Christian Brothers College Newsletter
Senior Campus 214 Wakefield Street, Adelaide SA 5000 P 08 8400 4200 F 08 8400 4299 Junior Campus 324 Wakefield Street, Adelaide SA 5000 P 08 8400 4222 F 08 8400 4220 CBC Community 178 East Terrace, Children’s Centre Adelaide SA 5000 P 08 8223 5469 F 08 8223 7803
A Birth-12 Catholic College for boys in the Edmund Rice Tradition
Purple Patches INSIGHT UPDATE EDITION
Email enquiries@cbc.sa.edu.au Website www.cbc.sa.edu.au
Term 1, Week 6
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Friday 7 March, 2014
Br Michael’s Corner Children and Anger. The 2013 Head of the River
An invitation to the Head of The River 15 March 2014, 7.30am – 12.00pm AM Ramsay Rowing Course, West Lakes Dear Parents, Caregivers, Staff and students and the wider CBC Community, Rowing is one of the most challenging sports. Once the race starts, there are no time-outs, no substitutions. It calls upon the limits of human endurance from the mind, heart and body. In a sport like this which requires hard work without much glory, there is a beauty which ordinary men cannot see, but extraordinary men can do. As I sit here writing this I ask myself one question, “Why did I start rowing?” Rowing for me initially was a way to keep fit over the summer months, but I soon came to the realisation that rowing offered much more than a healthy lifestyle. In the last five years rowing has cemented bonds and created memories which some people don’t have the opportunity to experience in an entire lifetime. There is one memory which all my fellow rowers and I hope we can create on March 15th which is a purple haze spilling over the shores of West Lakes. Head of River is seen as the main event of a school boy rower’s career. It is the biggest school sporting event in South Australia attracting over thousands of spectators, witnessing history. This year CBC is aiming to build upon our long history. CBC Rowing in recent times has not experienced any significant support or presence from students and the wider CBC community and has been often been seen as one of the least important events on the school calendar. This year is different! A new rowing program run by Jarrad Schar and Beau Gora, along with their team of coaches has produced results beyond expectations. With all crews from junior to senior in arms reach of success. Marathon Runners talk about ‘hitting the wall’ during the final stages of a race. What rowers confront isn’t a wall; it’s an abyss of pain that opens up in the second minute of a race. It feels like large needles are being
driven into your thigh muscles, while your forearms seem to be splitting. Then the pain becomes confused and disorganised, not like the breathlessness of a runner or the leg burn of a bike rider, but an all over savage unpleasantness. As you pass the 500 metre mark, with three quarters of the race still to row, you realise with dread that you are not going to make it to the finish line, but the idea of letting your crew and your school down by not rowing your hardest is unthinkable. All the life lessons which rowing has taught those lucky enough to wear the purple zootie, past and present is that mateship is the greatest success you could ever hope for. Whether you win a race or come last, rowing has taught us that your mates will always be there and installed a sense of pride. School pride and community is why all those involved in CBC Rowing respectfully seek your support and invite you, your family and friends to help cheers us on and celebrate as a college community. Regardless of your own particular sporting or co-curricular focus we need your support. We all have one thing in common and that is the pride of the purple and white. Please wear your College Blazer and look for the purple and white tents. The event starts at 7.30 am and concludes around Midday. We would welcome any time that you could attend to show your school spirit and support. This March 15th lets gather as many and stand as one. Please support us, your fellow school mates. Jonty Rutai Senior Rower on behalf of the 2014 CBC Rowing Teams
Inclusive Community
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Faith Excellence Community Compassion
Anger harms children. It undermines their sense of worth and makes them afraid to express feelings and needs. Significant father or mother anger can stunt and cripple a child’s emerging sense of self. Anger often conveys the message, “You’re bad, don’t be you,” and a child takes the message to heart. The message to children from a father or mother who is frequently angry is they have failed dad or mum and that they are displeasing to them and will always be unworthy in their eyes. Male anger especially frightens, inhibits and always leaves scars on children. Fathers may return home tired from work looking rightly for a little space and peace and find children clamouring for attention, sometimes fighting or sulking. At this time Mother may also be looking for a little relief, peace and space to prepare a meal. It is a difficult time for all, but if father lets off steam by barking and blaming, things get more difficult. Anger triggering thoughts arise - “They’re doing this deliberately, they’re lazy... smart ...selfish...irresponsible, they don’t care, they never help around the house.” Such anger triggers stress, ignites a lot of misdirected and damaging anger. Children’s behaviour has nothing to do with labels such as “bad”, “lazy”, “selfish”. They behave the way they do because they have been rewarded and reinforced to act that way. If you want it to change, you will have to develop ways to reward new, more appropriate behaviour. Anger is an ineffective way of influencing change. Setting limits involves describing the behaviour clearly, stating your reasons for the behaviour change, acknowledging your child’s feelings, making a clear statement of what is expected and stating the consequences, ideally both negative and positive, to reinforce the new behaviour. Br. Michael Flaherty