Fostering a growth mindset in yourself will have a positive impact on your child

Fostering a growth mindset in yourself will have a positive impact on your child.

How we perceive our abilities and talents greatly affects the paths we take in life. Believing that you are born with a set of fixed abilities and talents can really limit your success and fulfilment. Happily, science has shown that, through hard work and determination, human beings are capable of learning and improving at just about anything.

The key to succeeding at something, no matter how difficult it is for you, is believing that you are capable of achieving your goal, embracing the hard work it will take to achieve it, and not letting yourself get discouraged when you face setbacks. This is called a growth mindset.

As a parent, if you actively adopt a growth mindset, you will be setting a valuable example for your child : you will be cultivating optimism and self-confidence, encouraging effort and change, and showing how mistakes – far from being disasters – can actually be our greatest learning opportunities.

To learn more about the power of a growth mindset, I encourage you to read “Mindset,” a ground-breaking book by world-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck.

Centennial in the news!

Il y aura deux nouvelles écoles sur le site du Grand Séminaire de Montréal

Click here to read the Radio-Canada article.

 

Help your child create a morning routine that helps her succeed

Help your child create a morning routine that helps her succeed

The way we start our day sets the tone for how it is going to unfold. If you want your child to be physically, mentally and emotionally prepared to tackle challenges like exams, help her to develop a morning routine that both relaxes her and boosts her energy and concentration. Highly competitive and successful people, from business moguls to championship athletes, have long known the importance of following a predictable routine that helps them perform at their peak. For some people, starting their day right might mean a workout or yoga. For others, it might be listening to a specific playlist or even tidying-up their room. The important thing is to find a routine that makes getting up and getting going feel good.

Try being your child’s morning coach: help her create a morning routine that works for her and help her stick with it. Be sure that it includes a healthy breakfast, a bit of exercise or relaxation, and a stress-free atmosphere. And, try topping things off with a positive morning ritual, whether that be a hug, a high-five or a cheerful goodbye!

To read more about the importance of morning routines, read “My Morning Routine: How Successful People Start Every Day Inspired,” by Michael Xander and Benjamin Spall. They also have their own online magazine that publishes an inspiring morning routine every Wednesday.

If your child is feeling overwhelmed by stress, suggest a healing walk outdoors

If your child is feeling overwhelmed by stress, suggest a healing walk outdoors.

Spring has finally arrived, and the trees and flowers are in full bloom. It’s a perfect time to discover the healing powers of nature! Believe it or not, taking mindful walks outdoors – especially surrounded by trees –  has been scientifically shown, in studies around the world, to reduce stress levels, lower blood pressure,  improve healing, and boost concentration. The Japanese have a name for this activity: Shinrin-yoku, or “forest bathing.” More than just going for a walk in the woods, it requires you to be conscious of the sights, smells and sounds around you, and to clear your mind of any other busy thoughts.

If your child is feeling anxious about exams, a simple, ten-minute “forest bath” might be all she needs to feel more relaxed. If you can’t find a nearby forest, try a large park, garden, or even a path beside a body of water. There are plenty of options in and around Montreal. To find out more about the powers of nature, read:

Encourage your child to follow the same basic routine when writing exams.

During our Exam Preparation Breakfasts, we summarized how students should prepare for exams and the steps they should take when they sit down to write them. Following a consistent routine and tackling every exam in a slow and focused manner will reduce your child’s stress levels and help him succeed. Here is the basic routine that you should encourage your child to follow when he sits down to write an exam:

1) Take a few slow and deep breaths before you begin, to feel calmer and more centred.

2) Use active reading strategies when you read every question or text:

• Read the question or text very carefully, several times;
• Reflect on what you have read to be sure you have understood it;
• Go back and read it again, highlighting the most important information.

3) Plan your answer:

• If it’s an essay question, fill-out the graphic organizer or text-writing table provided with your exam;
• If it’s a multiple-choice question, write down the facts that you know about the topic, carefully consider each choice before choosing the one that best answers the question, and, if it’s a math question, write-down your calculations.
• If it’s a math problem, write-out the equations you will need to solve the problem, then clearly mark and explain every step of the solution.

4) Answer the question as best you can, following the instructions provided.

5) Review your answer, to be sure you answered the question properly and that you did not leave anything out.

Help your child get through the exam period by creating the conditions for success

Help your child get through the exam period by creating the conditions for success.

It’s a fact of life: writing end-of-year exams is stressful. Here are a few things that students and parents can do to reduce exam-related anxiety and create the best conditions for success.

Planning

Students should always make a study plan in advance and break-down their studying periods into sensible blocks of time. Cramming at the last minute and in a disorganized fashion leads to a lot of anxiety and missed sleep.

Positivity

Parents should help their child be positive about the exam process: encourage him with his planning and studying, reward him for his perseverance, guide him when he has questions, and help him feel confident.

Peacefulness

Parents should try to maintain a peaceful environment in the home during the exam period. Doing this will create a more relaxed tone that fosters calmness and concentration, which, in turn, will help your child with her focus and recall.

Help your child learn the value of truthful living

Help your child learn the value of truthful living.

In his recent book, “12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos,” Dr. Jordan Peterson explains the benefits of living one’s life truthfully: knowing who you truly are and what you truly want. If you embrace these basic personal truths, you will be able to set goals that are achievable and make realistic plans that will help you achieve those goals. However, your personal truths are not static: they need to be re-evaluated and re-affirmed as time goes on. As your understanding and worldview change over time, so, too, should your goals and ambitions. Checking-in on your personal truths now and again will therefore help keep your life on track, make you feel more satisfied, and prevent you from fooling yourself into thinking you’re doing the right thing.

(Dr. Jordan Peterson is a Canadian clinical psychologist, a professor at the University of Toronto, and the author of “12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos” and “Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief.”)

UDL AS SEEN BY MCGILL

UDL AS SEEN BY MCGILL

The following video is a great explanation of how and why UDL should be implemented in schools.

HOW CENTENNIAL ARRIVED AT THE FOREFRONT OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

Frederic Fovet, Director of the Office of Students with Disabilities at McGill (2011-2015) is an inclusion and UDL consultant, his expertise is based on his legal and education backgrounds. He reports on how Centennial successfully implemented the UDL model

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