Wellbeing
Respectful Relationships and Berry Street Program
Sacred Heart a Lighthouse Respectful Relationships School
This term in out students at Sacred Heart have been working on Respectful Relationships, Term 1 has been primarily dedicated to fostering Emotional Literacy, Personal Strengths and Positive Coping which a cornerstone of the Berry Street Model which we proudly run at Sacred Heart Primary and which we know has significantly impacted our students' development and interactions. Through various activities aligned with this , such as emotion identification exercises, mindfulness practices, and reflective discussions, students have deepened their understanding of their own emotions and those of others around them.
It was amazing to spend some time with our grade 2 students on Monday morning during their welcome and they were discussing having empathy for other students and people in your life. Great Job year 2 students and Miss Donnelly on having such wonderful discussions.
Next term the topics each class will teach will be
| Prep | Topic 3: Positive coping Topic 4: Problem solving |
|---|---|
| Year 1 | Topic 4: Problem solving Topic 5: Stress management |
| Year 2 | Topic 4: Problem solving
|
| Year 3 | Topic 3: Positive coping |
| Year 4 | Topic 4: Problem-solving |
| Year 5 | Topic 4: Problem-solving |
| Year 6 | Topic 6: Help-seeking |
Unpacking Emotions with your child
Teaching students the emotion of Empathy
You may have heard the saying,
“Before you criticise or judge someone, walk a mile in their shoes.”
This quote is all about empathy. Empathy is the ability to be aware of the feelings of others and imagine what it might be like to be in their position (or in their shoes).
Empathy is a key ingredient in positive friendships and relationships and a really important step in their development as a human. It reduces conflict and misunderstandings and leads to helping behaviour, kindness, and even greater success in life in general.
And like any skill, empathy can be taught and developed in children. Because cognitive abilities and life experiences develop over time, the most effective strategies to use depend on the child’s age. At Sacred Heart our students have fantastic access to many different ways to teach our students empathy with one of the key ways is the work Mr Blake has done with teaching our staff to recontextualised our bible stories and scriptures reading to issues happening in the world.
Simon Brown - Wellbeing Leader