To use a well known cliché, Time is flying! Next week all the students write their 1st set of Common Assessment Tests. Most students will view these tests with great trepidation. It is our role as parents to put them at ease during this time. As parents we look forward to oustanding results, but we must be cognisant of how trying the process is and we must try as much as possible to understand our children and motivate them so that they excel.
I urge parents to focus on the effort placed by our learners rather than the result itself. As John Wooden once said “As long as you have given your best you are never a faluire”. The second aspect is Perseverance. We must inculcate a spirit of hard work. Life and the education process has many challenges and it is our role as parents to teach our children that overcoming them is a process. Once they learn that it is a process they learn that they must not quit in order to win.
In the pursuit of Perserverance let me draw your attention to the story of John Stephen Akhwari, a Tanzanian marathon runner in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. Akhwari cramped, fell badly and wounded his knee. In the process he also dislocated his shoulder. Despite all of this he continued running eventually finishing last. He arrived an hour after all the other competitors. At this time the medals were being given to the winners. When asked why he continued running when he had been injured badly; his response is one we should draw inspiration from. He said, “my country did not send me 5000 miles to start the race. They sent me 5000 miles to finish the race”. In the same spirit let our children embrace hardwork and perserverance even if all things seem to be working against them.
It was refreshing to see about six of our parents watching their children play cricket last Saturday. This Saturday we host the B Section Girls Swimming Gala starting at 8.30am. We urge all parents to come and support this most important event. It would be embarrasing to have more visiting parents than our own. Co-curricular activities are an integral part of our learning and I will be explaining this in future communications.
Last but not least, the Heritage Parents Committee will be hosting the Red Cocktail Party next week on Friday the 14th as a Valentines’ function. You can purchase the tickets from my secretary. Also the Committee will be in the car park selling tickets this Friday and next week Wednesday. The classes that sell the most tickets will have a Pizza Party, so I will inform the students that if they do not win they have been let down by you!! Please lets support the Parents’ Committee as they have put in a lot of time, effort and resources into the function. The least we can do is to support them by buying tickets and attending the function.