Dear KingsWay Community,

I read an article in the newspapers that mentioned that everyone is grumpier in this lockdown compared to other times. I believe that uncertainty can make us more fragile. A colleague challenged the leadership not to spread our frustration to everyone but rather to find a vent buddy. A vent buddy is someone you can share a good grumble with to rid yourself of pent-up emotion. The secret is to not vent to everyone, especially not children, who get very insecure when their pillar of strength starts to crumble. At the risk of over spiritualising things, I believe God can also be an outlet for our venting. Throughout the Psalms, the writers do not hold back. The only difference is that they always come back to the Lord as the rock and fortress. God is our rock and defence, so we can find safety in being vulnerable with Him.

Full School Digital Parent Information 7-8 pm, 4 March

To address the challenge of COVID, we are excited to trial our first online full school parent meeting.

I realise that many of you may find the thought of connecting online challenging or frustrating. We hope to make this as easy and painless as possible.

Here is what you need to know:

• Please join us at 7 pm for the Full School Parent General Meeting by clicking on this link.

• Following the General session, there are three opportunities to meet your child's homeroom teacher. You can choose to attend any of these:

General Session: 7pm-7.15pm

Session 1: Meet the Homeroom/Form teacher: 7.20pm-7.30pm

Session 2: Meet the Homeroom/Form teacher: 7.35pm-7.45pm

Session 3: Meet the Homeroom/Form teacher: 7.50pm-8pm

• The purpose of the meeting is to connect and put a face to the name of your child's homeroom/form teacher, who is your family's key point of contact with the school in 2021. There is a time for questions but avoid getting into details such as addressing your child's specific learning needs. Please contact the teacher directly to discuss these specifics.

• Links have been emailed to parents/guardians which will connect you to your child's homeroom/form teacher meeting. Please note the start and end time of each session to avoid joining a conversation partway through.

Wellbeing

As lockdown continues, working and learning from home can become a little tiresome and this leads to grumpiness. If you and your whanau feel the strain, take a pause and remember how the adage goes: "laughter is the best medicine". Believe it or not, the benefits of laughter to our wellbeing are widespread. Consider:

The Physical Health Benefits of Laughter

• Boosts Immunity

• Lowers stress

• Increases pain threshold

• Relaxes muscles

• Prevents Heart disease.

Mental Health Benefits of Laughter

• It brings joy and energy to life

• It eases anxiety and relieves stress

• Improves mood

• Strengthens resilience.

Social Benefits of Laughter

• Fosters relationships

• Breaks down barriers

• Defuses conflict

• Enhances togetherness

• It is attractive to others.

Spiritual Benefits of Laughter

• Laughter is healing

• Promotes forgiveness

• Dispels fear

• It is contagious, so it benefits the community.

If you need a good chuckle, perhaps this short clip might start you on the right path:

Primary School Specific Information

All parents should have received an email from their child's teacher to link to tonight's Meet the Teacher sessions.

Please email the teacher immediately if you have not received this link.

Middle School Specific Information

We have designed our Distance Learning programme to enable students to remain engaged with their learning, teachers, and peers. Please be reassured that teachers understand that students will complete varying amounts of work according to their context. Teachers reassure students of this, and we invite parents to reiterate this message also.

Middle School Form Teachers look forward to connecting with parents online this evening. Please refer to the email sent yesterday with details on how to use Zoom if you are unfamiliar.

Senior School Specific Information

Thank you for your ongoing support of students currently. We have had feedback from some students who find it hard to remain motivated throughout this lockdown. Please keep the lines of conversation open with students and encourage them when you can. We acknowledge the frustrations and difficulties of going into lockdown so early in the year and what it means to the learning programmes. We encourage all students to hold on to hope until we are back on site.

Kind regards,

Graeme Budler
Executive Principal