Dear Parents and Carers,

Did you know this is the longest period of time our students have spent at school this year? With only one week of this term remaining I give thanks that we have been open for the whole term. When we look at Melbourne, and the entire United States, we remember that things could always be more difficult.

Though everyone is tired and looking forward to the break, let’s do all we can to be positive and work hard right to the end.

At St Benedict’s we have been talking with the children about Respect – Respect for Self, Respect for Others, Respect for Our Belongings and Respect for Our Surroundings.

Respect is one of the most important virtues a child can have. Teaching children how to respect others will ensure they develop positive relationships with their family, friends and teachers throughout their life. Respect can be taught in many ways, but ultimately it’s about ensuring children lead a happy life and treat other people kindly.

Below are some of the most important traits a child can gain from learning the virtue of respect.

Good manners
Teaching children good manners might seem difficult, especially at a young age. However, good manners stem from respect. Saying a simple “please” and “thank you” can go a long way and, with practice, these gestures can become natural to a child. By practising manners, a child will learn that all relationships benefit from give and take.

Tolerance
A child is bound to face conflict throughout their life. While they might not always agree or understand what’s being said or done, teaching them respect will ensure they do their best to address conflict in a productive way. Teaching a child respect will allow them to communicate in a way that is effective and also will encourage them to take responsibility for their own mistakes, and better tolerate the mistakes of others.

Listening
Listening is an important part of having a productive or positive conversation. Learning how to communicate effectively means knowing how to listen, and this can be taught by understanding the importance of respect. We need to show a child how to listen intently, not interrupt and take their turn in order to help them better engage conversationally with others. This will also help the child to better understand rules and avoid conflicts.

Open-minded
Teaching children respect ensures they will get to know a person before making a snap judgement. This behaviour will help them throughout their entire life, and ensures they treat everyone with kindness. As well, for some children, diversity is a hard concept to understand. However, teaching children respect at an early age ensures they accept everyone for who they are.

For all children, learning respect takes time, but it’s never too early to start practising this essential life skill. Ultimately, teaching children respect will help them to create more positive relationships with their family and friends. 

It is also vital that we teach children respect for their belongings and surroundings. So often at the end of session, end of break or end of a day we find the children’s personal belongings scattered around the classroom and playground. Many have the expectation that someone will pick it up and return it to them. Likewise they will leave rubbish behind for someone else to take care of. We must work with our students to value their belongings and surroundings, by teaching them to be independent, responsible and respectful of their have.

This term’s Ways of Being award, and the first for this year, will be for ‘Being Respectful’.

Thank you for your ongoing care and partnership in your child’s learning.

God Bless.

Rachel Smith
Principal