Mental Health in Primary Schools (MHiPS)

Mental Health and Wellbeing

In the last fortnight, the Friendology program has been launched at Camelot Rise. The focus of our lessons has been predominantly around understanding our Inner Ninja, how we can be best friends to ourselves and understand ourselves better in order to then connect better with others. All students participating have completed a pre-test which I will then use to compare at the conclusion of the program to measure growth. 

In the coming weeks, we will be exploring the concept of making friends and friendship facts, and senior students will be looking at using a friend-o-meter to help us navigate friendship fires. It has been wonderful seeing all students engage enthusiastically and develop closer connections with broader groups of peers. 

Vincent and Evie from 1MC – showing off their ‘Friendship Inner Ninja’ qualities!

Supporting Families

Research shows that children who can recognise and name their emotions are better able to regulate their behaviour and communicate their needs. Psychologist Marc Brackett explains that "if we can name our emotions, we can better understand and manage them."

 You can support this learning at home by:

- Talking about feelings during everyday conversations.

- Naming your own emotions (e.g. "I'm feeling frustrated because I'm running late.").

- Helping your child use a range of feeling words beyond "good" and "bad."

- Discussing how emotions feel in the body.

- Reading books together and talking about how characters might be feeling.

Try asking your child:

- How are you feeling today?

- What made you feel that way?

- What might help right now?

My door is always open to discuss anything, otherwise please feel free to email or call. Have a wonderful week,

Mrs G

tennille.giannopoulos@education.vic.gov.au