STUDENT WELLBEING

WELLBEING

Last week at Assembly the Year Five students presented around the topic of ‘Safety’ for their Positive Behaviours Strategy display. There are many things we do daily to keep us safe, such as putting on our seatbelts when we travel in buses and crossing the road with our children at the pedestrian crossing. As part of PBS we explicitly teach these behaviours to our students and as adults and parents we model these correct behaviours.

How we respectfully speak to each other also keeps one another safe. Students have been studying the Respectful Relationships ‘Emotional Literacy’ unit of work. They have been learning about the influence that people, situations and events have on their emotions and forming an understanding of how to interact positively with others in different situations.  This is a challenge because sometimes we all encounter situations and interactions with others, where perhaps we don’t feel safe.

What does this feel like? This feeling of uneasiness is one I am sure we have all felt at some point in our lives. It takes learning and practice to stop ourselves; to breathe and remind ourselves that everything will be okay.  We need to find that balance and harmony between our experience of safety in our outer world and our inner world.

I recently heard the phrase of ‘The Lawnmower Parent’, one who tries to mow everything down in order for their child/ren to experience a smooth ride through life. Unfortunately by doing this we are not allowing them to experience the ever bumpy ride, which is life. What we can do is set them up with the necessary tools that will help them to navigate this ever changing, complex society in which we live.

Kind regards,

Guy Toomey

Student Wellbeing Leader