St Bishoy- Imagine

Targets

Setting and achieving goals is an essential life skill for anyone who hopes to succeed in life.  Having specific targets for what we want to accomplish gives us as humans hope and direction in a life that can easily become simply moving from one day to the next. 

Many might think teaching their children about goals is simply trying to give them adult skills at too young an age.  “There is plenty of time for goal setting later,” they think.  “Let’s just let kids be kids.”

This may have been true at one point in time, but kids today seem to want to achieve, to compete effectively with their peers, and to strive to accomplish big things.  Helping them learn about goal setting is of critical importance. Consider the fact that most parents are helping kids with goals in the most basic sense at a very early age.  For example, we will put a toy just out of reach of a baby laying on a blanket to motivate them to roll over.  We get them to hold our fingers as they take early steps, letting go to help them do it on their own. When teaching children how to set and achieve goals, we need to get them involved in understanding and practicing a simple formula. The following steps have served well in working with children on setting their goals.

Select an area for improvement.  We can start our children with identifying some of their key roles in life. Starting with roles is the best way to look at the various aspects of their lives where they might feel a need to improve.  

Pick an achievable goal.   The key here is to be realistic. Help them see how their goals connect to their dreams.

Develop a plan to achieve.  Once your child has developed a realistic goal in one of her goal areas, then you can help them set up a plan.  Make a list of the steps to achieve the goal.  

Set up metrics.  Help them identify some measurements that they can use to see how well they are achieving their goals.  Having regular measures can help the child stay on track with their goals.

Make course corrections.  A child may set up a goal that seemed achievable at the time, but circumstances may change.  Help them see the need to make adjustments when circumstances change.

Involve the whole family and support system.  Let each of the children share their goals and plans in a family night or other appropriate setting.    

Celebrate wins.  When a goal is achieved, make a big deal about it.  Go spend some quality time with your child - like go out to dinner or to a park.

Whatever our approach, teaching our children the essential life skill of setting and achieving goals is one of a parent’s most critical roles.  

​On the 20​th of February, our Year 12 Biology Class went on an excursion to the UNSW Museum of Human Diseases, to support our understanding of the HSC Biology curriculum. We attended two seminars: one on ‘Infectious and Non-Infectious Diseases’, and the other on ‘Case Studies’. We had the opportunity to observe specimens and displays, and make inquiries about a variety of human diseases. We sat in a lecture room, took part in a virtual reality game and listened to an academic staff talk about diseases, and also met medical professionals throughout the day.

Although we felt quite anxious travelling by public transport with Mrs Tungul and taking the bus with University students, we were very excited to gain an insight into this one-of-a-kind experience. Coming face to face with many interesting displays was quite overwhelming for us, however, we were very interested in the different types of diseases carried by different people.

Mary Yassa, 12 Biology student

Mr Mizzi had the Year 7 Food Technology students make smoothie bowls. They looked delicious!