Dear Parents

I arrived at work this morning, went to the Leadership team meeting, but prior to the meeting I had a cup of tea. I then taught the students who don’t participate in Bible. At the end of that I desperately needed another cup of tea. I came back to my desk and pulled open the Newsletter folder. I then realised that I needed to immediately file some documents I had left on my desk from last night. Finished that, back to the laptop and the Newsletter folder. I then remembered that I urgently needed to phone a colleague so straight on the phone to them. They weren’t available so the Newsletter folder was calling to me.

I opened the Newsletter folder and as I opened it I remembered that I needed to record the blurb for the Pupil of the Week for next week. I did that and what do you know, it was time to meet with a pre schooler and her mother for their pre enrolment discussion. That took no time at all, so back to the Newsletter folder. I glanced at the clock, seven minutes until playtime, definitely not enough time to get stuck into the Newsletter. Cue more filing, then upstairs for a much needed cup of tea.

Recognise this? Procrastination. We all do it. Usually, writing the Newsletter comes very easily and other days, like today, I was bereft of ideas so I procrastinated with all manner of vital (really?), urgent (hmm) matters to complete.

Does it frustrate you that your children or partner procrastinate? Does it frustrate you that your workmates / manager / staff procrastinate? I bet with a little self reflection, you’ll remember times when you just had to do some very urgent job which had to be finished before you could even think about starting the really important thing.

I spent some time looking on the net for tips to beat procrastination. I found lots of tips; ‘5 Scientific Ways to Beat Procrastination’ and ‘6 Sure Fire Ways to Overcome Procrastination’. The irony is, that I was procrastinating by reading self help articles on beating procrastination!

So what do I suggest that might help your children overcome procrastination? Well, there’s making lists, making a plan, break the task into smaller pieces, start with the easy part first…. lots of other suggestions. Personally, I think having a not negotiable deadline works every time. If you don’t pack your school bag by 8.30, I will leave without you (and of course on one occasion you just might have to leave without them – drive up your driveway, or go around the block). I guarantee that from then on that bag will get packed at 8.29 and they will be ready to leave.

Let’s just accept that a large percentage of the population will always procrastinate but will actually meet the deadline.

My deadline? Knowing that Linley will stand in my doorway and ask ‘have you finished the newsletter yet?’ That’s a scary thing, and works every time!

Janice Adamson

Speech Finals

Last week, I enjoyed listening to the twelve years 5, 6 speech finalists. There was a great variety of topics and speech techniques. Every speech was very engaging and it made the judging very difficult. Writing an engaging speech then delivering it doesn’t come easily to some children. Teachers work hard with their students, scaffolding them through the structure of a speech. Children then choose their own topic and prepare their speech ready to deliver it to the class. Nerve wracking for some but they still try really hard and they are commended for their efforts. Every time a child succeeds at something they find scary, it makes it easier to do the next time.

Congratulations to Cole Osborne, Year 6 winner and overall winner with his speech ‘What’s in a Name?’. Congratulations to Lucy Neville,  Year 5 winner with her speech “What would school be like without boys?”  The runners up were – Year 6: Molly O’Leary and Timothy Ravi, Year 5: Dan Brooks and Valencia Panaho.