Wellbeing

Operation Love Bomb

Grade 1

Remember the movie ‘Elf’ when Will Ferrell magically cut all the snowflakes? That’s what the Grade 1 classrooms looked like while cutting hand size hearts for Love Bombs. Poooof…a cloud of pink, red, and purple paper bits everywhere. In this project, we coupled Term 4’s focus of Empathy with Generosity. These values are at the core of our school's ethos and play a vital role in shaping the character and resilience of our students.

The Spirit of Generosity is all about giving back and helping others without expecting anything in return. It is about showing kindness, compassion, and a willingness to support those in need. This value is closely linked to the concept of Empathy, which is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. When our students demonstrate Empathy, they are able to connect with their peers and show understanding and compassion towards them.

Over the last 9 weeks, Grade 1 students embarked on a heart-warming project that perfectly exemplified the values of Generosity and Empathy. They decided to spread love and kindness throughout the school by creating little hearts and surprising each class and specialist with their love bombs. They created chants and funny dance steps for some of the surprises. Students also have shared the LOVE in local spaces and also some faraway places. We’ve heard back from the US and different locations around Australia. This act of kindness not only brought joy and smiles to everyone in the school but also fostered a sense of connection and feeling of pride that even though we’re small, we can do BIG things.

Aligning with The Resilience Project and practicing acts of generosity and empathy, our students are not only enhancing their own well-being but also contributing to a positive and supportive school culture.

We encourage all parents to continue fostering these values at home and to support our students in their journey towards becoming compassionate and resilient individuals.

Carsten's Amazing Art Work

Term 4 Friendship Lunch

Led by Grade 5 

Our focus during our Term 4 Friendship lunch was Empathy, which was run by the Grade 5’s. This involved fostering empathy and gratitude among students. Some of the activities were from The Resilience Project. Activities include a Gratitude Circle, where students share what they're thankful for, emphasising their feelings and connections to others, and brainstorming acts of kindness for home, school, and the community. They also created thank-you letters for someone special in their lives, combining writing and drawing to express appreciation. These activities aim to build perspective-taking, kindness, and emotional awareness. 

Reflections from the Grade 5 students:

*Beau - ‘The Friendship Lunch was a positive experience for my learning as I learnt what a leader goes through. The whole group was tuned in and learning about Empathy through the different activities. The video from The Resilience Project helped younger students understand more about empathy through a story’.

*James- ‘I enjoyed the leadership opportunity of the Friendship Lunch and I saw 2 Prep students writing to each other, to thank them for being a good friend. It was a great opportunity for students to thank others in their lives’.

*Rose - ‘A positive experience was seeing Grade 6 students interact with Prep students, they were talking and coming up with ideas together about how to show Empathy at school, home and the community. This activity gave me an insight into what Grade 6 leadership will be like’.