Year 1 Wellbeing Incursion - Perky Panda

This Thursday the year ones got to meet our new friend Perky Panda! Perky is from a book written by Maria La Selva that addresses wellbeing in our younger students. During the incursion we learnt about our emotions, how we can help others and the importance of asking each other “are you okay?” ‘how can I help?”. This was a great way to help reinforce among our young learners the importance of empathy, that it's okay to feel the big emotions we feel and that talking to others about our issues can really help us feel better. Students also got to learn some self regulation techniques including a breathing technique called ‘breathing rainbows’ that can help us manage our emotions, and why having an illustrator is important (although my stick figures may disagree!).

Mr Riley 1C

On Thursday, the Grade 1 cohort enjoyed a special reading of "Perky Panda Asks Are You Okay?" by former teacher and author Maria Le Selva. Maria's story delved into themes of kindness, resilience, and persistence, aligning perfectly with our Respectful Relationships Wellbeing Curriculum. During the reading, students practised recognising character emotions and asking supportive questions like, "Are you okay?" and "How can I help you?" Maria also shared her journey to becoming an author and her inspiration for creating characters that help children learn valuable lessons. Following this, the students brainstormed people in their lives who inspire them.

Miss Barber 1A

Here are some comments from the students:

"One afternoon all of the grade ones came to the hall to watch a show, it was fun!!" Jayda B

"I was excited to go to the incursion called Perky Panda. Perky was positive and peaceful. My favourite bit was when Perky was helping her friends and asking are you okay? How can I help you?" Ezra O

"I was happy when we had the ‘Perky Panda’ incursion. In the book there was a panda called Perky and it was written by a woman named Maria. The show was about lots of animals and Perky helped them all." Emily W

"I was so excited on Thursday because we had an incursion about being brave, positive and persistent. I learnt what to do when I see someone sad or nervous and to say Are you okay? And how can I help you? To  help them." Tommy G

"Perky Panda was very positive. She would always be kind. She would play with other animals. At the end we were doing things like breathing rainbows and massaging our cheeks!" Harvey B

"On Thursday I was so excited for the incursion! We met Maria and she wrote Parky Panda. Perky Panda always helped others feel better." Jasper Y