International Friendship Day at St Joseph's

Through friendship, we can contribute to strong and supportive communities, where people live harmoniously in stability and safety. This Friday, 2nd August, we celebrate Friendship Day to commemorate the bond between friends, and to highlight the power of friendship on a global scale. This movement places emphasis on our young leaders and future generations to encompass qualities withinthemselves that promote a respect for diversity.

Supporting children’s social and emotional wellbeing through celebration of friendship is important during these unprecedented times. We at St Joseph's believe it is an ideal time to remind our students of the importance of inclusion and care.

Over the next two weeks, classes will participate in activities that celebrate friendship: games, stories and songs that demonstrate the importance of being a good friend. After the impact of the pandemic this provides another opportunity to support students’ social and emotional wellbeing through the celebration of friendship.

I look forward to sharing some of ther learnings from this in nthe next newsletter.

Kids Helpline@ School Sessions

As per the Operoo sent out, starting this Thursday, 1st August, classes will begin to take part in these occasional sessions to support and compliment the Social and Emotional Programs that we already provide at St Joseph's.

Qualified Kids Helpline @ School counsellors use video conferencing technology to run education sessions with our teachers and students about coping strategies, digital safety and citizenship, emotional literacy, help-seeking behaviours and resilience building. The program is available to all Australian primary schools and is funded by yourtown and Bupa Australia.

Take a look at this video to earn a little more about the sessions:

The online sessions will be interactive and the topics align with the Victorian Curriculum and will support our Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Programs already offered at St Joseph's. In Term 1, all year levels worked on the SEL Unit of 'Relationships', while in Term 2, all year levels focused on the SEL Unit of 'Emotional Literacy'. During Term 3, we take on the schoolwide approach in teaching the SEL Unit of 'Positive Coping'. Each of these areas will be greatly supported by these interactive sessions conducted by the qualified practitioners.

We have selected the following two sessions for our classes to participate in, based on the above units being covered in SEL this term and for age-appropriateness:

Prep - Year 2: 'Developing Resilience' and 'Friendship'

Year 3/4 : 'Balancing Your Tech Time' and 'Developing Resilience'

Year 5/6 : 'Balancing Your Tech Time', 'Developing Resilience' and 'Being a School Leader'

For more information about the content of these sessions, please visit: https://kidshelpline.com.au/schools/sessions

ONE STEP AT A TIME : Parent Support for Childhood Anxiety

This sounds like an amazing and worthwhile opportunity. I would thoroughly recommend looking into this for any parents of children experiencing any number of anxiety-related issues.

Does your child experience any of the following symptoms related to anxiety?

• Difficulties sleeping at night due to worries

• Fears and phobias

• Difficulty separating from you or worrying about parental safety

• Trouble sleeping alone in their bed

• Fear of the dark

• Scared of lifts, trains, and people

• Fear of dogs and other animals

• Excessive worry and constant reassurance seeking

• Fear of germs and other health problems

If so, the Clinicians at Swinburne University have developed a program to help parents manage childhood anxiety in children aged 6-11 years that may suit your requirements for support. Some sessions are with both parent and child, while others are parent only.

Also at only $20 per session and/or an assessment session, it is both convenient (online) and inexpensive!

Treatment consists of seven therapy sessions plus one assessment session. It aims to equip parents with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy strategies to help manage and assist their child's anxiety.

See DETAILS on the flyer attached for more information or TO REGISTER :

Check out these other great PARENT WORKSHOPS!

Warm Regards,

Jenny Todd

(Student Wellbeing Leader)

jennyt@sjsorrento.catholic.edu.au

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