Reflection and Prayer
On Tuesday 19 May our Year 4 boys attended the IPSHA Ecumenical Service at St Mary's Anglican Girls' School. The service gathered together 500 boys and girls from 30 independent junior schools from around WA. The theme of the service was 'prayer and how, why and when we can pray'.
Through the IB we take time to reflect (to thoughtfully consider the world and our own ideas and experiences). We reflect on our impact on our own learning, on our actions and how we impact others in both a positive and negative manner. We reflect on the responsibility we have for what we learn, what we do and how we treat others and the planet. Reflection is a key skill that helps us to become better students and people. Without reflection we would find it very difficult to develop a moral compass or a passion.
We include prayer as part of the reflection process. We will reflect on what matters to us most, on the people we encounter, the people we love and on the world around us. We will reflect on our blessings and our needs. We ask for help and guidance for others and us. Prayer, for many, is an important part of connecting with God, if only to say thank you.
As part of our curriculum, we explore our Christian faith and what that truly means. We ask the boys to pray for those less fortunate than themselves and to say thank you for the people who love them and for what they have been given. The five-finger prayer is a nice simple way to structure a prayer. Each finger represents one point we should include in a personal prayer to God.
So a five -finger prayer might read like this:
Dear God our Father
Thank you for my family and children and ask You to watch over them and to assist them in the difficulty they are facing.
Dear God, give guidance to our teachers and give them wisdom to point others in the right direction,
Please assist our political leaders to make decisions that helps all people.
Please help those who are sick and give them strength.
And God, help me to be a good person and to be kinder to others.
Amen
In our Junior School, we reflect on how blessed we are to attend and work in a school community such as Scotch. We use prayer to thank God for our blessings. We have a Junior School Prayer that asks God to help us each to appreciate and contribute to our wonderful school.
Junior School Prayer
This is our School, may we all live here happily together.
May our School be full of joy.
May love dwell here among us every day.
Love of one another. Love of all people everywhere.
Love of life itself and love of God.
Let us remember that as many hands build a house
so every boy can make this School a lovely place.
How we choose to reflect or pray is an individual matter. Reflecting allows us to take stock in what we have and to appreciate it or say thank you. Reflecting allows us to see where we are and to consider what we need to do to move on. For us as a School, we reflect on our learning and are always looking to be better students and to be more effective people.
Mr John Stewart
Head of Junior School
