Student Wellbeing

Friendship Groups

Last Monday, our students and teachers re-commenced our FRIENDSHIP GROUPS & we all excitedly welcomed our new teachers, Prep students, as well as our new students to Galilee into our groups.

This year, we have 18 FRIENDSHIP GROUPS comprising of 1 – 2 students from each class, as well as the Yr. 6 students & their buddies, plus a teacher as their leader.

We plan to meet twice a term on a Monday afternoon for social interaction and friendship activities. This enables our students to get to know another teacher at Galilee, as well as other students from Prep to Yr. 6.

Hopefully, your children came home excitedly and spoken to you about their group, their Leader and the activity they completed.

The FRIENDSHIP GROUPS will compliment the Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSEL) and Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships (RRRR) areas of the curriculum that are being taught throughout the school.

They will also continue to promote new friendships throughout all levels of our school, as well as providing an opportunity for the students to form a relationship with another teacher.

The focus for our session was ‘OUR PERSONAL STRENGTHS’, which were then used for the basis of the Groups’ 2018 poster.

The teachers have had great fun making their new group posters, which will be displayed in the school foyer in the next few weeks. Please take time to view them.

This year, we are continuing our Buddy Program with the YR. 6 students being buddied up with the Prep students at Prep Orientation last year. They have enjoyed several activities together & the Yr. 6’s have shown great care and enthusiasm in ensuring their Prep Buddies have settled happily into school life.

We have also extended the BUDDY PROGRAM this year. The other classes in the school have also been buddied up - Yr. 1 - Yr. 3, Yr. 2 - Yr. 4 and Yr. 5 will visit 2 local Kindergartens to make a connection with them.

The teachers organize the session times themselves and can be as simple as a shared lunch, reading to each other, hearing reading, Maths games, STREAM activities etc.

If you would like further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Next week, we will be sending home information and forms about the School Dental Program that will be coming to Galilee on Monday, 18th May until Thursday, 21st May.

Please read the information and if you would like to use the service for your child/ren, complete the form and return it to school.

If you require more information, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Julianne Price

Student Wellbeing/Student Services Leader

Ph. 96992928

jprice@gsmelbournesth.catholic.edu

Dear Parents & Educators,

Do you sometimes feel at a loss for how to support children who are dealing with challenging friendship issues?

I'm so excited to let you know that I'm finally coming back to Melbourne to teach kids, parents, and teachers our Language of Friendship and you are invited! You will learn kid-friendly lingo and practical strategies to coach kids towards healthy friendships.

To thank you for your support & friendship, we would like to offer you $5 off your ticket. Please use promo code VICFRIENDS when registering for any of these events:

Monday 28 May at Essendon North Primary School

Tuesday 29 May at Geelong Grammar School (Toorak Campus)

Do those dates not work for you? That's okay. I would love to come back and visit your local school, so please drop me a line if you'd like to make that happen. It's super easy - we pick a date, we create a flyer for you to share with your school community, and I show up & teach!

Thank you for being part of our community and I can't wait to see you!

Kindly,

Dana

Founder & Friendship Expert

P.S. If you're a teacher and want to check out our school-wide friendship strategy, we are happy for you to come along to any of the events above for FREE. Just email me and I'll add you to my VIP list. I will also be speaking at the Positive Schools Mental Health & Wellbeing Conference while I'm in Melbourne and highly recommend this conference to all educators!