Wellbeing

Well-being at GGLPS

It is essential that all students in the school feel safe and know that they belong to a supportive and caring environment. Well-being in a broad sense to us incorporates behaviour management, programs to support students socially and emotionally and the development of strategies to act responsibly and aid learning. You are encouraged to discuss these ideas and strategies with your children to reinforce what is happening at school.

It's okay to fail!

It’s ok to fail and yes, we want you to fail.

This seems like an odd thing to say, but if you were at the Parent Information Night you would remember that I spoke about failing. Part of learning to grow mentally and have good mental health is that our children need to learn to have resilience. This means that at times they need challenges and as hard as it can be, they need failures. 

What our children need are challenges to learn how to overcome these. As our children grow older, we want them to have the strategies to deal with these. This will only come about by learning how to deal with challenges when they were younger. For each child there will be different needs, challenges and strategies required to become successful.

As teachers, we certainly work with our students on these. For many, it is a new concept, so we look at finding a balance so that each of our students understands this and is supported according to the level of understanding that they are at.

As parents, it is important that you continue to support your child and encourage them to be resilient. One way you can do this is by helping your child with strategies when challenges occur. They need guidance and advice, but they also need to have the opportunity to think for themselves.

Neuro brain research has shown that making mistakes helps the brain grow. This is evident in the subject of maths. Jo Bolar is a Stanford University Maths professor and many teachers here at GGLPS have used a lot of her advice and strategies over the past few years. A year ago, she was asked some questions.

Why is it important to struggle and make mistakes?

The best times for learning are when you’re struggling and finding things difficult; that’s when your brain is on fire with activity. I think it’s really important to share the value of struggle with students. When I teach, I say to students, 'I want you to struggle, because that’s really good for you.' I think it’s freeing for students when they know that’s a goal. And I think you should keep sharing that, reinforce it during every lesson.

What’s your greatest piece of advice for early math educators?

My biggest piece of advice is to really spend time trying to change kids’ mindsets and ideas about themselves, because that will pay huge dividends. If you encourage struggle, if you remind kids that they can learn anything, we now know there are no limits to what people can learn.

There is certainly some great advice in the above answers. I wish you every blessing as you support your child through the times they do fail. Be supportive and encouraging and help them realise that it’s ok to make mistakes because if they don’t know how to deal with them now, it becomes so much harder later in life.

Tim Kriewaldt

Deputy Principal