Translate

Assistant Principal - Pastoral Care

Last week we were very fortunate to have our Artist in Residence, Maurizio Vespa, share his wealth of knowledge with our staff, student leaders and parents of the college. His insights into restorative practices in a school setting were both informative and affirming. In each session Maurizio clearly identified what conflict is and how to deal with it in a calm manner with the goal of a positive resolution. Much of his teachings are based on the Australian Student Wellbeing Framework integrated with the Lismore Diocese Fullness of Life Framework.

https://www.lism.catholic.edu.au/fullness-of-life-framework

Conflict in Perspective

Conflict is inevitable when we work in relational environments.
We are all hard-wired to connect – we like to feel a part of a community, to be valued and liked.
It is challenging to resolve conflict when emotions are high.
It is helpful to work towards a state of calmness to rationalise what has happened and why it has triggered the emotions.

Helpful Insights into Conflict Resolution

Identify the issue/behaviour – reflect on its impact; how has it made you feel?
Address the problem sooner rather than later - acknowledge it, but do not brush it aside or dismiss it if it has profoundly impacted you.
Avoid the language of blame or judgement of character - when conflict is managed with emotional and judgemental language, it leads to further harm/hurt.
Listen and be open to different perspectives and allow for dialogue to occur.
Respect people's feelings – try to sit in the other person’s shoes.
Be aware of your triggers and acknowledge them.
Collaborate on working solutions.
Establish how to manage things if there are setbacks in the future.

The aim of Restorative Practices in our college community is to strengthen relationships and to manage conflict and tensions by repairing harm as a way of building community. The restorative practice's philosophy is a values based approach that derives from the teachings of the Gospel and contemporary research into health and wellbeing. Restorative practices help develop resilient and self-regulating learners, thus creating a positive learning environment.

I take this opportunity to thank all parents who attended the evening that focused on “Building Positive Relationships with our Children'', the two groups of student leaders in the College, especially the senior students who gave up three hours of their valuable learning time, the middle leaders for attending a 7:30am meeting time when I’m sure they had plenty of other school business to attend to and finally the whole staff for their willingness to be involved in the PD day from the outset. Our aim is to continue to build on the structures Maurizio explored and revisit his content throughout the year.

Until next time:

Michael Stubbs
Assistant Principal - Pastoral Care