Wellbeing Corner

Brainstorm Production Incursion: The Protectors 

No harm will be done by actions, words or mind.

I choose the light, not the dark, for myself and humankind.

The Protectors’ Oath

Last week on Wednesday and Thursday the students across the school participated in the Brainstorm Productions incursion. They watched the performance ‘The Protectors’ – a live and immersive theatre experience aligned with key outcomes from the curriculum, developed by educators and a clinical psychologist. It is designed to spark conversations about bullying, cyber safety and wellbeing among students.

The story follows two primary school students, Leo and Serena, who have been selected to go to the superhero academy ‘Protector School’, where they learn strategies to become Protectors to earn their superpowers. Leo, who has experienced bullying at his previous school, feels disempowered and hopeless – he has low self-esteem and self-worth after being pushed around and talked down by his peers. Serena on the other hand was a bully without realising it. She had done things at her previous school that had hurt others which she thought were just being funny and joking around. The polar opposite duo is partnered up at Protector School and must find a way to put aside their differences, overcome their challenges and learn strategies to be an Upstander to become true superheroes!

The 45-minute show covered a range of key wellbeing topics that we have been focusing on at school this year. These included:

• How to be an Upstander, not a bystander,
• Being assertive rather than passive or aggressive,
• Shifting your mind to helpful thoughts,
• Taking care of yourself through self-compassion and positive self-talk,
• Exploring other’s perspectives through empathy,
• Using body language to display confidence and assertiveness,
• Strategies to deal with mean comments,
• Strategies to stay safe online,
• Strategies to self-regulate and take control of your actions.

It was wonderful to see the learning we are doing in The Resilience Project, The Stand-Up Project and Cyber Safety Project, as well as our other most recent whole school incursion, The Day of Friendship, be reinforced within this action-packed and entertaining performance! The students were also invited to join in a dance at the end with the performers, which truly tied together the immersive experience. 

We look forward to continuing this learning and messaging around building strong peer relationships and creating a safe and inclusive environment for all of our students in and outside of the classroom!

Below are reflections from the students on the performance:

Year 6

Sash: It was really fun watching the play and the adventure the characters had. I learnt that it’s important to think about how people would feel if you were mean to them and how it impacts them in different ways like how the character felt helpless and distressed.

Nysha: I enjoyed the play because it was interactive and interesting. The actors were very expressive. It was good to understand both the perspectives of the bully and the victim to know how they feel and their motives. You usually only learn about the victim’s perspective but not the bully’s, so it was interesting and helpful to hear both sides.

Year 5

Ria: I learnt about ‘Freeze and Breathe’ which helped Serena (the character), pause and think about what to say rather than saying something mean. The other strategy was to ‘Say Sorry’ which was helpful because she could reflect on her actions of being a bully which she didn't realise she was doing.

Peter: It was great to see Leo (the character) at the end use his Protector Tools to fight back online bullying. Serena helped Leo out to be braver and more courageous and use positive self-talk to become more assertive. I learnt that sometimes the things we say and do which we think are helpful to make more friends, like telling jokes and being funny, can actually be hurtful and turn our friends away.\

Year 4

Wilson: I liked the part where they were in the Cyber Chamber because they had different kinds of buttons to help be safe online, like: Block, Screenshot, Report, Delete, and Tell. I learnt that you could stand up for yourself by being assertive. You can do this by telling them to stop or using funny jokes to turn the bully away.

Ishana: My favorite part was when Leo learnt to stand up for himself because I’ve heard stories about people being bullied online but not doing anything about it, but Leo was able to do something about it. I learnt some simple ways I can stand up for myself, which I can teach my brother in the future. These are things like making sure you tell others what’s happening and never keeping it inside.

Year 3

Manya: I learnt that if someone is being mean to you, rather than being aggressive you can stay calm and say “I don’t like it” in a kind way. I really liked how they did the acting and used kind words with each other and helped each other out.

Aariz: My favourite part was dancing to the song. It was really fun to join in with the show. I learnt that when someone is mean to you, you can take a deep breath to calm your mind. And if it’s cyber bullying you can report it and tell an adult.

Year 2

Sia: I learnt that when you bully people, sometimes it makes the other person want to bully you back so you shouldn’t bully in the first place. Instead, you should ‘Freeze and Breathe’ to help you feel calmer. I liked it when we got to see the lizard.

Gavindu: I enjoyed it when the actors revealed that the lizard was a fake lizard and not real! They were good at making it look like it was a real lizard! I learnt it’s important not to bully people because it hurts their feelings.

Year 1

Saravana: I liked it when I saw Principal Powers take Leo’s auperpower away because he was too aggressive and wasn’t using his powers for the right thing. I learnt that when somebody says something mean online, I should tell a trusted adult. I learnt this during Cyber Safety as well!

Suvrat: I enjoyed the dancing because it was fun to dance. I learnt how we all have superpowers. Some of the superpowers I learnt about were being kind and assertive, being a good friend by standing up for each other and using ‘Freeze and Breathe’.

Prep

Rovin: I enjoyed singing the song. I learnt how it’s important to tell the truth so that everybody can be happy and they won’t tell on you.

Selene: I enjoyed the song because it reminds me to protect myself. We can say good things about ourselves like "I am good at drawing and playing the piano," to protect us.