Category: News

The masks we wear…

We wear masks for many reasons, good and bad. We wear them to hide our identity, to become someone else for a little while. We wear them to have fun and play out our wildest fantasies of being a princess, a prince, a villain or even a monster.

The reality is, we all wear masks daily. We are one person at home, another person at school and yet another person around our family and friends. Do we even remember who the person behind the mask is?

Technology has also become another mask we use to hide behind, to protect ourselves and sometimes to impress others. We post happy pictures of our families and ourselves on Facebook/Instagram to give the illusion that all is perfect in our lives; when in fact many of the people who post these photos are actually suffering terribly, whether emotionally, physically or financially.

Still, the mask goes up and we portray happy… happy… smiling… smiling. We barely look up and notice others around us, eventually forgetting they even exist. Lift your head, notice what is right in front of you, another person in need of a smile, a beautiful tree with changing leaves, the sky, a new-born baby yawning… Life is not to be missed – it passes too quickly before us, pay attention! [more]

Have you ever made a mistake in your life? Have you ever felt like a failure?

Well then, join the club!

There are many famous, successful people, who became famous and even rich, after making several mistakes.

Here are just a few examples:

J K Rowling, the well-known author of the Harry Potter books. She says:
“I had failed on an epic scale. An exceptionally short-lived marriage had imploded, and I was jobless, a single parent, and as poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain” Because she realised that she will have to provide for her children, she didn’t allow herself to dwell in her failure. She lifted her head, started writing and today her nett worth is estimated at an astounding $1 billion. [read more]

This week the learners were encouraged to be more courageous. Sometimes there are things that we are afraid of or things we don’t believe we can achieve, this is the time to be courageous and take a leap of faith. Courage isn’t always a roar, sometimes it’s a little voice inside of us saying ‘try again tomorrow’. [read more]

In Assembly this week, Miss Rossouw spoke to us about the importance of showing kindness. We can display kindness through a small acts towards our schoolmates like sharing our lunch with someone who doesn’t have or giving a compliment to someone not having a great day. We want to encourage our learners to display kindness at school as great things can come from it. [read more]

The power of positive thinking

Robert Collier said that there is nothing on earth that you cannot have once you have mentally accepted the fact that you can have it. It is widely believed that achievement starts with the vision of success. What you are today and what you will achieve tomorrow depends a lot on your mental readiness to claim your future.

Your mind is your most powerful tool. Your thoughts are the starting point to what will most likely happen to you. The words that you speak compliment your thoughts. The most harmful believes that you have are your self - limiting believes. Accepting mediocre achievements will hold you back from the future you deserve. Words are like seeds. When you speak something out you give life to what you are saying. Your life will move in the direction of your words. Positive words will move your life in a positive direction. So too will negative words.

When you plant lemon seeds you will get lemons. You cannot plant a cactus and expect to get oranges. Your thoughts together with your effort will give you the outcome you deserve.

Soon, the matric class of 2019 will begin their Trial Exams. Positive thinking and hard work will result in you being successful. Remember that attitude determines altitude.

Mr Ortell

[read more]

This week in assembly, Mrs Menton and the Grade 5 class taught us about having ‘self-control.’ They introduced this by creating an awesome rap and performance to show the learners.

Children with self-control have more success with their peers because they are able to resist peer pressure and solve problems successfully.

We encouraged the learners, when in a situation the best thing to do is firstly take deep breaths and secondly think about happy thoughts. [read more]

We all remember the Golden Rule? “Treat others the way you want to be treated.”

This saying goes far beyond simply being kind to people, or going out of your way to help those in need. It's really more about adjusting your views and attitudes.

Instead of just: treating others the way you would want to be treated, thinking about others the way you would want to be thought of, feeling about others the way you would want others to feel about you and speaking to others the way you would want to be spoken to or spoken of, you need to adjust your views and your attitude.

You should focus less on punishing those who cross you and rather guide them into a better frame of mind. Teach them not only the error of their ways, but the error in their thinking. This is not about been condescending, or trying to convert anyone, but a way to understand how we get from thoughts to actions.

If someone believes he/she is doing the right thing by trying to control another person, or becomes invasive in a person’s life, first we need to try and understand how that person thinks his actions will get him the desired result.

Then we can help him evaluate the consequences and perhaps steer him towards choosing a better way to achieve his goals. [read more]

It is said that success occurs when preparation meets opportunity. These opportunities will present themselves from time to time, but how are you treating yourself during the preparation phase? Are you giving yourself credit for the work and the energy that it takes to become more successful? This – being good to yourself, treating yourself with kindness and celebrating each step that you take forward – this is all part of the preparation and the ultimate success.

Simply having the determination to pursue your happiness, your goals and your dreams is a huge success in itself! It takes an incredible amount of courage to wake up every morning and to keep moving forward and motivating yourself to work towards the life that you have always imagined having. Please bear in mind that success is not the same for all people, so feeling successful has everything to do with how you define success. Is it about having more? More money, more recognition, more material items? Do you define your success by other people’s standards or opinions? [read more]

This week in assembly, Mrs Boake and the Grade 4 class taught us something about honesty. Here at Riverside College we want our learners to take responsibility for their actions. They should remember to always tell the truth, otherwise they might just make the problem bigger. As the saying goes ‘honesty is the best policy’. Let’s try our best to make this a good habit to live by. [read more]

This week in assembly we discussed the value of responsibility. We stressed how important it is for everyone to take responsibility for their words and their actions. Our children are still navigating their world and so they need good role models to guide them in the right direction.

It all starts with being able to take responsibility of everything that we do, regardless of the consequences. Being responsible as parents and teaching our children how to be responsible for all things will pave the way for a successful and rewarding future for them all. [read more]