Dear College families,

This week we are so excited to have launched an initiative which has been 12 months in the making. The College’s new intergenerational program, entitled Jannawi, meaning ‘with you, with me’ in the Dharag language. Jannawi is a partnership with Anglicare, in which Anglicare residents join with a number of our ELC students to grow relationships, learn from each other’s expertise and to see life from a different perspective.

It reminds me of the image in 2 Timothy 4:12, ‘don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.’ We believe that our youngest students, while only being 3-4 years old, have immense worth and value, as image bearers of their heavenly father. I am really excited to see how both generations teach the other and to see these relationships blossom over the coming months.

Felicity Marlow
Principal

Each week a group of Secondary students join with buddies from South Creek School for 30 minutes of fun and interaction. 20 Norwest students and staff from Year 7-11 walk across the road to join with 10 South Creek School students from Kindy-Year 5. While we are only a few weeks into the program the progress has been very encouraging.

We start inside with an activity with food (fairy bread) or a craft (paper rockets) and usually head outside as well with sports equipment, parachutes, and trampolines. It is lots of fun!

Our Secondary students are out of their comfort zone, and they are learning to deal with a number of challenges:

·      Communication/Ability – our South Creek buddies have limited language ability and the adaptability of our students to ensure effective communication has been impressive

·      Behaviour – the ability of our students to redirect their buddies for focus and completion of a task as well as to distract them from emotion is developing

·      Leading – modelling how to follow instructions, share and take turns is a crucial part of the buddy program

·      Saying “see you later” – we want to have more time and leaving each week makes us all a bit sad

·      Catching up missed schoolwork – we are missing lessons, and each student is expected to catch up work that has been missed

The South Creek staff have given very encouraging feedback about the impact being made by our students in their interactions.

My favourite part of the program is the walk back and listening to our students excitedly talking about the cute things that their buddy said or did and the progress they’re making.

Secondary students are learning values and skills (such as putting others first, gratitude, decision-making, valuing our own abilities, communication, collaboration, humility, etc) and, in relation to service, I trust they are learning:

·      Serving is simple

·      Serving is a privilege

·      Serving is fun

At Norwest we consistently discuss with students how to serve others coming from Matthew 22 where Jesus summarises “all of the Law” with the expression Love God with all your heart, soul and mind; and love your neighbour as yourself. Most commonly we describe this as “treat others how you want to be treated” and explain that “our neighbours” are all of those with whom we interact (and not simply the people in the house next door), so it’s nice to actually be serving the next door neighbours to the College.

If your children have an idea for serving in or with the College community encourage them to let us know and listen out for future service opportunities offered to students.

Colin Wood
Deputy Principal

To view more photos from our service visits to South Creek School click here.

It is easy to get onto the unconscious autopilot of habitual thoughts and feelings of deficiency or “not-good-enough” when an incident (big or small) triggers us. We can get stuck in this mindset (without even being fully aware that it has happened) which then infiltrates and erodes our sense of wellbeing and peace.

Some of the typical patterns of behaviour to get out of this uncomfortable state of mind include perfectionism, avoidance, blame (of self or others), excessive busyness, perpetual self-improvement, seeking approval, doing everything possible to avoid making mistakes, over-consuming, obsessive worry or planning, mistrust of others...…… which most likely triggers further feelings and thoughts of “not-good-enough,” and we sink deeper into our own suffering and repeat more of the same behaviours that keep us locked in this spiral.

If we can pause this perpetual cycle, we can avoid much unnecessary suffering for ourselves (and others who may become the unwitting victims of our attempts to discharge our discomfort!) One way to interrupt the cycle is to practice “RAIN”.

The acronym RAIN is an easy-to-remember tool for bringing mindfulness and compassion to emotional difficulty. The following is taken from the work of Tara Brach (www.tarabrach.com)

Recognize what is going on;
Allow the experience to be there, just as it is;
Investigate with interest and care;
Nurture with self-compassion.

You can take your time and explore RAIN as a stand-alone meditation or move through the steps whenever challenging feelings arise.

R—Recognize What’s Going On

Recognizing means consciously acknowledging, in any given moment, the thoughts, feelings, and behaviours that are affecting you. This can be a done with a simple mental whisper, noting what you are most aware of.

A—Allow the Experience to be There, Just as It Is

Allowing means letting the thoughts, emotions, feelings, or sensations you have recognized simply be there, without trying to fix or avoid anything.

You might recognize fear and allow by mentally whispering “it’s ok” or “this belongs” or “yes.”

Allowing creates a pause that makes it possible to deepen attention. It also frees us to step back and detach, rather than identify ourselves to what is happening. E.g., “There’s that feeling of anger” as opposed to “I am angry”; or “There’s that worry thought about the kids” as opposed to “I am worried about the kids”.

I—Investigate with Interest and Care

To investigate, call on your natural curiosity—the desire to know truth—and direct a more focused attention to your present experience.

You might ask yourself: What feeling most wants attention? How am I experiencing this in my body? What am I believing in my thoughts? What does this vulnerable place want from me? What does it most need from me?

Whatever the inquiry, your investigation will be most transformational if you step away from thinking about it and bring your primary attention to the felt sense in your body.

N—Nurture with Self-Compassion

Self-compassion begins to naturally arise in the moments that you recognize that you are suffering. It comes into fullness as you intentionally nurture your inner life with self-care.

To do this, try to sense what the wounded, frightened or hurting place inside you most needs, and then offer some gesture of active care that might address this need. Does it need a message of reassurance? Does it need forgiveness? Does it need companionship and/or love?

Experiment and see which intentional gesture of kindness most helps to comfort, soften or open your heart. It might be the mental whisper, I’m here with you. I’m sorry, and I love you. I love you, and I’m listening. It’s not your fault. Trust in your goodness.

In addition to a whispered message of care, many people find healing by gently placing a hand on the heart or cheek; or by envisioning being bathed in or embraced by warm, radiant light. If it feels difficult to offer yourself love, bring into your mind a loving being—spiritual figure, family member or friend - and imagine that being’s love and wisdom flowing into you.

After the RAIN

When you’ve completed the active steps of RAIN, it’s important to notice the quality of your own presence and rest in that wakeful, tender space of awareness.

The fruit of RAIN is realizing that you are no longer imprisoned in or identified with any limiting sense of self. Give yourself the gift of becoming familiar with the truth and natural freedom of your being; it is mysterious and precious!

You can also access the self-compassion test:

https://self-compassion.org/self-compassion-test/

Here are some self-compassion guided exercises:

https://self-compassion.org/guided-self-compassion-meditations-mp3-2/

Catherine Redwood
Counsellor