Learning Specialist Report

Smiling Mind Curriculum:

Being happy and healthy not only involves taking care of our physical health but also our mental health. Over the past 18 months, Aberfeldie Primary School has been involved in the Smiling Mind program, with the Senior Leadership team receiving extensive training throughout 2021. Throughout 2022, all staff at APS have participated in sessions and training with Smiling Mind and have focused on developing their own practice, both in and outside of school. Staff have reported being more focused in meetings and more present in dealing with the challenges of teaching during the pandemic. This term, Smiling Mind curriculum will be rolled out with students. 

What is Smiling Mind?

Smiling Mind is an organisation with a bold ambition - to change the way we

all look after our mental health. Smiling Mind offers a range of programs and resources designed to make mindfulness accessible, easy to practise, and as normal

as brushing your teeth.

Why Mindfulness?

Mindfulness reduces emotional distress, settles and calms students, reducing behavioural challenges. It also enhances and strengthens the areas of the brain that are involved in learning, thinking and memory, which can have an incredible impact on academic achievement. 

What will students be learning?

The Smiling Mind Primary Classroom Program was co-developed by educators, psychologists and mindfulness experts. Students will learn that mindfulness is just attention training, designed to strengthen the mind. Despite many myths, students will learn that being ‘mindful’ is just being awake, aware and undistracted in the present moment. Students will learn how to focus, pay attention, and reduce worry. This may be in a short timetabled lesson or through a short practice after recess or lunch that refocuses students on the learning at hand. The Primary Classroom Program comprises of lessons mapped to the Australian Curriculum, supporting students in Year 1 to Year 6 to develop self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and social management skills. 

For more information on Smiling Mind, please read the Parent/ Carer Guide below.

Term 4 Curriculum Day:

On the first day of term, the staff participated in a collaborative professional development day focusing on student wellbeing. This day gave our teachers and support staff a chance to deeply reflect on student routines & expectations in order to create a successful and structured Term 4 for all classes. Our focus is on high and consistent expectations that communicate to all students that they matter and that their learning matters. Having the opportunity to consistently review and reflect on our progress in this area is a powerful way to improve our learning environment for all students.

Resilience, Rights & Respectful Relationships

Respectful Relationships education is a mandated component of the Victorian Curriculum that is taught in all government primary and secondary settings.  It is all about embedding a culture of respect and equality across the entire school community. This term, students from Foundation to Year 6 will engage in Topic 7 & 8.

• Topic 7: Gender and Identity:  This topic assists students to challenge stereotypes and critique the influence of gender norms on attitudes and behaviour. They learn about key issues relating to human rights and gender identity, and focus on the importance of respect within relationships. The activities promote respect for diversity and difference.
• Topic 8: Positive Gender Relations: This topic focuses on the standards associated with respectful relationships. Students develop the skills needed to solve problems, set boundaries within relationships, and play an active role within the prevention of gender-based violence. They develop peer support and help-seeking skills that can be applied in response to situations involving gender-based violence in family, peer, community or on-line relationships. 

All lessons provided by the Department of Education are reflective of students' ages, as well as the curriculum areas that they will be assessed and reported against. These lesson materials can be accessed here. As a staff, we uphold the DET value of impartiality, remaining impartial and removing any personal opinions on topics from lessons and dealings with the students. 

It is important to note that the RRRR program does not focus on, nor teach radical gender theory. In comparison, RRRR promotes respect and gender equality for all, helping students build healthy relationships. 

You can learn more about the Departments program here. All teaching and learning materials can also be accessed online through this website. If you have any questions about the RRRR program, please reach out to the classroom teacher or Emma Sprakel, our RRRR school coordinator. 

NAPLAN School Results:

We recently received our whole school results for the 2022 NAPLAN Assessment and we were blown away at the incredible results from our Year 3 & 5 students. Many of these results were not a surprise to the teachers & senior leadership team as our school assessments had also indicated a significant improvement across the board, especially in the area of literacy. The leadership team will be presenting these results at the upcoming School Council meeting on the 17th of October, with the results to then be shared with the wider community in the next newsletter. It has been an exciting time with a lot of celebratory conversations occurring with families across the board and we look forward to sharing these results in the near future.