Our School-wide focus for the next two weeks 'Kindness' is part of practising Ngākau Aroha - our school value of Empathy.

For the next two weeks, we are looking at Kindness. This ties in with integrity, as kindness is an act that is not always acknowledged, and not always asked for, but it makes the giver feel good, as well as the person receiving it. We would love to share the teaching of our tamariki with you, and we hope in all cases you can focus on the same values and activities as we do, at home. Whenever possible, encourage your children, if nothing else - then be kind. The big thing to know about being kind regularly is that it's actually good for our psychological wellbeing. While the amount of happiness being kind seems to provoke has occasionally been exaggerated by studies, an overview of the science from the University of Oxford in 2016 found pretty concrete proof that a happiness benefit does exist. The scientists looked at 21 different studies on happiness and acts of kindness, and found that results indicated a "small to medium" happiness boost after being kind to someone. Similarly, a 2015 study found that being "prosocial" in your behaviour (including acting kindly towards others) was a boon to mental health, lowering stress levels overall. And scientists in 2016 found that being kind to others was actually more helpful to psychological "flourishing" than being kind to yourself. Effective self-care, in other words, should probably include some acts of kindness towards others.

In the classroom we will be looking into the many benefits of kindness. The science behind kindness tells us that kindness strengthens our connections with others, and that being kind makes us happier!

Sparklers at Home activity, Give a Bunch of Kindness takes you through the same ideas we will be practising in the classroom. It also includes fun instructions on how to make a bunch of paper flowers, which your child/ren will enjoy.