St Mark Blog

Parents,

We are entering into the last few days of the first nine weeks of school. Next Wednesday is the last day of
the nine weeks and we will have fall break on Thursday and Friday of next week. As we prepare for the
end of the first grading period, we do so knowing that we have had many successes and a few setbacks
along the way. While the report card will give you a visual feel for how your child is doing in school, I
suggest you look further than the report card to get a broader picture of their growth.

Take one hour and set it aside for each of your children over fall break and just listen to your child. Make
sure you silence your cell phone, turn off the TV, get away from your Facebook and just sit down and
have a conversation with each of your children individually. While it seems easy, it can be a daunting
task. Start small and then be a great listener. Let them talk; let them have the floor, just listen.
And when they feel ready, they will ask you questions. Questions that seem silly, or that they already
know the answer to, are important to your conversation. Questions about faith, love, jobs, friends, music,
books, relationships, sports, and for some, even the weather are all possibilities. And when you feel that
the time is right, ask them “How is your relationship with God?” They may get quiet, they may not know
the answer, they may say “Boy the weather is great!” but be persistent and be ready for them to ask YOU
how your relationship with God is.

Know how your child communicates with others. He may be four or she may be 13 years old, but you
should know how they communicate with others. Verbal, non-verbal, texting, Facebook, Twitter, phone
calls, writing letters and other forms of communication I am not hip to, are all possibilities. Sit down
with your child and just do a little talking and a lot of listening. If you think you don’t have anything to
talk to your children about, you have not tried very hard. If you think your child does not want to talk to
you, you are wrong, they crave a conversation with you, but they want to talk and have you listen.
Whether you have one child or many, each one is different, each one has varying needs and each one will
have a totally different one hour conversation with you. You will learn much about your child and
yourself. I can tell you from experience, you will start to seem much more intelligent to your children as
they get older! So get out your iPhone, your Blackberry, your calendar and set a date with your child for
one hour to talk and to listen. You may find that it becomes a “recurring” event on your Outlook
calendar! Have a great weekend, buy some mums and pumpkins from the 8th graders today and we will
see you at Mass this weekend.

Thanks and God Bless,
Rusty Albertson
Principal
St. Mark Catholic School
October 14, 2011
ST MARK CATHOLIC SCHOOL…..FAITH IN EVERY CHILD
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