Karoo Newsletter

Wellbeing and Inclusion 

 Mrs Courtney Hoffmann -  Assistant Principal

Dear Karoo Community,

 

Welcome back to Term 4! 

I hope that you all have had a wonderful holiday and that you are all looking forward to an exciting Term 4.  

 

Term 4 is always a busy term and with that in mind it is important to reflect on how we can be kind to ourselves and put in place wellbeing strategies to support ourselves and those around us.

 

Karoo PS Approach to Student Wellbeing

At Karoo PS, we endeavour to work proactively with our school community to communicate how we support our students' social and emotional development.  We know that a student's wellbeing is just as important as their learning development.  Therefore, as a learning community, we aim to build students skills and strategies to develop their ability to self regulate, understanding the emotions of other and to interact positively with the world around them.  To communicate this we have developed the 'KPS Approach to Student Wellbeing.'  This overview provides a clear outline of how we support students to learn, through restorative practices, the impact our actions can have on others and how to move forward positively.

We have continued to receive positive feedback from our community regarding how this consistent approach is supporting our students.  

 

A year 5 parent recently shared 'I wasn't sure about restorative practices when it was introduced last year but now I can see how it helps our children problem solve and work through issues by understanding them.  We are now using the same approaches at home to help with self regulation and when things happen! I have seen such a change in my children and how I help them. It really works!!

 

We know that consistently using strategies to support our students is essential to developing their ability to self regulate, understand how actions have impact and how to resolve conflict when it arises.  We look forward to continuing to support our students as we progress through Term 4.

 

Student Engagement Plan - Restorative Practices

At Karoo PS we utilise the restorative continuum to elevate student behaviour, empathy and relationships.  We endeavour to work with our students, parents and community to build, maintain and restore relationships for a positive learning environment. Please find below our Student Engagement Plan below for your reference.

Zones of Regulation

At Karoo PS we support students to develop a greater understanding of their emotions and to regulate their emotions by utilising the Zones of Regulation framework.  The Zones of Regulation (Kuypers, 2011) is a framework to develop self-regulation and emotional control. It is a systematic and cognitive behaviour approach that categorises our emotions and states of alertness that we experience into four zones; The blue, green, yellow and red zone. Optimal learning occurs in the Green Zone. However, there are different emotions that are experienced with the four different zones.  The diagram below lists the common emotions that can be experienced in the different zones. 

Through out 2023 all students have engaged in age appropriate learning regarding the Zones of Regulation.  This enables our students learning opportunities to increase their repertoire of emotional language and strategies which they can then use to support themselves when they are experience different feelings.  

 

Strategies to help children recognise and regulate their emotions?

  1. Help children put words to what they are feeling. Ask them how they are feeling and help them label their feelings to build their emotional vocabulary
  2. Emphathise with how your child is feeling and normalise it.  You can say ‘I can see you are feeling ….. because your body is ………..  I have felt that way too.’  This helps your child to feel that their emotion is okay and that they are not the only person who feels this way sometimes and that you understand how they are feeling.
  3. Share things that you do to feel better. Such as going for a walk, counting to ten, deep breathing, mindfulness exercise or talking to a trusted friend.  Or ask your child ‘What do you think we could do that might help right now?’
  4. Fully listen to what your child is saying and watch their body language. You can validate what they have told you by saying things like ‘from what I am hearing, it sounds like you are really angry about ……. Or it sounds like you are feeling frustrated about ……….’
  5. Use a framework to discuss emotions, such as the Zones of Regulation.  This enables consistent language to be used to identify emotions and strategies to support students when they feel they are in a particular zone.
  6. Discuss problem solving strategies with your child. This helps them to more clearly identify a problem, brainstorm possible solutions, think about them and select the most appropriate course of action.
  7. Encourage and model positive self-talk and a growth mindset.  Model how to use positive self-talk to encourage yourself. Support your child to recognise negative thoughts and how to replace them with positive and empowering statements.
  8. Provide visual Cues when needed. Providing children with visual clues can help them manage their time and to understand how changes in their world can impact their emotions and how to manage this.
  9. Provide breaks and movement opportunities.  Encourage your child to take breaks to release energy and improve focus and concentration.
  10. Remember that as a parent you don’t always have to solve what your child is going through. Listen, reflect and support them to problem solve through the struggle or challenge.  This will help promote the development of their self-esteem, as they learn that they can move through a challenging time and be okay on the other side.

If you would like further information regarding the Zones of Regulation or strategies to use at home to support your child's learning around understanding feelings and zones of regulation, please don't hesitate to contact the school and your child's teacher.

 

Be an Upstander

Term 4 is an exciting term for all, and especially for our Year 6 students.  To complete their final year of Year 6 on a positive note, the year 6 students have been reflecting on how they are going to finish their year being an 'Upstander' and role models at Karoo PS.

As a result the Year 6 cohort has been reflecting on what it means to be an upstander and how what actions  they will be responsible for to make Term 4 a great term to remember!

 

 

Cultural Understanding and Safety Training (CUST)

Creating culturally safe and inclusive learning environment is everyone’s responsibility and one we take very seriously at Karoo PS. Over the past two weeks, Karoo PS Staff have engaged in Cultural Understanding and Safety Training (CUST) to continue to build on their knowledge and understanding in this area.

CUST is ongoing professional learning for educators to further their understanding on Aboriginal perspectives and how to make meaningful connections through the curriculum.  The professional learning also provides meaningful collaboration between local Aboriginal communities and schools.  Our CUST training was delivered by our Koorie Education Support Officer (KESO) Lea Jones which she presented on Wurundjeri Land.

 

Over the holidays, new flag poles were installed, so now the Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander flags can proudly fly alongside the Australian Flag.  We look forward to engaging in further actions in this area to foster a culturally safe and inclusive environment at Karoo PS.

 

Enjoy a wonderful start to the term and I look forward to seeing you all soon.

 

Kind Regards, 

 

Courtney Hoffmann

Wellbeing and Inclusion Assistant Principal (A)