seven ways to foster gratitude in your...
TRANSCRIPT
13 – 19 September 2018
Dear Parents, Teachers and Students,
Seven Ways to Foster Gratitude in Your Child
By JEFFEREY FROH AND GIACOMO BONO (an article published in UC Berkeley’s GGSC)
Gratitude plays a major role in a child’s well – being and success. Psychologists NansookPark and Christopher Peterson conducted an analysis of parents’description of their children’s strengths ---- and found that gratitude has a strong relationship to life satisfaction. Gratitude helps every individual form, maintain and strengthen supportive relationships. Grateful children are happier, more optimistic. They can develop a better social support and satisfaction with their family, friends and the community. Children with strong value of gratitude are more satisfied with their lives and more engaged in their schoolwork. Knowing the benefits that practicing gratitude bestows on kids begs the question: How can we foster more gratitude in children? From experienced researchers and parents ourselves, we believe that gratitude is born of a loving connection and grows from a loving connection. When parents tune into an infant’s needs and curiosities and satisfy the infant patiently with love, they’re planting the seeds for gratitude to grow. Here are 7 strategies that can teach gratitude to child: 1. Model and teach gratitude Our children want to be like us. We provide the blueprint for what to say and what to do and in what contexts. Expressing gratitude through words, writing, and small gifts or acts of reciprocity are all ways to teach children how to become grateful. Doing this will help make your appreciation for the goodness in your life more public, showing your kids that blessings abound and that being thankful is a valued attitude. Adults can promote gratitude directly in children by helping them appraise the benefits they receive from others—the personal value of those benefits, the altruistic intention of people providing them, and the cost to those people. This helps kids think gratefully. 2. Spend time with your kids and be mindful when with them Another way to spell love is T-I-M-E. Believe it or not, children and, yes, even adolescents, like being with their parents. Giving a child a lot of quality time with you teaches them the language of love—life’s greatest gift. Savor every moment together, big and small, and
rid yourself of distractions at such times, including your smartphone. Being mindful helps you maintain empathy toward a child, and this provides important modeling of empathy, the most important emotion for developing gratitude and moral behavior. It will also give you and your child a heightened sense of appreciation for the things both of you love and for your relationship. 3. Support your child’s autonomy Using an authoritative or democratic parenting style, which is firm, yet flexible, supports children’s autonomy. This will enhance family relationships, improve the atmosphere at home, and help bring out their strengths and talents, all good for making grateful kids. By taking ownership over their skills and talents and being responsible for developing them, children gain things to appreciate in life and make it easier to attract support from others, thus inviting gratitude into their daily life. Also, limiting children’s media consumption and guiding them to use media in prosocial ways protects them from commercial influences that discourage the development of the authenticity, self-development, and social interaction necessary to grow into positive, purposeful, grateful individuals. 4. Use kids’ strengths to fuel gratitude After you’ve identified your children’s top strengths and you know their unique strengths profile, you should encourage and help them to use those strengths whenever possible. Not only does this open up opportunities for others to contribute to the things your children love, but it also enables your children to strengthen their ability to be helpful and cooperative toward others, which will make them more grateful. To directly promote gratitude, encourage and help your children to use their strengths to thank and be kind to others. 5. Help focus and support kids to achieve intrinsic goals It’s very easy for people, especially youth, to pursue extrinsic—or materialistic—goals such as desiring or having possessions that show wealth, status, or convey a certain image. This usually leads to less fulfilling social relationships and forecloses prospects for developing deep connections with others and genuine gratitude. It’s our job to steer them away from pursuing extrinsic goals and toward pursuing intrinsic goals, such as engaging in activities that provide community, affiliation, and growth. Not only will successfully achieving these goals fulfill children’s fundamental human needs of competency, belongingness, and autonomy, but their personal development, happiness,
success, and gratitude depend on it. To amplify their gratitude even more, remember to savor their accomplishments with them along the way, and encourage them to thank those who’ve helped them meet their goals. 6. Encourage helping others and nurturing relationships Helping others and being generous are two key ingredients for making grateful kids. When children lend a hand, especially while using their strengths, they feel more connected to those they’re helping, which helps them to develop and nurture friendships and social relationships. A great way to do this is by teaching them through your actions that other people matter and that tending to relationships should be a priority. To help children strengthen their relationships, you should encourage them to be thoughtful of others, to thank others regularly, and to be cooperative, helpful, and giving. 7. Help kids find what matters to them Having a sense of purpose in life gives youth a compass for creating a meaningful life. As adults, it’s our job to help kids discover their passions and to find a path to purpose that resonates with them— with their values, interests, and dreams. This starts with feeding their interests in the social issues they care about and pushing them to learn as much as they can about those issues and discover ways they can make a difference. The deepest sense of gratitude in life comes from connecting to a bigger picture, to an issue that matters to others and doing things that contribute to society down the road. Trying to make grateful kids isn’t just an issue for families; it’s an issue for society as well. Society desperately needs to harness the power of gratitude. As our world becomes more culturally diverse and digitally connected, and as complex societal problems mount, gratitude may help catalyse the motivation and skills youth need to succeed not just academically but in the “life test” too. We must all do our part to help kids develop into moral adults, who will contribute to a world of compassion and care. But, while there’s no quick fix for cultivating gratitude in young people, the more we remain committed to it, the more rewards we’ll reap. Indeed, by bringing out the best in our kids, we can only imagine what blessings Generation Grateful could bring. Anything worthwhile takes a lot of time and effort. It’s up to all of us to make it happen. Shared and summarized by: Aileen Acabado Dean for Primary
>> SCHOOL CALENDAR (SEPTEMBER) Please note and be informed what’s on at NHJS. 14: Open House 14-22: ICAS (see schedule below) 17-18: BOG Visit 17-21: IDW 17-22: SUSS-PIAGET Impact Start Up Challenge 2018 19: IPW Grand Finals 20-21: Forensic Science Camp 22-30: Term 1 Break 23-24: Yr5 Awareness of Self 23-25: Yr6 Power of Mindset 23-26: Yr7 Discovering Character Strengths
>> ICAS Schedules and Reminders We would like to confirm that your child/ward has successfully been registered for the International Competitions and Assessments for Schools - ICAS this academic year. Please be informed that all the examinations will be administered at NationalHigh Jakarta School at the following dates:
For further inquiries, please email: Ms. Larsen P. Buccahan-Saulo ([email protected])
>> OFFICIAL SCHOOL EMAIL Please be informed that we are using [email protected] as official school email for sending school information such as bulletin, parent letter, etc. We also still have [email protected] official school for inquiries about NHJS.
>> Form of Parents’ Confirmation of Student Data Please be informed that we are giving out this form to your child/ward for your acknowledgement. We kindly ask you to sign and return to the mentor. Thank you for your cooperation.
>>NHJS ENROLLMENT AY 2018-2019 Please be informed that we will be conducting Open
House on Friday 14 September at NHJS. You may
invite your colleagues and get *parent get parent discounts.
We also offer 75% cashback discount on the
registration fee for the first batch of enrollees. Feel free to contact us for more detailed information.
*Terms and conditions apply. >> Milestone Programmes Schedule In NationalHigh Jakarta School, we are committed to developing your child through 12 years of education, from Primary 1 to Junior College 2. At every grade, we have designed special programmes and platforms that cater to the developmental needs of your child. Below is the summary of all the upcoming milestones programmes schedules:
Year 5: Awareness of Self (23-24 September 2018) Ms. Justin ([email protected]) Year 6: Power of Mindset (23-25 September 2018) Mr. Eddie ([email protected]) Year 7: Discovering Character’s Strength (23-26 September 2018) Ms. Abi ([email protected]) Kindly read parent’s letter and weekly bulletin for more information.
>>SUSS – PIAGET Impact Start-Up Challenge 2018 (17-22 September 2018) PIAGET Academy was founded in 2002 with a vision to Create a Better World Through Education. The mission of the schools in PIAGET Academy, namely NHJS (Jakarta) and SNA (Surabaya) focused on holistic education and preparing the students to be values-driven leaders for the future. PIAGET Academy under the leadership of his Chairman of the Board of Governors, Mr William Yiu, entered into a strategic partnership with Singapore’s latest public university, Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) to create learning opportunities for the students from both parties. An inaugural six-day SUSS-PIAGET Impact Start-up Challenge marks the first partnership project between the two institutions and this involves students from Singapore and Indonesia working in teams to pitch their business ideas. The schedule are as follows:
>> Mid-Autumn Festival Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! (中秋节快乐!) We would like to take this opportunity to extend our most heartfelt greetings to everyone. Date/Day: 19 September 2018/Wednesday Time: 4.00 PM – 6.40 PM Venue: NHJS Multi Purpose Hall and Stadium Dress Code: Chinese costume or any red attire Dismissal Time: 06.40 PM Dismissal Place: P1-P3: Along the river/Service Road. P4-P6: Front gate of school Sec 1 – JC2: Back gate of school Those students who have siblings: Front gate of school If you are interested in participating in the Mid-Autumn Festival, please email: Ms. YenYu Liu ([email protected]) Please kindly read parent’s letter for more information.
>> Sports and Games Day & Interdisciplinary Week (IDW) NationalHigh Jakarta School will be celebrating its Sports & Games Day on 17 September 2018 and Interdisciplinary Week (IDW) from 18 - 21 September 2018. It will be a weeklong event that will be filled with interactive and interesting activities for all our students. Kindly read parent’s letter for more information.
>> House Color AY 2018-2019 Please be informed that House Color AY 2018-2019 information has been sent via email on September, 7th 2018. Kindly check your email. Thank you
>> Year 7 Milestone Programme - Discovering Character Strengths Kindly note the following details regarding the upcoming Year 7 Milestone Programme ‘Discovering Character Strengths’ which will take place on 23 - 26 September 2018 in the city of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Kindly note the flight details below: Departure for Yogyakarta: GA204 23 SEP 2018 CGK-JOG 08.00-09.20 Arrival in Jakarta: GA213 26 SEP 2018 JOG-CGK 16.20-17.40 Departure Date: 23 September 2018 Reporting time: 05:30 am Venue: Garuda Check-in Area Attire: PE uniform Contact details of the teachers who will accompany the students to this Milestones Programme are listed below:
>>Hwa Chong Institute - IPW 2018 Congratulations to our Secondary 3 students for
receiving the High Distinction Award for their Interpersonal Project Week in Hwa Chong Institute. The awarding day is on Tuesday, September 18th 2018. The participants of this year IPW are: Amanda Foekri Putri Aimee Srijaya Annabelle Aurelia Jayadinata Nadya Annabel Lumy.
>> CAMBRIDGE ASSESMENT INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION (As and A Level Examination) NHJS will be having Cambridge Assessment International Education Examinations for the 1st term on October 3rd – November 15th 2018. Kindly advise your child/ward to come to school one hour before the scheduled examination and bring the necessary materials such as stationeries, electronic statement of entry and photocopy of their passport. They are required to come to school in complete uniform including their IDs. For more inquiries, please email: Mr. Michael: ([email protected]) Ms. Aileen: ([email protected]) Please kindly read the parent’s letter for more information.
>> Student Swimming Competition Congratulations to Nicole Natasha Isman (S2P) for winning 2nd Place in Students Swimming Competition in DKI Jakarta for 50m Back Stroke Category.
>> Yearbook AY 2018-2019 Please be informed that our Yearbook ‘GROW’ AY 2018-2019 is on sale. Price is Rp 400.000,-. Please see bookstore for purchasing. Thank you.
>>G.R.O.W
>> CHINESE LANGUAGE TALENT COMPETITION
>> YEAR 9: “Habits of Mind” (28 August-10 September 2018) Our Year 9 students have returned from Habits of Mind Milestone Programme. An excited Milestone Programme. It’s an invaluable opportunity to help embed our students with PIAGET values, cultivating the mindset and building the resilience. Here are the pictures and you can see more in the school web. 1st Week
2nd Week