Our Values of the Month

NOVEMBER

In Acorn (Nursery) we are exploring the value of:

Truth/Honesty

Honesty means telling the truth but it also means doing the right thing i.e. not stealing or cheating.

There should be no difference between what you think, what you say and what you do. If you are being honest you will speak what’s in your mind and do what you say you are going to do. This should of course be used to do good and not be used in a negative way.

Honesty is a clear conscience.

In Nursery we will talk about the importance of Honesty and always telling the Truth.  Through stories, we will also learn about how honest and dishonest people are viewed differently by others. 

At home you could also reinforce the importance of living the value and how, being Honest and telling the Truth, helps us to trust each other.  

In Chestnut, Birch, Hazel, Rowan and Oak (Years 1-4) we are exploring the values of:

Compassion and Forgiveness

Compassion’ and ‘sympathy’ have much in common but both are stronger in meaning than simply ‘feeling sorry for’ someone.

The words have their roots in the idea of putting yourself in someone else’s shoes and experiencing what they experience. This leads to a desire to do something. It is not about ‘doing good’ or simply ‘remembering those less fortunate than ourselves’.

Compassion requires an act of imagination and humility to share in the lives of others.

This also links to the value of Forgiveness – making a conscious decision/act to forgive others who may have upset or wronged us.

We will be helping the children learn about compassion through imagining what it might be like in someone else’s position and thinking about what we might be able to do in support of this.   With forgiveness, we will explore times when we have forgiven others and how this made us, and the other person, feel.

You may wish to help your child think about compassion when you share stories or experiences; you could discuss the actions of the characters, what led them to behave in a certain way, how they may have affected others, how it might have made them feel and how they might do things differently. You may wish to think of people in need of friend and put things in place to help and support them.   When thinking about forgiveness, you may want to talk about how you reach a decision to forgive someone and how you can put forgiveness into action.