Wellbeing

Bullying No Way Week - Small Acts, Big Impact

This week, students at St Joseph’s joined schools around Australia in recognising Bullying No Way Week, with a focus on this year’s theme, Small Acts, Big Impact.

Across the school, students took part in a range of activities and conversations designed to help us think about how our everyday actions can make a positive difference to others. Classroom Morning Circles provided opportunities for students to talk about kindness, inclusion and looking out for one another, while our SEL lessons this week dove deeper into the theme, Small Acts, Big Impact and learnt more about identifying bullying, types of bullying and ways to seek support.

In the Junior Years, students explored different types of bullying behaviour, including physical, verbal, social and cyberbullying. They also took part in the ‘Wrinkled Heart’ activity, exploring how unkind words and actions can hurt others, even when we cannot see the impact.

Our Senior students participated in the National Kids Helpline Biggest Anti - Bullying Lesson, learning more about bullying, the impact it can have on others, and the difference between a bystanders and upstanders. Students worked through a range of scenarios and explored the concept of Pause, Choose and Act - taking a moment to think about what is happening, choosing a safe and helpful response, and then taking action. They also explored how seeking support from a trusted adult is an important way to be an upstander and help someone who may be experiencing bullying.

Throughout the week, these activities connected closely with our UR STRONG friendship program, helping students understand the difference between Friendship Fires, being Mean on Purpose and bullying. Students were encouraged to recognise when a friendship problem can be worked through, when behaviour is unkind and intentional, and when it is important to seek support from a trusted adult.

Our SRC students also took an active role in the week, presenting at assembly and sharing some of the small acts of kindness they had carried out throughout the week. They reminded us that even the smallest action - inviting someone to join in, saying something kind, helping a friend or simply noticing when someone might need cheering up, can have a big impact on someone’s day.

We finished our assembly by singing The Kindness Song, a song that students have been learning and singing throughout the school this week. It was lovely to see everyone joining in together and celebrating the message of kindness.

Georgie Carman

Wellbeing Leader