Encourage one another, and build each other up

There's a wonderful Steve Green song from the Hide'em In Your Heart series that goes:

Encourage one another and build each other up
Build each other up
Build each other up
Encourage one another, and build each other up
Up up up up up up up up up!

Beth came home on Fri so pleased with herself because she'd earned a Principal's Award sticker.

She stuck it on her shirt and wore it to church on Sunday, even though by then it was all raggedy.

She, along with several classmates, was asked to see the Head of Junior School for their exceptional work effort.

Recently, she has come home with stickers that say Terrific! and Brilliant!.

When I looked in her homework, I was surprised to see her teacher had "bothered" to write comments like "Fantastic presentation Bethany! You've put in a lot of effort to find words beginning with C!"

Beth is also thrilled to report that she has (finally) made it to the Happy Smiles board, which is her teacher's way of acknowledging students who demonstrate positive behaviour such as helpfulness or friendliness.

I love how Heathdale makes such an effort to encourage and acknowledge students, not just for performance but also for effort.

I've been to the homes of friends with kids at Heathdale and have noticed the numerous plaques on their walls that say Merit Cert, Cert for Most Improvement In All Academic Subjects and such like.

It's a great reminder that it's so easy to bring someone down with a thoughtless remark. So much more effort and care are required to uplift, to inspire and to motivate.

After all, every child is gifted at different things and not everyone is academically inclined.