Pastoral Care and Wellbeing News

Welcome Back!

It has been absolutely fantastic to welcome everyone back on-site this week! Thank you for your wonderful efforts in adapting back to on-site learning. 

A couple of reminders:

• Please remember your masks.
• Please remember your hats and ensure you have it with you at all times during Term 4 so it is available when you are open spaces.
• Bring your water bottle.
• Familiarise yourself with our SWPBS Matrix to continue our positive behaviours to enhance everyone’s experience and ensure we get the most out of all opportunities.

Mental Health Week

October 10-17 is World Mental Health Week. Mental health and wellbeing is ever increasingly discussed in our society through forums including media, workplaces, schools, sporting clubs and personal interest groups just to name a few. Whilst significant steps have been taken to break down barriers and provide education and support, there is still a long way to go. It seems that we are presented with new challenges on a regular basis.

Whilst The World Health Organisation suggests “one in four people in the world will be affected by mental or neurological disorders at some point in their lives,” statistics in Australia indicate that number could be closer to half. Beyond Blue statistics indicate half of all the mental health conditions we experience at some point in our lives will have started by age 14 and over 75% of mental health problems occur before the age of 25. Sadly, suicide continues to be the biggest killer of young Australians (15 to 24 years of age).

School counsellors would likely agree that we are seemingly facing higher than ever incidents of non-acute and enduring mental health concerns such as anxiety. St. Joseph’s is committed to building resilient young people, acting with strength and kindliness in the Gospel tradition.  A positive culture of Gratitude, Mindfulness and Empathy is encouraged and advanced through many facets of the school environment.

The Pastoral Care and Welfare teams support students through the many challenges that today’s society can present. Just some of the support initiatives implemented include:

·  The delivery of wellbeing and personal development programs.

·  Individual intervention.

·  Development and discerning communication of individual support plans.

·  Liaising with and referring to external organisations.

·  Communicating avenues for student support to staff, students and families.

·  Providing a safe and inclusive environment for all students.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact the Pastoral Support team at St. Joseph’s College on wellbeing@sje.vic.edu.au or access supports listed below:

Lifeline: 13 11 14

Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636

Tips for Parents in getting their young people back to school

If you think going back to school is OK, so will your child.

Back-to-school usually means falling into a familiar routine, but now they return with many changes in place. If your child is nervous about returning, communicate with calm words and actions that “It is safe”. This will significantly increase their chances of a smooth transition. Prepare your child with as much predictable information as possible. Reassure them that it’s OK if they forget the odd COVID regime rule, it takes time to learn anything new.

Pin down what you can predict, accept what you can’t

Consistency and structure create a sense of safety for young people. Create predictability where possible by reminding children of those guaranteed components of a school day, or in-house by having a regular family mealtime. Maintain kind but firm boundaries, particularly around sleep and technology. We don’t have all of the answers, and that’s okay – be honest about this. Always answer questions honestly or you risk losing their trust and the world will feel more uncertain for them.

Support your child to face their worries

Periods of separation can make us anxious. Some children are worried about returning to school as a result of news headlines, hearing other people’s concerns or due to perceived changes among friendship groups. As parents, our job is to help them tolerate anxiety and hold the bigger picture. Modelling a calm, pragmatic attitude assists in decreasing their anxiety levels. If your child is hesitant about returning, find out why. Make a worry list, in size order (it’s often a revelation as major worries for them may seem insignificant to you). Avoidance is never a helpful response when anxiety is in the mix. The thought of something is often more worrying than doing it, so support your child calmly, kindly and firmly back to school using a step-by-step plan. Reward achieving the first steps as these are most challenging.

Young brains learn best when they feel calm

On the other hand, at the top of many parent worry list is the concern that their child has fallen behind at school. For students who are ready to get back to learning, parental enthusiasm is important. Others may not be ready yet and for them, too much academic pressure will backfire. We know the brain needs to feel calm before it can learn effectively, so a child’s wellbeing needs to be the priority for parents and teachers and then successful attainment will follow. Now more than ever, kindness and connection will see us through.

Friendship groups are likely to have shifted

School is as much about relationships as schoolwork, so there may be nervousness when children think about their position in class or small friendship groups. Talk about shifts in friendships as a given, this will help them adapt and be open to change, which is conducive to relationship building. At the same time, you may need to set up some supports to ease socially cautious children back into things, such as organising events with classmates.

Tailor support to your child’s communication style

Some children talk freely while others are vague about their school day. However anxious you are to find out how it went, keep it low-key with quiet kids. Give them space after school and then talk about your day - it gives a message that you are ready to talk when they are. Other children might talk a lot about worries and need help containing them so that they don’t spiral. Persistent reassurance (“You’ll be fine”) is more likely to increase anxiety in those already anxious, as it doesn’t address their existing concerns. Instead, calmly assist them to problem solve different scenario’s (“What could you do if that did happen?” “How likely do you think that is?”) and build their skills in tolerating uncertainty. 

Listen, reflect and (this is the hard part) sit with it

Whatever your child’s communication style, the advice is similar: listen first (it’s hard) and rephrase what they said, then they know they have been heard. This sounding board means children can figure out their thoughts and feelings. Simply listening and accepting is enormously healing.

Empathise with emotions, then problem solve

Expect emotions in the new Term and lots of them: excitement, anxiety, sadness, possibly anger at their loss. Younger kids might need help naming emotions. Don’t be tempted to try to “fix” difficult emotions; rather come alongside them and empathise. Then, and only then, move to problem solving. If your child sobs, wanting their old school back, empathise first, we all want our old life back. Recognise this is tough but they will get through it, likely stronger and wiser. We all will.

Adapted from: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/aug/28/how-parents-can-prepare-their-children-for-going-back-to-school

If your student is feeling overwhelmed or has questions or concerns, please contact their Learning Mentor, House Leader or a member of the Wellbeing Team.