Positive Futures News
EDSC Staff put their Hoodies Up
On Tuesday 29th April, EDSC staff wore hoodies to school as part of Autism Acceptance Month. EDSC is an inclusive school that welcomes and supports students with disabilities, and our teachers wanted to show support to our many students who have Autism Spectrum Disorder.
In Positive Futures, we learnt a little about Autism Spectrum Disorder, a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects 1 in 100 Australians. Many people with autism are amazing artists, creators, mathematicians and scientists, and bring beautiful creations and fascinating discoveries to our world.
Autism can affect the way that people communicate and interact with the world around them. Some people with autism prefer to use noise cancelling headphones or wear a hoodie to minimise stimuli such as bright lights and noisy in our busy environments. By putting our hoodies up, we’re showing a little more understanding of who we can support autistic people and celebrate the diversity autism brings to our world.
Hoodies Up has been organised since 2019 by Amaze in Victoria. Amaze advocates to ensure the autism community’s voices and needs are recognised in government policy and the media, break down stigma in the wider community through public education campaigns, and up-skill the wider world in how to support autistic people so they can fully participate in, and contribute to, our society.
We hope that next year, Hoodies Up will be a whole school casual clothes day, so students can join with staff in supporting the members of our school community with autism.
Anna Kissane
Learning Support Coordinator
What is the EDSC Positive Futures program?
Positive Education brings together the science of positive psychology with best-practice teaching.
The school’s journey with Positive Education began in 2012 with Positive Education focuses and values implemented across each year level and over time has evolved into the whole school approach launched in 2020.
Our Positive Futures program has some very clear goals:
- We want to improve student quality of life and their engagement with others, including with their teachers
- We seek to develop students in a more holistic way, with a stronger focus on wellbeing
There are six tenets of Positive Psychology that are embedded into our model:
Positive Health – Positive Self
Developing knowledge, understanding and skills to promote health and well – being.
Positive Relationships
Nurturing positive relationships based on respect.
Accomplishment
Generating hope and optimism through the accomplishment of personal and community goals
Positive Emotion
Building and experiencing positive emotion.
Meaning
Believing in serving something greater than ourselves.
Positive Engagement
Developing critical thinkers by promoting challenge, curiosity and creativity.
More resources and information can be found here:
https://www.eastdonsc.vic.edu.au/wellbeing-engagement-positive-futures
Georgina Hammond
Positive Futures Coordinator