Weekly Wellbeing 

Reflections                                                                                 

First of all, CONGRATULATIONS, you made it!  Well done for juggling the demands of the past few weeks and supporting your children with their education. This time has presented different challenges for all of us.  Have we always got it right?  No!  Have we done our absolute best with what we have had?  Yes!!

As we all embark on a time of restoration in the next 2 weeks, I thought I would share some insights that I have gleaned from a number of online webinars.

  • Gratitude and resentment cannot co-exist (Click here for more information)
  • The purpose of deep listening is to help another person empty their heart and suffer less (Thich Nhat Hanh talking to Oprah. Click here for more)
  • “You can be anxious or disappointed and still do things” (Richardson. J (August 26, 2020), Anxious Kids: from anxiety to resilience (Webinar), https://drjodirichardson.com.au/)

A lot of the webinars have also emphasised the importance of helping children to learn new skills in times of rest and calm. The next two weeks may just be a perfect opportunity to focus on this. 

In her article this week, Carol Wyatt has included an ‘I Can Plan’ template. We use these a lot to help children to have conversations about their struggles (because everybody struggles with something!), celebrate their strengths, reflect on what works and come up with new ideas to try. 

So in the next couple of weeks, as you are:  playing a game, doing craft, cooking, walking, having a picnic in the front yard or a ‘camping trip’ in your backyard, I encourage you to casually raise a struggle that your child might be having, see if you can work together to come up with a plan and put it into practice over the holidays. 

Community Support

Maroondah City Council have recently launched Maroondah Connect, a phone line and internet live chat service to support community members in a number of ways, including: family support, food relief, mental health, family violence support, social connections and more.  Click here to visit their webpage.  They are available Mon to Fri from 9am -5pm. 

In case you or your children need support outside of these hours, please click here. Remember that there is no shame in asking for support.  We are all human and we all need it!

Some upcoming free online webinars

Please see attached flyers for:

  • ‘From Thriving to Surviving’ on Monday 5th October
  • ‘Transitioning to Secondary School’ on Saturday the 10th October for parents and carers of children with ASD

Thank you

Over the past 3 terms it has been a privilege to work with Cheyenne Mason. Cheyenne’s kind nature and Restorative Practice expertise has assisted many students, families and staff in a variety of ways. She will be truly missed. We wish Cheyenne all the very best in the next chapter of her life and look forward to welcoming Mia Sartori back into the Wellbeing Space in Term 4. 

Happy Holidays

Finally, the Wellbeing Team would like to wish you a very happy and restful holiday.  I know that I am planning on setting some daily goals, including (much to my family’s relief) trying some new recipes. I have been less than creative with meals lately!  I may even attempt to replicate this amazing platter that Freya from SNT put together for her Dad on Father’s Day.  I think that we have a budding caterer in our midst! 

Until next time, 

Julie Reid  –  Student Wellbeing Officer, on behalf of the Team