HUB News

Mindfulness at Brookside

Mindfulness is an important part of supporting students to become centred, grounded, and ready to learn. Mindfulness is the practice of paying full attention to the present moment in a calm and focused way. It encourages students to notice their thoughts, feelings, and surroundings without judgement, helping them to feel calmer, more relaxed, and better able to manage challenging emotions.

Students regularly participate in simple mindfulness activities such as deep breathing, meditation, and calming visualisation exercises. Popular breathing strategies include “Birthday Breath,” where students inhale and exhale as if blowing out birthday candles, “Bumblebee Breath,” which involves making a gentle buzzing sound while breathing, and “Bubble-Gum Breath,” where students pretend they are blowing a bubble. These activities help improve concentration, self-awareness, and overall wellbeing.

Helping children calm down works best when strategies are simple, predictable, and practised regularly. At school and at home, effective calming strategies can include breathing exercises, quiet calming spaces, sensory tools such as stress balls or playdough, movement breaks, listening to music, storytelling, and maintaining consistent routines. Naming emotions and modelling calm behaviour also helps children develop emotional awareness and resilience.

We are fortunate to have passionate and experienced staff supporting students and learning at Brookside. Rose B (pictured left) has been at Brookside for over 19 years. Her passion for helping students reach their fullest potential, combined with 20 years of experience as a secondary teacher in the Philippines, has positively impacted many students and families. Rose’s calm, caring, and influential nature has contributed to countless success stories within our school community.

Madhu (right) has been working at Brookside for over six years and currently supports students in the Levelled Literacy Intervention (LLI) program. This program provides additional support for students learning initial sounds, phonics blends, grammar, and decodable reading skills. Her dedication and support continue to make a meaningful difference in students’ literacy development.