Year 9/10 Wellbeing Prog
This school year the Year 9/10 cohort have been introduced to a wellbeing program that consists of two periods per week that focuses on the theme “Mind, Body, Spirit and Heart’. This program has allowed for positive learning experiences by teaching and promoting the importance of mental health, ways to ensure that we maintain a growth mindset, building positive friendships, time management skills as well as time to spend with our friends.
Over the duration of the past few weeks we have participated in activities such as kite making, zumba and yoga to support these fundamental factors of our wellbeing. These activities have enabled us to understand the significance of taking time for ourselves and how this theme of “Mind, Body, Spirit and Heart’ is crucial to ensure a sense of balance in our lives.
Kite making involved the building of a kite in groups by using craft materials; helping us develop a bond between the people that we’ve never known considering we are new to being a mixed cohort. This supported getting to know each other in a deeper sense. The teacher gave us instructions to make our kite and we then went outside into the courtyard to put them to the test. It was an enjoyable activity, involving problem solving and refining our social skills; we were able to communicate with each other, make new friends and even have a little laugh along the way. The atmosphere in the classroom was vibrant and I could tell everyone was deeply involved and having fun.
The Yoga session was run by a great instructor who taught us in about mindfulness. We did various yoga poses, which enabled us to unplug from the busy world around us, along with schoolwork and other stresses; and it helped us calm down, unwind and focus on the more important things in life.
Recently we have learnt about the importance of the sacred, and looked at an Indigenous artwork named ‘‘Dulka Warngiid” and how it exemplifies the idea. The artwork was created by seven Indigenous artists who together highlighted stories of faith, belief, sacredness and life moments. The artwork speaks about how the Indigenous are beautifully connected to the land. After analyzing the wonderfully curated piece we were asked to acknowledge places/people that allow us to feel sacred and be our true authentic selves.
This reflection time was an opportunity to understand ourselves on a deeper level and recognize the places we most feel at peace. Throughout our discussion, people spoke about how they felt most at peace during their extracurricular activities, surrounded by their family, loved ones, homes, sacred spaces, consuming cultural food and among nature.
Last Friday our homerooms planned and started to create our sacred pieces of artwork; which represent what we think sacredness means and how it is illustrated in our lives.
Overall we are grateful for these wellbeing classes that allow us to understand the importance of valuing our mental health and ways to ensure that we have a positive balance in our lives. We would like to thank our teachers and leadership for curating this program and teaching us through the theme of Mind, Body, Spirit and Heart’.
By Sehansa Samarakoon Mudiyanselage and Leah Pikoulas (Year 10 Leaders)
Wellbeing Program (Year 9/10)
Study Skills Session
On Wednesday 8 March, all Year 9 and 10 students participated in a study skills session during the Wellbeing Program conducted by Elevate. This session was organized to further help students improve their study techniques, increase motivation, build confidence, and improve test and exam performances. During the session, students were shown how to effectively take notes, apply conceptual learning techniques, employ dynamic reading skills, and work independently. We look forward to working with Elevate again throughout the year. The students showed great engagement during the session, and they found the program worthwhile.
Marisa Lombardo and Suzanne Matejin (Learning Leaders)
