25-8-15

Dear Parents, Caregivers and Friends of St Mary’s School,

One of our five core Mercy values is compassion.

So what does it actually mean? Here are some definitions.

Compassion:

a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by

misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.

concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others.

 literally means “to suffer together.” It is defined as the feeling that arises when you are confronted with another's suffering and feel motivated to relieve that suffering.

Sadness for and a desire to help someone

I see some children show a high level of compassion even as young as five, but I also see others not aware of how to help those around them.

Sometimes it is easy to feel sadness or sorrow for someone who is suffering but to be compassionate is to do something to help that person.

One of the hardest things to do as a child or adult is to support those who need help in a situation where you have to confront someone else. To do that, one puts themselves at risk but that is the true meaning of being compassionate.

Please talk to your children about how to go about helping others, it might be as simple as telling someone else the problem, telling someone to stop, or helping someone walk away from a situation.

Have a good week.

Lindsay Stevens

(Acting Principal)