Positive Futures News
What is the EDSC Positive Futures program?
Positive Education brings together the science of positive psychology with best-practice teaching.
The school’s journey with Positive Education began in 2012 with Positive Education focuses and values implemented across each year level and over time has evolved into the whole school approach launched in 2020.
Our Positive Futures program has some very clear goals:
- We want to improve student quality of life and their engagement with others, including with their teachers
- We seek to develop students in a more holistic way, with a stronger focus on wellbeing
There are six tenets of Positive Psychology that are embedded into our model:
Positive Health – Positive Self
Developing knowledge, understanding and skills to promote health and well – being.
Positive Relationships
Nurturing positive relationships based on respect.
Accomplishment
Generating hope and optimism through the accomplishment of personal and community goals
Positive Emotion
Building and experiencing positive emotion.
Meaning
Believing in serving something greater than ourselves.
Positive Engagement
Developing critical thinkers by promoting challenge, curiosity and creativity.
More resources and information can be found here:
https://www.eastdonsc.vic.edu.au/wellbeing-engagement-positive-futures
Student Planners – Use in Positive Futures
At the beginning of the year all students received an EDSC planner that is to be brought to all classes. You may notice that there is a substantial part of the planner dedicated to the Resilience Project. This has been specifically designed as a workbook for students at all year levels to use in Positive Futures. Therefore, it is imperative that the planner is brought to every Positive Futures lesson to be used to record notes, complete activities and explore the GEM model.
If your child has lost their planner, please contact the appropriate sub school for guidance in obtaining another one.
The Resilience Project is committed to teaching positive mental health strategies to prevent mental ill-health and build young people’s capacity to deal with adversity.
Teachers and students will engage in weekly lessons and activities around the key principles of Gratitude, Empathy, Mindfulness (GEM) and Emotional Literacy to build resilience.
Check out their website for more information:
And check out TRP@HOME; a place filled with inspiration and activities for the whole family, to help improve your wellbeing and build resilience.
Term 2 Positive Futures
We have another action-packed term for our Positive Futures groups.
This week all year levels (except Year 9) had the opportunity to fill in a self-care plan as a way for students to reflect on where they are at with this crucial aspect of mental health and just generally taking care of themselves. Hopefully this will encourage students to take time out and do activities that make them happy.
All groups last term focused on our TRP elements of Gratitude, Empathy, Mindfulness and Emotional Literacy and we continue to build on those this term.
Year 12s will be involved in year level games, participate in a Party Safe workshop from Red Frogs and build their capacity as leaders to deliver lessons to our younger students.
Year 11s will be undertaking sessions to enhance their leadership capacity and develop positive relationships between the year level.
Year 10s will continue to participate in Peer Support with our Year 7 students with a whole cohort focus on work related skills and applications.
Year 9 students are working on developing their verbal and written communication skills.
Year 8s will have a strong focus on all aspects of wellbeing including sleep hygiene, being physically active and overall mental health.
Year 7s will continue to participate in Peer Support sessions and various other sessions with the intent of strengthening their connection to each other, whole school and community.
Positive Futures Book of the Week
Your New Playlist: The Student's Guide to Tapping into the Superpower of Mindset
Jon Acuff
When Jon Acuff's book Soundtracks, came out, one reaction surprised him. Parents across the country all said the same thing: "Do you have a version for teenagers? If I knew how to change my mindset when I was that age, my entire life would have been different." Why did they say that? Because truth grows like compound interest. Saving money when you're young has a bigger impact than it does when you save in your 40s. A single new soundtrack--Acuff's phrase for a repetitive thought--believed when you're 14 or 18 can change your whole life in the same way. In response, Acuff tagged his two daughters to help him create an honest, actionable guide to mindset for teenagers.
Your thoughts can work for you or against you, but the good news is you get a choice. The even better news is when you're young, your entire world is made of new experiences. You're a movie that's barely started, a notebook with blank pages to fill, a song that hasn't hit the chorus. You have your whole life ahead of you. When you learn to create new thoughts, those thoughts lead to actions, and those actions lead to new results. Are you ready to tap into the superpower of mindset? Just hit play.
Rebecca James
Student Engagement & Connection
Learning Specialist