Good Morning Brown Clee!
I hope everyone had a good weekend and are rested and ready for another busy week of fantastic learning!
We would normally hold our virtual Teams assembly on a Monday but today I am busy with interviews for our Class 1 Friday teacher – so we will hold our ‘live’ assembly tomorrow – and if the weather is nice we will hold it outside!
Today though I would like us to continue to think about our Christian value of the half term – which is COMPASSION. I would like us to link it to the quality of empathy – which we touched on last week. Can you remember what is meant by empathy??….
……Empathy is when you can understand how someone else is feeling and when you care for them and if they are feeling down, because you understand what that feels like you want to show you care. We talked about in order to be empathetic you need to follow 3 steps:-
- LOOK – actually look and observe facial expressions, body language to read people’s feelings. Ask yourself “What’s happening?”, “What’s going on?”, “What are they feeling?”
- THINK – Put yourself in their shoes and think how you would feel.
- ACT – Do something that you know would make you feel better if you were experiencing what was making your friend sad or upset.
It’s not easy to learn to express empathy – it is a very mature skill – but it is one that can make a massive difference! Here are some examples of empathy to have a think about…
A Friend Fails a Test
Imagine a friend in your class has just failed a test. Your friend is really upset because she studied really hard and still failed. Even though you got a good grade on this test, you remember what it is like to fail. You don’t try to fix things for your friend. Instead, you make an empathetic statement like, “I’m so, so sorry about your grade. I know how hard you studied and how disappointed you must feel.”
A Child Gets Called Names at Playtime
On the playground at morning break, a friend gets teased and called names by other children. Imagine you’re watching this interaction. How could you demonstrate empathy? First, you need to recall what it is like to have someone tease or make fun of you…how would it make you feel. You could ask the children to stop and then say something kind to your friend to reassure them. You could also show compassionate empathy and take action by reporting the children to an adult.
Have a listen to the description of what empathy is from these students and think a bout how you can choose to be empathetic and make a difference…
Imagine what a difference you could make to someone else by showing empathy – maybe you can be the one that lights that spark and changes the world!
Prayer of the Day
Dear God,
Thank you that we are made to enjoy the friendship of other people.
Thank you for the gifts of love and caring.
In your love, give us grace to be true friends, one to another.
Help us to be there to support and care for our friends.
Please give us the wisdom to know how to react when those we care about face problems and difficulties.
Amen.