Wellbeing

Positive Behaviours for Learning

At SFS, our PBL (Positive behaviours for learning) school wide expectations are:

Respect, 

Responsibility and 

Kindness

This week we have focused on the expectation of KINDNESS in the LEARNING SPACE: Encourage and support others. We have particularly focused on the important message of National Week of Action against bullying and Violence which was this week. Students learnt about the definition of bullying as opposed to when we can be mean to others on a one off occasion. 

Students learnt about the role of the victim or target of the bullying, the bully and the bystander and how to be an “upstander”. The students also learnt about what they can do if they are being bullied or they see someone else being bullied. Here are some of our amazing students who won the weekly PBL raffle for demonstrating our schoolwide expected behaviours.

Student Representative Council

We had our 3rd SRC meeting on Monday afternoon this week in the staffroom. The students continue to bring ideas from their classmates for ways to make our school better. The student group decided to focus on some Netball and Basketball activities for term 3. The children are organizing a special netball/basketball tournament to be held before the end of Term 3. The SRC are also organsing some extra lunch time clubs/clinics for Netball for the juniors and basketball for the seniors which will happen before the end of the term. Well done to the SRC reps for their fantastic ideas and helping to make this happen. 

National week of Action Against Bullying and Violence

This week we celebrated National week of Action Against Bullying and Violence. If your child is being bullied, please visit the Bullying no way website for some tips on how to best handle the situation.

https://bullyingnoway.gov.au/responding-to-bullying/how-families-can-respond

By working collaboratively within our community, we can collectively help reduce bullying.

Parents and carers play an important role in helping your child understand bullying, and know how to respond to it.

If your child tells you about things at school, or you observe something in public that involves conflict or bullying, take the opportunity to talk about what bullying is. You can learn more about what defines bullying at bullyingnoway.gov.au.

Questions you could ask:

• What do you think bullying is?
• Have you seen it? How did you feel?
• Have you ever felt scared at school because of bullying?
• As well as me, who are the other adults you would talk to when it comes to things like bullying?
• Have you or your friends left other kids out on purpose? Do you think that was bullying? Why or why not?
• Have you ever tried to help someone who is being bullied? What happened? What would you do if it happens again?

Remind your child that bullying is never okay and discuss how they can respond safely if they experience or witness it.

Encourage them to seek help from a trusted adult and keep seeking support if needed.

By promoting open communication, we empower children to stand up against bullying and create a safer environment where everyone can feel that they belong.

For more information, visit bullyingnoway.gov.au.

To help build connections throughout the school, the SRC decided to ask teachers to buddy up and Junior and Senior home group from a different learning space to eat their lunch together during the week. We took advantage of our beautiful Winter sunshine and chose different locations at the school to meet up and have our lunch together. The children were encouraged to get to know someone better from another learning space and different age. 

The week beginning Sunday 1st September is National Child Protection week. 

In 2024, the National Child Protection Week message that ‘Every child in every community needs a fair go’ will be complemented with the theme ‘Every conversation matters’.

Conversations are powerful tools to keep children and young people safe and well.

Conversations can help us understand issues, craft solutions, value community knowledge, and build the brains and social connections of children and young people.

Conversations between…children and their caregivers matter (from the very earliest days)…children and their peers matter…families with teachers, doctors, and other professionals matter…friends or neighbours matter

…decision-makers and the communities they serve matter.

So this National Child Protection Week we invite you to speak up – and speak together – about what needs to change for every child in every community to have a fair go.

This theme provides a platform to:

• engage in important conversations,
• promote the value of conversations, and
• equip us to have conversations that keep kids safe.

The teachers will focus on this important message with the students at school next week in their learning throughout the week.

If you have any concerns about the mental health or wellbeing of your child, please do not hesitate to contact me. I am available to speak to at school, via the phone or email on rlenko@sfslynbrook.catholic.edu.au

Rachel Lenko

Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader