In the words of Harold B. Lee, “The most important work you and I will ever do will be within the walls of our own homes” (or in our case, within the walls of The Queen’s School).
As parents, we want our children to be happy, and at Queen’s we know that a happy child becomes a more successful, accomplished adult. Indeed studies show that on average, happy people are more successful at work and love, receive better performance reviews, have more prestigious jobs, and earn higher salaries.
While academic rigour is important, at Queen’s we believe in balance and in creating an environment that provides opportunities to facilitate and reinforce positive habits that will help our girls thrive.
So how do we ensure that happiness underpins all we do? Well, we’d need a much bigger article to tell you, but in summary we:
- Teach our girls to build relationships and be comfortable with whom they are
- Encourage pupils to perform small acts of kindness and giving to build empathy and connections
- Expect and praise effort, not perfection
- Build resilience
- Teach optimism, emotional intelligence and self-discipline
- Provide plenty of unstructured play and enrichment opportunities
- Provide direction so pupils have goals to look forward to
While it can be challenging to balance what’s best for children with what makes them happy - at Queen’s we believe that the two don’t have to be mutually exclusive.
All of this means we nurture girls who can collaborate confidently, aspire globally and think independently.
In the unusual times we find ourselves in, take heart and know that as parents you can practice the same principles at home. We know from experience that these principles are even more effective when we work together as a home/school partnership. And remember, we lead by example so make sure you try to surround yourself with people you care about (this can be virtual too), focus on the positive as much as you can, and be kind to yourself!