FROM MRS. BUHRMAN

Dear St. Luke Community,
 
As we approach the end of the school year, we are excited about the planning for next year. I have been trying to target the experiences we have encountered this year, the results of our experiences, and what we can glean from this past year to enhance the St. Luke Experience. The recurring theme is resilience. We have all been faced with some of our worst fears; illness, death, unemployment, loneliness, and stress. All of our experiences may be different, but we all have one thing in common; resilience.
 
I remember when I was in college working on my teaching degree. We had a guest speaker come to talk about her program that works with underprivileged children. The common factor they determined from research, that allowed these children to rise above their troubled environment, was resilience. I really listened intently to how these children found the faith and courage to rise above the negative, to be free to succeed.

My thought process is, how can we tap into these experiences to nurture resilience in our children together, as a community, as a family?
 
An article put out by Harvard University discusses the most significant and common factors for children who develop resilience. The single most common factor is at least one stable and committed relationship with a supportive parent, caregiver, or other adult. I think our students have an abundance of that type of support.
 
The most interesting set of factors really stemmed my interest, because these are the factors where the school and home come together to impact our students for life. Facilitating supportive adult-child relationships, building a sense of self-efficacy and perceived control, providing opportunities to strengthen adaptive skills and self-regulatory capacities, and mobilizing sources of faith, hope and cultural traditions. Our formula for success for life begins in Pre-K and travels through the years of development at St. Luke. We hold our students accountable with consequences, because we want our students to become responsible humans who can take charge of their own success. We want our students to have authentic success academically and athletically, so they believe in themselves genuinely and know what they can do with hard work. This develops a strong sense of self-efficacy, which is the belief that, yes, I CAN DO IT! We may come off as strict, but it is all part of the formula for success in life. Holding our children accountable now, will result in the resilience they need for a life of success and happiness. Our experiences for faith and hope in our relationship with God provides the strength in a higher power that Jesus loves us unconditionally and keeps us focused on the loving way we should live our lives. And lastly, our commitment to appreciating all cultures with an open heart and mind, results in the encompassing love that Jesus had for all of his people.
 
In short, together as a community, we have the tools and groundwork to provide our children with the character traits they need to become resilient people, and to guarantee that we are doing all we can to ensure their future successes and happiness. Together, we are doing more than educating, together we are creating a lifestyle that will ensure a life of love, happiness, and success through the belief that YES I CAN DO IT. 

Nadine Buhrman
Source: Resilience; Center of the Developing Child, Harvard University
 

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COUNSELOR’S CORNER . . .

CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION MONTH
TALKING TO KIDS ABOUT PERSONAL SAFETY AND SEXUAL ABUSE

In support of National Child Abuse Prevention Month, the Committee for Children’s Hot Chocolate Talk campaign offers resources to guide parents and caregivers in talking to children about personal safety and sexual abuse.  Research shows that children who are informed about their bodies and who feel comfortable talking openly with a caring adult are less likely to be abused and more likely to disclose abuse if it happens. Click on the link below for a conversation guide to help you navigate these critical conversations with your child in an age-appropriate manner.      

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A few of the 260+ cardboard kids decorated by our students to bring awareness to child abuse for the month of April.
 

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A LOOK AHEAD…

Thursday, April 15 – 8^th Grade Trip
Thursday, April 15 – Purple Up for Military Kids Day
Friday, April 16 – PTC Chick-Fil-A Lunch & Civvies Day
Friday, April 23 – No School

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