Mental Health & Wellbeing Report 

Mental Health and Wellbeing

Dear Parents, Carers and Guardians,

The year continues to pass us at an extraordinary pace as we approach the end of semester one. It seems fitting that this edition of the newsletter explores some of the ways we can support the young people in our care to slow down and take a breath. 

As our work with The Resilience Project continues to be taught in lessons, I wanted to share a home-based activity that builds on this work. The activity below is designed to allow families to practice being mindful through a Walking Meditation. It is designed so that it could be completed on the way to or from school, walking around Woodgrove, or a walk around a local park.

The aim isn't to completely clear your mind; it is to support students to develop the skill to focus and reframe their thinking. 

• Without Mindfulness Skills: A stressful thought pops up- immediately you feel anxious or nervous
• With Mindfulness Skills: A stressful thought pops up- you notice it and then you can choose how to respond to the thought and start planning supports.

By focusing on your breath or arm swing, you are training your mind on how to attend to important thoughts and how to remove negative or distracting stimuli from your mind.

For additional resources on meditation for children, please explore the Headspace website at https://www.headspace.com/meditation/kids, where you can find a number of videos, resources, and meditation/mindfulness activities. 

Thanks for your continued support

Mr Egan.