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Recently our teachers and pupils participated in our very first RGS Values Week! The aim is to celebrate the core pillars of our school which include integrity, respect, scholarship, inclusivity, courage, and collaboration.

Our young people took part in a range of activities in the classroom and playground across all year groups. FS1 and FS2 were encouraged to make someone feel great simply by reaching out with a smile, a high five, or sharing a toy, a kind note, or a picture. Years 1 to 4 were encouraged to make a new friend on our rainbow bench and tell a joke to their friends. Whilst Years 5 to 7 were encouraged to share an affirmation, quote, or positive message and pass it on to someone whom they feel resonates with it.

The whole school was encouraged to spread the smile throughout the week, and smile stickers when were handed out as a result of our young people sharing kindness. We also included our parent community in this initiative and encouraged families to share pictures of how they are doing this outside of school.

As a school we want to continue to support our parent community on how to use the right language when speaking with children and encourage open conversations. RGS Guildford Dubai’s school counsellor Tereza Panash-Yehia, shares 4 tips for parents, which include:

1. CONNECTION

When we are enquiring about our children’s day, it is important that we are asking them questions from a place of presence, a desire to know them, and to truly listen. The setting also supports true connection to a great extent: How much eye contact are we having with our children when we talk to them? How relaxed are we? How close to them are we? Do we allow disruptions or multitasking? It can also be helpful to establish a favorite time such as during 1:1 car rides or dinner-time conversations.

2. OPEN–ENDED QUESTIONS

Yes/No questions are a bit of a dead end when trying to engage in a conversation with your children. Instead, try open-ended questions that can lead to new discoveries: “I encourage parents to focus on positive questions, a typical example would be What was the best part of your day?

3. MODELING

As adults, we sometimes tend to think that we need to have the answers to all the questions and can therefore become somewhat inaccessible to children. In reality, children learn best by example, and it is OK for us to show that we don’t have answers to everything and that we can ask the people we trust.

4. MULTI-TOOL

Using a simple scaling tool works wonders with children– scale 1-10. An example includes:

Parent: “Tell me how school is going on a scale of 1-10”

Child:     “5 or 6”

Parent: “Okay, where would you like to be?”

Child:     “8” 

Parent: “Ah… how can we get to at least 7? What has worked before? What would be different at 8?

These small tips can work wonders when communicating with our children.

If you would like to meet with our school counsellor to discuss any of these topics, our door is always open!

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