Wellbeing

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Parent Support Group Meetings

A Program Support Group (PSG) meeting brings together key people to support the inclusion of your child from the time of enrolment and throughout their time in primary school. 

Sometimes Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic School (MACS) personnel or other specialists, for example, Speech Pathologists, Psychologists, Occupational Therapists may be invited to attend a PSG.  We ask for your understanding in adhering to the allocated dates each term, as we invest in releasing the appropriate staff.  As you can see, these meetings are very important and involve the coordination of a number of staff and a substantial financial and time commitment in order to personalise the learning for your child.

Australian Dental Health Victoria

We have the Australian Dental Health Victoria Van 

visiting OLA on the16th -18th March.

Australian Dental Health Victoria (ADHV)  is an Independent Initiative providing all school students dental treatment beyond the Medicare eligibility criteria, meaning all students are able to participate. ADHV is an independent, stand-alone company that can see both non-eligible children alongside those who are eligible. The organisation runs on its own accord to ensure all children across the board are receiving vital treatment. This is different from the company we used last year in 2021. 

Permission forms were sent home with your child; if you would like your child to attend the Dental Van please return the completed forms to the office.  Thank you. 

Swell Term 2022

At OLA we begin the school year with a SWELL term. A SWELL (Student Wellbeing Engagement and Love for Learning) term focuses on the wellbeing of our students by providing opportunities for students to transition back into school, develop new friendships and engage in learning activities while feeling happy, safe and secure. Some opportunities include:

• visit from St. John’s Ambulance 
• visit from Australian Dental Van Victoria
• get to know you activities and games
• opening of the school year mass
• family picnic and welcome evening.

The Learning Curve

As you may have already seen we have new student planners from The Learning Curve. They include our school information, gratitude journal, diary and a reading log.  Students will use this alongside The Learning Curve Wellbeing program which includes lessons and tips for positive education. 

Developing Skills and Competencies

Positive Education involves intentionally and explicitly teaching young people how to develop the skills and competencies to grow their brain’s abilities, called the cognitive domain while at the same time teaching them how to acquire the skills of social-emotional resilience, called the non-cognitive domain so that they can live a fulfilling and meaningful life.

Positive Emotions + Gratitude

Being in charge of your emotions through your strengths. Developing the aspects of emotional literacy and making a positive difference using your signature character strengths.

Engagement + Mindfulness

Connecting mindfully with yourself and the present moment. Developing the capacity to pay attention to what you need to pay attention to.

Relationships + Empathy

Showing others matter by doing good to feel good, feeling good to do good and being respectful. Looking to the future with optimism and hope.

Meaning + Purpose

Being passionate about something larger than yourself, doing the right thing and doing the thing right to make a positive difference in your world.

Accomplishment + Optimism

Adopting growth mindsets to deliberately practise more difficult approaches to grow your brain’s abilities so that you can achieve what you set out to do.

Health + Strengths

Having a healthy body and healthy mind by being regularly active, eating fresh whole foods and looking for what’s good in your life.

Teachers & students  play games and activities that are designed to develop students’ sense of belonging to the class from day one of the school year. Teachers will continue to focus on the Make Jesus Real Daily Positive Happenings ‘Manners Monday, Thanking Tuesday, Winking Wednesday, Thumbs up Thursday and High Five Friday’. 

What can you do to help?

1. Encourage your child to talk to classmates they don’t know very well and share something about themselves.  They might share something in common or find out something really cool about one of their classmates.
2. Encourage your child to greet their classmates in appropriate ways.  For example, saying hello, waving, smiling etc:  Positive greetings acknowledge, affirm and continue friendships.
3. Affirm your child when using good manners at home.
4. Encourage them to comment on what other students are doing well rather than pointing out what others did badly.

Josy Reeder

Learning Diversity/Wellbeing Leader