Assistant Principal
Katrina Spicer - Wellbeing

28th June 2024

THE RESILIENCE PROJECT - GEM CHATS

GEM chats are short activities or conversations that can help guide children to build their awareness of gratitude, empathy and mindfulness.

You might like to try some of these conversation starters at home. These GEM chats are designed to help develop the skill of mindfulness.

END OF TERM SWPBS REWARD

The end of term reward for the whole school was the hugely popular Pyjama and Movie Day. Everybody loved coming to school in their warm and cozy pyjamas, and I have never seen so many Oodies in the one place at the one time!

All students snuggled up to watch a movie in their classrooms. What a great way to spend a cold winter's day!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

I would like to wish all of our WHPS families a happy and relaxing school holidays. I hope you all are able to spend some quality time together. I look forward to seeing everyone back for the start of Term 3 on Monday 15th July.

Katrina Spicer

Assistant Principal for Wellbeing and Inclusion

katrina.spicer@education.vic.gov.au

MAKING FAMILY LIFE FUN

By Dr Justin Coulson

For many of us, fun stopped becoming spontaneous and automatic around the time that we decide we had to be responsible adults. But if we want our families to be happier, we need to find ways to make family life FUN!

Here are five ways to make fun a habit:

1. Smile more

Imagine a child whose every interaction with their parent is met with a look of serious concentration or contemplation – they are not angry or annoyed, simply preoccupied.

Now, Imaging that when that same child looks at their parent, they receive warm smiles and gentle, approving eye contact. Which would have the most positive influence on the child’s wellbeing?

Smiles improve relationships, and they seem to make life more fun. Let your face know you feel great. Smile!

2. Learn new things together

Most children are naturally inquisitive and deeply curious. They love to learn new things.

Learning is both fun and potentially profound when we do it together. We can have fun helping our children explore a topic they are interested in; we can plant a garden, learn new sports and do crafts.

Exploration, learning and curiosity are fun and make families happy. It simply requires that we are willing to be creative, explore ideas and respond to our children’s questions with enthusiasm and interest.

3. Just add treats

I don’t know of any family activity that can’t be enhanced with treats. If you are having a family meeting or a working bee in the garden, include popcorn, ice cream, brownies, or, if you don’t do processed sugars, a big bowl of strawberries or freshly chopped watermelon.

This approach is best used randomly and for fun, rather than as a bribe. Treats are fun! But they should be offered unconditionally and to everyone, rather than only on conditions being met and only to those who meet the conditions. Otherwise it stops being fun for everyone..

4. Celebrate – whatever!

Our lives are full of reasons to celebrate, from a child’s small success to a big achievement. Celebrate in varied ways: a hug, high-five, ice cream, movie outing, special date, or a family dinner. For best results, make celebrations spontaneous and unexpected, not used as bribes.

We don’t need to make our children’s minor experiences into front page news, but we can have fun when they do well. Do something more than nod ‘well done’ while chopping carrots for dinner. Pause. Get into the moment. Respond actively and constructively. Celebrate!

5. Five minutes of fun

If your children are demanding of your attention, give it to them. We can all afford five minutes to become engrossed in some fun with our children. This can be unstructured play, like rolling around on the floor or dancing to a favourite tune, or it can be structured play, like a game of UNO or charades.

These micro-moments of positive engagement show that we are involved and available to our children. They teach our children that they are worthy, and they promote a sense of family cohesion and togetherness. They give us moments to be grateful for, to reflect upon and to savour.

So today, find something to smile about. Drop your agenda and have some fun. Find something new to learn about or explore with your children. Cook treats, buy treats or just eat treats. And find something – anything – to celebrate. Then, do it again, maybe a little differently, tomorrow.

UPCOMING WEBINAR

CHAMPIONING NEURODIVERSITY

Helping Your Child Thrive in a Neurotypical World

Monday 19 August | 7pm AEST

Life for a neurodiverse child is a journey of highs and lows, marked by the joy of mastering new skills and the challenges of setbacks. As their parent or teacher, your support is crucial.

Empower your school staff and parents with our “Championing Neurodiversity” webinar, designed specifically to equip parents and teachers with the knowledge and strategies they need to help neurodiverse children flourish.

Who is this webinar for?

This webinar is for educators, parents, and carers of children who are diagnosed as neurodiverse, are undergoing assessment, or are suspected to be neurodiverse.

Webinar Highlights:

Celebrate Unique Strengths: Recognise and nurture the unique strengths of neurodiverse children.
Support Individual Needs: Tailor support to meet the individual needs of each child.
Provide Behavioural and Emotional Support: Implement effective strategies for better behavioural and emotional support.
Improve Communication and Social Skills: Enhance communication and foster positive social interactions.
Build Resilience: Help neurodiverse children build resilience and confidence.
Encourage Collaboration and Advocacy: Promote collaboration and advocate for the needs of neurodiverse children.

Click on this link to join the Webinar.

https://schools.happyfamilies.com.au/championing-neurodiversity/

Our school subscription to Happy Families allows access to the Happy Families website to all members of our school community.

Families can access the Happy Families website at: https://schools.happyfamilies.com.au/login/whps