Competence is a Byproduct of Confidence  

- By Adrianne Finley Odell

Tonight Roycemore will be hosting author, Michael Delman, as he shares with our community thoughts from his book “Your Kid’s Gonna Be Okay: A Guide to Raising Competent and Confident Kids.” In his book, (available for purchase) Delman writes about the importance of executive function skills and how parents and teachers can help cultivate them in children. He describes executive function skills as “Certain mental processes (that) are imperative to managing ourselves and overcoming obstacles to achieve our goals.” These include:

• Controlling impulses and regulating our emotional state

• Starting tasks that we must do, even when we don’t want to

• Directing our attention effectively

• Setting priorities

• Planning tasks and managing time limits

• Organizing materials and ideas

• Thinking flexibly

• Assessing our progress and changing tactics as needed

In reviewing this list, we can all probably agree that we aren’t 100% effective in implementing these processes.  It takes focus and commitment to chip away at these skills even as adults, much less as adolescents. The prefrontal cortex of our brain is key to executive functioning and most researchers agree that that part of our brain may not be fully developed until we are thirty years old.  Our children have the best chance of developing these skills if we give them opportunities to work at them. They need our support to know that we don’t expect them to be perfect, in fact, we too are working on these skills throughout our adult lives. Praising effort, as researcher Carol Dweck suggests, promotes a growth mindset that is a critical aspect in honing executive functioning.  When, as parents or teachers, we step in and problem solve for children rather than letting them do some of the difficult work they need to do to come to their own conclusions--even if they are proven wrong later--we rob our children of important growth opportunities that are needed to learn.

Competence is gained when we have opportunities to work through sometimes challenging problems or difficulties and learn from what goes well and what doesn’t.  Competence is often developed just as much through failure as it is through success. It certainly helps to know that you are surrounded by people who love and believe in you and your journey, but the deepest learning occurs when one can come to his or her own conclusions.  As we become more and more competent, often through a lot of hard work, we gain important confidence that allows us to grow even more.

We hope you will join us tonight to hear about a variety of strategies that can be used to help children develop competence and confidence.  As Michael Delman writes, “Sometimes because of the stress of parenting, we forget that it doesn’t help to constantly worry about our children.”  They are going to be okay, and we can learn ways to better support them as they grow and develop.

- Tuesday, May 7th - Michael Delman Presentation on Executive Functioning Skills, 7:00-9:00pm at Roycemore School
- Wednesday, May 8th - FAN Talk: Lisa Damour "Confronting Stress and Anxiety in Youth", 7:00pm at New Trier High School, Winnetka Campus
- Thursday, May 9th - Free Yoga at Roycemore, 5:00pm (All Ages Welcome)
- Thursday, May 9th - Boys Intramural Volleyball and Senior Night, 5:00pm
- Friday, May 10th - Lower School Sleep Under, 5:30-7:30pm (For Parents and Children)
- Monday, May 13th - May 17th - Lower School Spirit Week
- Thursday, May 16th - Free Yoga at Roycemore, 5:00pm (All Ages Welcome)
- Friday May 17th - Middle School Dance, 7:00pm
- Saturday, May 18th - Young Evanston Artists, 10:00am - 3:00pm
- Monday, May 20th, Early Childhood Spring Sing, 9:00-10:00am
- Tuesday, May 21st, Admissions Morning, 8:30-10:00am

TONIGHT!
Roycemore Family Association (RFA) is proud to host Massachusetts Distinguished Educator, Michael Delman, for a free parent presentation about Executive Functioning.  

Your Kid's Gonna Be Okay
How to Build Executive Function Skills: Your Guide to Raising Confident and Competent Kids
Tuesday, May 7
7:00 p.m.
At Roycemore School (1200 Davis Street)

As parents, we're sometimes filled with dread that our kids might not make it in the world. We are now in the Age of Attention, where the key skills are the ability to choose priorities, stay focused and get things done amidst an infinity of distractions. These skills are known as Executive Function skills-- the self management abilities that children must learn in order to be motivated, productive and confident. Lifelong educator and expert in Executive Function intervention, Michael Delman, teaches parents how to equip their children with the skills they need today and for the future. Click the flyer below to read more about this event.

Teacher Appreciation Week is May 6th-10th. The Roycemore Family Association (RFA) has been hard at work planning special activites and treats for the Roycemore faculty. See the details below and find out how students can also show their appreciation to our amazing faculty.     

• Monday, May 6th
  RFA Sponsored - Smoothie Day 
  Students - Hug Day: Give a teacher a hug.

• Tuesday, May 7th
  RFA Sponsored - Crepes Day
  Students - Note Day: Write a note to a teacher.

• Wednesday, May 8th
  RFA Sponsored - Massage Day
  Students - Flower Day: Bring your teacher a flower. 

• Thursday, May 9th
  RFA Sponsored - Cupitol Day
  Students -  Joke Day: Tell your teacher a joke.

• Friday, May 10th
  RFA Sponsored - Roll Day
  Students - Best Behavior Day 

We are proud to introduce #WeAreRoycemore!

Everyone who attended our Scholarship Dinner and Auction got to see a sneak peak of the beautiful pictures taken by Lisa Gottschalk Photography of our wonderful Roycemore students. Special thanks to Lisa who donated her time and tallent to the project. Families will be notified via email this week on how to view and order pictures. All proceeds from #WeAreRoycemore will be donated to the Griffin Fund.  

Congratulations to all the 1-4th graders who participated in this year's Lower School Musical!  We had 101 Dalmatians on stage and the young actors demonstrated grace and confidence as they performed beautifully in front of a large audience of parents and friends.  We could not have been more proud of their performance!  An extra thank you goes to our amazing music teacher, Julie Herrick, for all her work putting together this charming production.

The Media Center has posted the May Books of the Month as chosen by Librarian, Karrie Fisher. Click HERE to check out the Media Center's website and get more recommendations.

• Early Childhood
  Do Not Lick This Book by Idan Ben-Barak and Julian Frost

• Lower School
  Sugar by Jewell Parker Rhodes

• Middle School
  Refugee by Alan Gratz 

• Upper School
  I Am Not Your Pefect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sanchez 

Final Admissions Morning for the School Year

Do you have a friend who keeps asking about Roycemore? Or a neighbor who's intrigued about the school where you send your children? Let them know that our last Admissions Morning of the year is coming up!  This is a great way to see the campus and talk to faculty and students about what makes Roycemore unique.  

Final Admissions Morning
Tuesday, May 21st
8:30-10:00am 

Lower School Spirit Week is May 13th - 17th.  All students in Grades 1-4 are encouraged to participate!

Monday, May 13th: PJ Day

Tuesday, May 14th: Crazy Hat/Hair Day

Wednesday, May 15th: Favorite Color

Thursday, May 16th: Fan Day (favorite sport/team or tv show)

Friday, May 17th: Blue and Gold Day

Roycemore is proud to sponsor this free Family Action Network taking place this Wednesday.

Under Pressure: Confronting the Epidemic of Stress and Anxiety in Youth
Wednesday, May 8, 2019, 7:00 PM
New Trier High School, Winnetka Campus, Gaffney Auditorium
385 Winnetka Ave., Winnetka, IL 60093

Lisa Damour is a Psychologist, teacher, speaker, and consultant. She is the writer of the monthly "Adolescence" column for the "Well Family" section of the New York Times, and regular contributor at CBS News.  She is also the bestselling author of Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through the Seven Transitions to Adulthood and the brand-new Under Pressure: Confronting the Epidemic of Stress and Anxiety in Girls.

Roycemore Second Graders did a unit recently all about the Rain Forest. They conducted online research and utilized the school library to find facts about the current state of the world's Rain Forests. They also took a trip to Whole Foods and used the app, ActionBound, to find Rainforest Alliance certified products. Then, the students made posters using Adobe Spark to help share some of the compelling facts they uncovered during the course of their study.

Roycemore School was started on the campus of Northwestern Unversity and we are proud of the strong relationship we have maintained with the University over the years.  They are a great resource for our community and we encourage you to check out upcoming NU Public Events as well as upcoming NU Diversity and Inclusion Events.

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