Health and Wellbeing

It has been so wonderful to work with students across the school in Health and Wellbeing so far! Working with the Year 3-6’s in a specialist capacity has been a lovely change, and getting to know the F-2 students for the first time has been fantastic. 

In Foundation, we have been learning about naming our emotions and picking up on body language, particularly facial expressions, that can convey our feelings. Students have made everything from an emotion monster, to a variety of faces from playdough, to a bucket - which can either be filled or emptied depending on what is happening on a particular day. They know what it means to be a ‘bucket filler’ (and a ‘bucket dipper’) and have become more confident to identify emotions they may experience at school and at home. 

The Year 1/2 students have had a full program to start off the year, also focussing on how to identify their own emotions in a variety of situations. We have practiced how to greet each other in the morning to make sure everyone feels welcome and included and we have also talked about five finger forgiveness: breathe, listen, accept, apologise, show love. We are also working on how to contribute to a team and how working together can positively affect our feelings. We’ve done a number of role plays around different scenarios and also looked at examples of how the way we treat one another can impact all of us. 

The Year 3/4 classes have had a great start to the year and have been looking at varying emotions with a short case study on the Winter Olympics. Students were given an emotion thermometer to help them gauge what they are feeling at any given time. They are now applying this knowledge to show how teamwork can positively impact emotions and wellbeing. Students are currently working on a mini-project which requires them to come up with a way to build community at BSPS. They are designing an activity or special day that will aim to encourage feelings of belonging and connection at school. We are hoping to put some of their ideas into practice later in the semester… Watch this space! 

Our 5/6 students have also looked at the Winter Olympics, with a focus on the qualities an athlete might need to possess in order to be part of a team, as well as manage their emotions. Students are finishing a mini-project in which they have had to create a 30-day challenge which encourages someone to build a specific quality. (Ask them why it needs to be 30 days!) They are creating a poster which will include the quality they would like someone to build, for example. resilience. It also requires them to think about what the person would need to do over the 30 days to reinforce the quality, how they can track their progress and how to stay motivated. 

Discussing these topics with your children at home would be a great help to reinforce what we’ve covered in class. 

Foundation parents: You might like to refer to examples of emotions you're seeing and also encourage students to identify how their body is feeling when experiencing that emotion. For example, if your child is feeling frustrated or upset, do they have clenched fists or if they are feeling calm or relaxed, they might notice that their body is also feeling the same way.

1/2 parents: Similarly to Foundation parents, it would be good to identify and open dialogue about emotions observed and how these can affect our interactions with others. 

3/4 and 5/6 parents: At this stage, showing an interest in what your child is working on in Health and Wellbeing would be a great start! Ask them about their mini-project and give suggestions or even ask them to show you when it has been completed (in the next week or two!). 

Thank you all for your support so far and look forward to meeting some of you in the next few weeks. 

Ciao for now, 

Meerah