Learning Partnership
This Week's Learning Bulletin:
Dear Armadale Community,
The level bulletins this week focus on wellbeing. Wellbeing provides children with the capabilities necessary to thrive, contribute and respond positively to the challenges and opportunities of life. It describes a person’s optimal experience, physical health and psychological functioning, and involves factors like positive emotions, life satisfaction and mental flexibility.
In the diagram below you can see that Wellbeing sits alongside Learning and at Armadale Primary we teach wellbeing as part of a whole of school approach to promoting student wellbeing. Unless children are feeling positive or are in the green zone -that is ready to learn, - then no academic learning will occur.
We have wellbeing timetabled weekly where teachers will proactively teach the children high impact wellbeing strategies. We implement lessons through Respectful Relationships, UR strong Friendology, and Open Parachute which are all endorsed and evidenced based programs which have been developed to support classroom teachers to promote student wellbeing. The strategies can be used by every teacher in every classroom and by teams of teachers collaborating to improve student wellbeing.
All of the strategies in these programs are most effective when they are integrated with other mental health and wellbeing initiatives including provision of social and emotional learning, the Health and Physical Education curriculum and the Personal and Social Capabilities. We also bring in special workshops for the children such Body Safety; Backflips against Bullying and Why worry Wally Workshops when the children are transitioning into the next year level. All of these resources empower teachers with the knowledge and skills to be active agents in building their students’ wellbeing as part of their practice.
Our Kitchen Garden program and intentional designs behind our front gardens also offer the children wellbeing through these calm and evocative outdoor spaces as does our sensory playground.
All of these together with our Student Engagement and Wellbeing policy and the Child Safe Standards all help our school create safe and inclusive environments where students can achieve improved learning outcomes.
We are also incredibly fortunate this year to have been allocated funding to have appointed Sam Ferguson as our Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader. Sam has already made a wonderful contribution to our school in supporting children with their wellbeing. Next Thursday and Friday, Sam, Connie and I will be out of the school undertaking our 2-day Professional Learning in the Mental Health Initiative in Primary schools run by Melbourne University. I will share more with you on our return.
Enjoy reading what the children have been learning in their classrooms and please try the suggested strategies at home. We could all do with some more wellbeing in our lives!
Rochelle Cukier and Connie Apostolos
Principals