Secondary Newsletter 19 – January 15, 2021
CAS Corner by Ralisha Woodhouse
Counseling
University Counseling
A New Year! A Time for Setting Goals and Changing Behaviours
CAS Corner by Ralisha Woodhouse
Babysitting at School
Strand: Service, Learning Outcome: Collaboration
Monday, 24 August 2020
Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively
After babysitting 3 kids (two 4-year-olds and a 2-year-old) with other peers for an hour, I developed my knowledge and skills about collaborating with children. At first, it was challenging as I hadn’t babysat in a few years and my knowledge of a child’s mind was diminishing. After a while, I adapted to this new way of communicating and it has taught me to expand how to cooperate with people of all ages. I was able to apply my prior knowledge of babysitting to this experience as I used to babysit two children I knew well. I thought it was an interesting experience because I would have conversations and I’d notice some things they didn’t know. For example, I asked if they knew how to play tag, and to my surprise, they didn’t. I enjoyed sharing some of my knowledge while learning more about them and their mannerisms. Furthermore, I was able to develop responsibility because I was in charge of their safety. As a result of this responsibility, I was ready to assist the children at any time, like when they needed help getting down from the playground. In addition to this, I also surprised myself when I noticed I had developed more patience and recalled politeness when working with children. I undertook new challenges and developed new-found strengths and skills, therefore I demonstrated collaboration in this experience.
Strand: Service, Learning Outcome: Challenge & new skills
Monday, 26 August 2020
Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process
Today I babysat a 3-year-old boy and I was able to increase my knowledge and expertise for babysitting while encountering certain difficulties during this experience. I encountered challenges when trying to get information out of the child. I realized it is difficult to understand what a child is trying to communicate so I had to be attentive and patient. Babysitting a boy was unfamiliar to me because I’ve only had experience babysitting primarily girls. I was able to branch out my understanding and experience of babysitting children. I realized I asked more questions to the child compared to a normal person, and I appreciated the creativity in the child’s answers. We played soccer which made this experience a little more active than my previous one, and I faced a challenge when I had to get information out of the boy. He was thirsty and wanted his water bottle, but I had to ask him so many questions in order to find out where it was. The water bottle ended up being at home so I had to compromise and come up with a solution and therefore I developed my problem-solving skills.
Counseling
I want to remind you or bring your attention to an excellent site for all things tech-related, Common Sense Media. As a parent, it can feel overwhelming to keep up with the latest available apps, movies, shows, books, and research. Common Sense Media has endless, research-based quick tips for parents. Don’t know what Tik-Tok is, much less why teens are using it? They have a guide with a video to inform you. Not sure if your 16-year-old should be watching One Night in Miami? They provide recommended viewing ages for shows and movies and often have parent and teen ratings. Want to buy a new game for your gamer with a female protagonist and are not sure what would be exciting or appropriate? Common Sense Media has “Best of” lists for gaming, music, streaming, books, and so on. They also provide articles to support parents, like this one on Keeping kids motivated for online learning and research on topics, like Tweens, Teens, Tech, and Mental Health: Coming of Age in an Increasingly Digital, Uncertain, and Unequal World 2020. Common Sense Media is a site worth joining and bookmarking.
University Counseling
Registrations and deadlines:
Upcoming International SAT Test Date & Deadline
Virtual events
Schools are offering virtual visits to their campuses. As they contact us, we share it with you. If your family is interested in specific schools, you can also look at the websites via Bridge U.
Computer Science Day with University of Washington – (Jan 16)
Visa Section Update from the Embassy of Canada – (Jan 20)
The University of Sydney Update : Sydney International Student Award – (Jan 23)
The University of Edinburgh-extended UCAS deadline – (Jan 29)
Scholarships for International Students | Temple University – (Feb 1)
Carl Benz School Application Portal is Now Open – (April 30)
Resources
UCAS Application Support
List of scholarships for international students
Opportunity for a scholarship from Seton Hall University by sharing a unique business idea
Guide for International University Admissions
BridgeU Supporting your child through the application process (G12 should have shortlists completed and should be moving from shortlists to applications.)
BridgeU tips for parents of 2021
BridgeU tips for parents of 2022
A New Year! A Time for Setting Goals and Changing Behaviours
by Jackie Wyncoll, BIS Student Support
If you’re like me, you have behaviours you want to change, things you want to get better at or something new you want to try. I love to set goals for the New Year… and frequently that means setting myself up for failure!
THIS year…I’m going to be more organised! I’m going to ask more questions in class! I’m going to the gym 7 days a week! I’m not going to fight with my brother! I’m going to speak Bahasa Indonesia fluently! I’m going to eat healthier! And so it goes….. for the next 13 days or so, maybe… despite my best intentions for my goal to last forever!
So, how do we set goals… and stick with them long enough that we ultimately change a behaviour and create a new habit?
A. Setting a Goal
- How do you choose a goal?– there should be a strong need, a strong desire to change or a strong interest if you want to achieve success with your goal.
- Does your goal have clear plans and concrete actions- not just wishful thinking? Eg: I wish I could take better notes in class. vs. I will use the Cornell notetaking system to take notes in class and review them after school each day.
- Is it a SMART goal?
- Specific – your goal should say exactly what you plan to do to achieve the goal. Eg. I want to be more focused during class vs. I will not have any personal or irrelevant tabs/windows/behind-the-scene-screen open during class.
- Measurable – how will you know you have achieved your goal?
Eg. I will ask more questions in class vs. I will ask 2 questions in each class everyday. - Actionable – goals should be worded so they imply action.
Eg. Be more organised vs. File my notes in the correct folders every day after class/school. - Realistic – your goals should be achievable.
Eg. Keep my laptop camera on for class everyday vs Allow my camera to be off if I’m having a crummy day and I have let my teacher know. - Time-bound –Short term goals are often more achievable. Long-term goals should have shorter-term milestones attached to them. Eg. I will have all 6s by the end of semester 2. Vs. By the end of this term I will have at least a 4 in all my classes.
- Are you tracking your progress? Use a calendar or other tool to track your goal and make note of issues that hinder your success so that you can rectify them quickly.
B. What Motivates Change?
Parents who are trying to help your child implement some type of behavioural change that they know will be good for them should be aware that…..
Threats and warnings do not work- if we try to instill fear in someone in order to affect change the person responds by shutting down or simply avoids the task. Alternatively, research has shown that people tend to take in information they want to hear, and usually this is something that has a more positive outcome. We are more likely to act on things we see as positive or make us feel good about ourselves. Fear induces inaction while the positive reinforcement and gains induce action. So- try positive motivation with positive incentives to support your child
- Give your child control of the outcome.
- Highlight the progress, not the decline.
**Remembering the saying, ‘a child becomes who they see in your eyes’ is an important reminder for us to lift our children up, to focus on the positive steps they make towards their goals instead of what they didn’t do.
C. Consistency and Commitment
Change is hard and takes a lot of effort. Be gentle with yourself/with your child as you try to break a negative habit and implement a change. Slip ups are allowed! The most important thing is to be consistent– to work at the goal everyday- this will start a neuro-pathway in the brain for that new behaviour and you will begin to operate on ‘auto-pilot’.
“What defines us is how well we rise after falling”- Set realistic goals, track your progress, stay positive, be consistent, don’t give up.
Links to References:
Achieving Behavior Change Through Goal Setting
The 1 Minute Secret to Forming a New Habit
TEDx How to Motivate Yourself to Change your Behavior- Tali Sharot