Wellbeing

GEM CHAT

A GEM Chat consists of 2-5 minute activities/conversations that you can have individually or as a whole family, at different points throughout the day (whenever works best for you). Each newsletter will provide a different chat prompt. Please see below this week's chat: 

Gratitude - DIS

As a staff we have been practising Gratitude. Martin and Hugh from The Resilience Project explain Gratitude to the students using the term 'DIS' meaning 'This Right Here' is what I am super grateful for/lucky to have. We hope you enjoy checking out some of our DIS moments:

The Imperfects Podcast 

Perfectly imperfect

Teaming up with one of Australia’s most successful comedians, Ryan Shelton, and his very talented brother Josh van Cuylenburg, Hugh has put together a podcast which is all about how perfectly imperfect we all are. Constantly comparing ourselves to others can not only be exhausting, but extremely harmful. However, when we share our struggles, we start to realise that everyone, no matter how successful, has something they are battling with.

In this podcast, Hugh, Josh and Ryan chat to a variety of interesting people who bravely share their struggles and imperfections, and we all learn some valuable take-aways we can apply to our own imperfect lives.

The Imperfects has three different formats: an interview, the Vulnerabili(tea) House, and, the Academy of Imperfection.

Link - https://theresilienceproject.com.au/at-home/podcasts/

PBIS 

As part of PBIS at St Patrick’s Primary School we focus on a Blitz every fortnight. The fortnightly Blitz is introduced by our PBIS student leaders at our school assemblies. Teachers and PBIS student leaders keep an eye out for students that are demonstrating this behaviour and they can get a token to go in their class letterbox. 

Our Current Blitz is: 

ATTENDANCE 

WELLBEING

Link to article - https://theresilienceproject.com.au/at-home/wellbeing-hub/the-benefits-of-showing-kindness/

The Benefits Of Showing Kindness

For some people, the world can sometimes be a difficult or overwhelming place to navigate. Everyone has their own challenges, however there’s one thing which can universally brighten people’s day; kindness. It might seem small, but a simple act of kindness can be so powerful and make a huge difference in someone’s life. In fact, research shows being kind/showing empathy not only benefits the receiver, but it also positively impacts the mental and physical health of the one giving it.

When we are being empathetic and showing kindness, we release a hormone called oxytocin. Oxytocin can improve your mood, reduce stress levels, boost your self-esteem and confidence, and in turn help you create positive relationships with others. Our favourite thing about kindness is it’s contagious; when you do nice things for others, you create a ripple effect which can spread and inspire others to be kind as well. A kinder, more compassionate community sounds pretty great to us.

Kindness is not solely about big gestures. It’s being considerate and making other people feel good, and can be as small as smiling at someone, giving a compliment or holding the door open. Any act of kindness can have a big impact, and sometimes, it’s the difference between a bad day and a good one for someone who is struggling.

Take a moment to think about if you have any classmates or friends who could benefit from some care and kindness.

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If you’re thinking of more people you could show empathy towards, one of our special guests on The Imperfects podcast, Nedd Brockmann, thinks the homeless could really benefit from more empathy/kindness. Homelessness is a complex issue that affects over 100,000 people in Australia* for a multitude of different factors. If you are applying an empathy lens here, how might that look? Could we put ourselves in their shoes and really consider their situation and struggles? Could we withhold judgement? Could we explore other initiatives or avenues to help support homeless people?

We hope you see the importance and amazing benefits of empathy/kindness, and you remember it not only improves the lives of others but also makes a great impact on your own wellbeing. Now with all of that in mind, we’d like you to participate in our…

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RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS CHALLENGE

For the next week, the team at TRP challenges you to do one kind thing each day. Again, it can be as simple as complimenting a friend, offering to help someone with their homework or even sending a thank you note to a teacher or family member. Get creative, and think of ways you can show kindness to the people around you to make their day.

As a school we will be participating in the challenge and sharing our kind acts, and we’d love to hear about what kind things you get up to! Please feel free to share yours with us by emailing Steph with the subject line, KINDNESS CHALLENGE, at shayes@sptongala.catholic.edu.au