It seems that the main talking point this term has been the crazy weather.  There is nothing like a bit of wind and rain to unsettle students at school, so after weeks of torrential rain and strong wind, we are very relieved to finally be getting some sunny days.  Our site feels so much smaller with all our grass areas out of use, so it is not surprising that we have been suffering from a little 'cabin fever'.  As usual we have had a lot going on particularly for our sports teams and we are now looking forward to our school production later in September. A huge congratulations must go to our Dance Team (pictured above) who recently placed 2nd in the Year 7/8 section of the  Auckland Regional Dance competition. 

Last week, I was fortunate to attend the NZAIMS conference for intermediate and middle school senior leaders.  It was great to meet and talk with other Principals about the issues that schools across Aotearoa are dealing with particularly in regard to the mental health challenges that many children and adults are currently facing.

The highlight of the conference for me was a keynote speech from Dr Michael Carr-Gregg who is one of Australia's highest profile child and adolescent psychologists.  He spoke of the impact the pandemic has had in tripling adolescent mental health issues along with an increase in self harm, vaping, disengagement and poor socialisation skills.  While there seems to be no defined solution to these issues yet, he did offer the following advice for supporting our early adolescents.

 - Make sure they feel safe, valued and listened to

- Keep them busy

- Limit their social media (this is crucial)

Good communication with Early Adolescents:

Keep calm

Listen more - don't talk too much

Speak only two sentences at a time

Use humour

Have clear boundaries

Avoid confrontation or ultimatums

Only argue over things that matter

Regularly give positive feedback

Don't remind them of past mistakes

Be prepared to let some things go by

It is clear that in a world of increased uncertainty and societal changes, it is more important than ever for families and schools to work together to help our tamariki navigate the challenges and further develop their resilience.  

Ngā mihi

Maree Stavert