Act with empathy |

One of our grade one classes had a big talk last week about the habit ‘Act with Empathy’. A classmate was away that day having teeth extracted, so they all thought about what they could say to express their empathy and make him feel better. Here is what they came up with:

I feel bad for you.
I hope you feel better soon.
I hope your mouth doesn’t hurt.
I hope you come back to school tomorrow.
I miss you.
How did it feel?
I’m really sorry for you.
I hope you can come back to school tomorrow.
I hope you get better soon.
I hope your teeth get better soon.
I hope you get used to it.
I hope your teeth grow in soon.
I hope you could get a good rest in your bed today.
I hope you can have some fun tomorrow.
I hope you lie down in your bed so you have energy for tomorrow.
I hope you can go to school tomorrow and you can eat apples, your favourite.
You can cut up your apple.

Empathy matters, so we teach it at KCS. ‘Sharing What We Know’ also matters, so we do that too. If someone in your life could use a little empathy and you’re wondering what to say, revisit this post. The grade ones know what to do.

Andrea Fanjoy,
Assistant Head, Academics

This past Wednesday night, I attended my son’s Holiday Concert. He’s in grade 8, and in September he let Heather and I know that he’d decided to play his bass clarinet in the concert band. This was a pleasant surprise for us, although I secretly thought, “there goes another two evenings in my calendar.” Prior to the concert he told me the concert band would open the evening with a couple of pieces, and then all of the grade 8s would conclude the concert singing a song – thus providing no chance to sneak out halfway through! I’ve heard people do this…

Surprisingly, halfway through the concert, he comes out on stage with his grade 8 class to play The Hanukkah Song. In the band, he sits at the back beside his friend who is playing percussion. I’m watching them file in and then I watch Brandon have a conversation with his friend on the drums. Next thing I know, Brandon is making his way out to the exit. Since I’ve sat through 18 years of concerts at the schools I’ve worked at, and attended the many concerts my own children have played in, I knew Brandon had forgotten his music. The band teacher didn’t wait for Brandon to return and he missed playing the piece.

When we got in the car to go home, I looked at him and I asked him if he could play me The Hanukkah Song when we got home. Without missing a beat he turns to me and says, “It’s a funny thing, Dad. My friend forgot his music, so I went to get his music for him. By the time I got back they had already started and I couldn’t get back to my seat in the band.”

Derek Logan
Head of School