Wellbeing
Wellbeing through Art
The artwork displayed outside the Multi-Purpose Room is regularly updated, leaving us in awe and filling us with pride for the incredible creations produced during our Art Classes. Our talented Art teacher, Kathy Shelton, skillfully guides our children through various techniques and fosters their creativity.
The stories behind the artwork are equally captivating. Ask your children about what they have been learning in Art Class, and you will be amazed by their insights and experiences.
Latest Artwork: The Art of ‘Kintsugi’
Our latest art display showcases the results of four weeks of preparation, focusing on the art of ‘Kintsugi.’ The Year 5 & 6 children were tasked with painting an abstract self-portrait using the colors of either a sunrise or a sunset. They then tore their paintings to symbolise difficult or sad times in their lives. In Japanese philosophy, the value of an object lies in its imperfections, which is represented by the tearing.
Next, the students selected a unique vessel for their artwork—no two vessels were the same. This aspect of the philosophy celebrates our imperfections rather than hiding them. Using gold paint, the children reassembled their vessels, embodying the essence of Kintsugi, which roughly translates to “golden joinery.”
In our personal lives, Kintsugi can inspire us to embrace our flaws and accept them as part of our journey. The repaired cracks in the pottery symbolize the healing process. Life's difficulties may leave scars, but our resilience and ability to heal can ultimately lead to personal growth.
Through our facilitated planning our specialist teams are able to work together with the Learning and Teaching Team to make authentic links to our Inquiry units.
We invite you to stop and look at the beautiful Kintsugi artworks and reflect on the powerful messages they convey.
School Closure Day Focused on Student Wellbeing
We were very fortunate to be able to spend the day with Shannon and Brigitte from Catch and Echo on Tuesday. Shannon and Brigitte have expansive experience and knowledge in the area of trauma-informed practice and student and staff wellbeing. They led the entire day’s activities with enthusiasm and expertise.
We are blessed and grateful that all staff could attend, even if it wasn’t their normal working day. This shows the dedication and importance of these messages for children and adults alike. Having a shared language to embed these important messages is crucial for our school community's growth.
During the session, we focused on a strengths-based approach, acknowledging that we all have different strengths that we can work with together to help children, families, and each other. It was a wonderful exercise reflecting with each other, and it's something you can do at home through the VIA survey. I have included the link below. When we know our strengths, we can work together to utilise them and then also choose one of the character strengths that we would like to work on and strengthen.
In addition to exploring our strengths, Shannon and Brigitte guided us through practical strategies to support our students' emotional and mental wellbeing. These strategies are not only beneficial in the classroom but can also be applied at home to foster a supportive and nurturing environment for our children.
The day was filled with insightful discussions, hands-on activities, and collaborative exercises that left us feeling empowered and equipped to better support our students. We are excited to implement these strategies and continue our journey as a trauma-informed team within a wellbeing-focused school environment.
We extend our thanks to Shannon and Brigitte for their invaluable insights and to all our dedicated staff members for their commitment to professional development.
VIA Character Strengths Survey
Kellie McDonald
Wellbeing Leader
Kinder Visits
During the term the Wellbeing leaders and School Captains have been going to visit kinders in our local community. We got to play and answer questions with the children. We also talked about our experiences at primary school and what it is like. We reassured the kinder kids that primary school is fun, exciting and enjoyable and most importantly safe. Overall we had a blast and enjoyed every moment of it. We are also very thankful that we got to visit and would like to thank Kellie, Zoe and Aoife for driving us and organising the visits.
Thanks Flynn!
Wellbeing Leader
