Wellbeing & Child Safety
The challenge is also an opportunity for our students to look beyond themselves and notice the people around them, family members, friends, neighbours and others in our community. As students take the time to listen, ask questions, share an activity or offer a helping hand, they are developing important conversation skills, empathy, confidence and social awareness.
Sometimes, 10 minutes can make a difference. It can help someone feel noticed, included and valued and remind us that looking out for one another can be as simple as giving someone our time.
Our Holiday Challenge: 10 Minutes for Someone
Over the holidays, the Chaplain-Wellbeing Team is challenging every student from
Prep to Year 12 to give 10 minutes of their time to someone else.
Just 10 minutes. Perhaps you could:
⚽ Spend 10 minutes kicking the footy together
🐕 Walk the dog together
🎲 Play a game
💬 Sit and have a chat
🏀 Shoot some hoops
🏠 Help Mum, Dad or someone at home
☕ Sit with someone who might appreciate some company
❤ ️ Or simply give someone your undivided attention for 10 minutes.
You could spend all 10 minutes with one person, or share your 10 minutes between a few people.
Then comes the fun part!
Capture your “10 Minutes for Someone” with a photo and email it to chaplains@kings.vic.edu.au
Wear a splash of YELLOW Day for RUOK? TUESDAY 6th OCTOBER
Camilla McLeod
Chaplain
At King’s College, the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people is our primary focus. We are committed to providing a child safe environment where children feel safe, their voices are heard, and their wellbeing is at the forefront of our care and decision-making.
The Victorian Child Safe Standards provide a framework to help organisations create environments where children and young people are safe, respected and supported. They guide the policies, practices and culture that help keep children safe and promote their wellbeing.
Child Safe Standard 1: Culturally Safe Environments
Child Safe Standard 1 is about creating a culturally safe environment in which the diverse and unique identities and experiences of Aboriginal children and young people are respected and valued.
Every child deserves to feel welcome, included and safe to be themselves. Cultural safety means recognising Aboriginal cultures and identities, supporting children’s sense of belonging, and ensuring that the safety and wellbeing of every child remains our priority.
Our Early Learning team is committed to learning from local Aboriginal cultural advisors and growing our understanding of Aboriginal cultures and connections to Country. We hope to continue developing opportunities for this learning across the wider College community.
Learning from local cultural knowledge
Recently, I had the opportunity to attend professional learning with Ruben Smith, a proud Gunditjmara and Kirrae Whurrong man and cultural educator. The session explored local seasonal knowledge and the ways changes in Country can guide our understanding of the natural world.
One of the things we reflected on was how seasons do not always fit neatly into the three-monthly system we are all familiar with. Instead, Ruben taught us about six seasons connected to our region, where Country provides indicators that help us recognise when a season is occurring. These indicators can change as a season moves across Country, from Portland to Warrnambool and beyond.
This learning encouraged us to think more deeply about how we connect children with the Country on which we live and learn, and how we can respectfully embed local Aboriginal perspectives into our kinder environment.
Since our professional learning, we have been encouraging the children to notice some of the seasonal changes happening around us. The children have taken photographs of flowers they have discovered, including some local Indigenous plants.
The appearance of flowering plants is one of the indicators associated with Petyan - flowering season. We are also beginning to notice indicators associated with Larneuk - honey bee season, such as birds hatching, and young animals growing.
Across our kinder, children have been enjoying watching and listening to our family of magpies, with some children even taking inspiration from their nest-making. We love hearing the babies singing and calling for food, although we have also learned to give their parents plenty of space!
Genesis 2:15 reminds us of our responsibility to care for creation. As we notice the changing seasons with the children, we are encouraged to care for and appreciate the world God has created.
Beth Bennett