lasts. While it’s tempting to allow our children to work from home when the weather is dreadful, or they feel sad or homesick - this is unhelpful in terms of maintaining routine - for the girls, their classmates and particularly their teachers.

Routine at school:

Please send your girls to school on the days they are supposed to be at school (bar ill health and comorbidities). They need to feel part of the learning process and their teachers need them onboard. Each time a child who is supposed to be at school stays at home, their teacher's sense of predictability, their planning of tasks, marking, managing the at school vs online ratio, assessments that we are working so hard on, is rattled. This is difficult for teachers who are stretched to capacity as it is.

Routine at home:

Please develop routine for your girls on the days when they learn at home. This doesn't need to be military like, but predictability and structure on their days at home will go a long way in terms of strengthening them in the long run. Set a schedule for rising, meals, work time, rest time and bedtime. Planning the day together with your child will help the day feel more tangible, secure and productive.

Try to include something physical ( run, walk, cycle), something creative (a board game, or hobby) and something social (connecting with a friend or a relative outside of your home.) These all contribute to physical and mental well being.

The valuable personality traits of resilience and grit thrive with proper routine. When we teach our kids to show up in difficult times, they learn to pull in and contribute when the going gets tough - a valuable trait to have in the workplace when they are adults. Our children will have many difficult and uncomfortable experiences in their life times. How we respond to COVID is a wonderful opportunity to build and role model resilience and grit in our children. They imitate us all the time. Grit is defined as having courage and resolve and the strength of character to push through difficulties. It can be seen as a muscle - the more we exercise and work that muscle, the stronger we get. This is a great time to work that muscle!

Should you need help or support, please don’t hesitate to contact me at gcloete@springfieldconvent.co.za.

With love and strength to you all

GABBY CLOETE

Junior School Counsellor