Wellbeing at St John's

🌟 R U OK? Day - Tuesday 8 September

On Tuesday, 8 September, our school will celebrate R U OK? Day by asking students to wear a splash of yellow to their school uniform to support this initiative!

This annual day reminds us that we don’t need to be experts to support the people we care about. We just need to be good friends and good listeners.

This year's theme reminds us that "any day is R U OK? day." You don't need a special qualification to ask someone how they are doing—just a genuine willingness to listen and show you care.

Wow it is Week 9, the holidays are so close!

It has certainly been a busy few weeks in the world of wellbeing at St John’s! Since our last newsletter, there has been plenty happening as we continue to strengthen our whole-school approach to supporting the wellbeing, engagement and positive behaviour of every student.

Our recent School Closure Day provided staff with valuable time to work together on our Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) approach, including reviewing and refreshing our school behaviour matrix. It was a productive day filled with great conversations about how we can continue to explicitly teach and reinforce our expectations of Be Safe, Be Respectful and Be Responsible.

The Wellbeing Hub has also been a hive of activity, providing students with opportunities to connect, regulate, reset and engage in a range of wellbeing activities.

And tomorrow we will come together to celebrate R U OK? Day, with students adding a splash of yellow to their uniforms and participating in meaningful, age-appropriate conversations about checking in with others, listening, showing care and understanding that sometimes a simple conversation can make a very big difference. 💛

PBL (Positive Behaviour for Learning)

Our recent PBL School Closure Day was a wonderful opportunity for our staff to come together and continue strengthening our whole-school approach to Positive Behaviour for Learning.

The day was incredibly successful, with lots of valuable discussion, collaboration and reflection about what our expectations of Be Safe, Be Respectful and Be Responsible look like across all areas of St John’s. A major focus of the day was reviewing and revamping our school behaviour matrix to ensure our expectations are clear, consistent, positive and meaningful for our students.

We are excited to share our Draft Behaviour Matrix with families. At this stage, it is very much a working document, and we value the important role our families play in our school community. We warmly invite you to have a look and share any thoughts or feedback you may have.

Our next step will be continuing to refine the matrix before explicitly teaching these expectations to our students and embedding them consistently across our school.

A huge thank you to our staff for embracing the day with such enthusiasm and for the thoughtful conversations about how we can continue creating a safe, respectful and responsible learning environment where every child can thrive. 💙💛

Mental Health Support

A reminder that tomorrow we will be recognising R U OK? Day at St John’s. Students are invited to wear a splash of yellow with their usual school uniform – this might be a yellow ribbon, socks, hair accessory, hat or something else small and fun! 💛

R U OK? Day is an important opportunity to remind our students that checking in with the people around us, listening and showing that we care can make a real difference. Throughout the day, students will participate in meaningful, age-appropriate conversations and activities about friendship, connection and looking out for one another.

Yellow is the colour associated with R U OK? and represents hope, positivity and the importance of starting conversations.

Sometimes one simple question – “Are you OK?” – can be the beginning of a very important conversation.

As we head towards the end of another busy term, we encourage everyone in our St John’s community to continue looking out for and taking care of one another. Our children are beginning to feel tired, and the excitement of the upcoming holidays is certainly starting to build!

We also have an exciting week ahead for our Year 5 students as they head off to school camp – a wonderful opportunity to build friendships, independence, confidence and some very special memories.

During these last couple of weeks, a little extra patience, kindness and understanding can go a long way. Let’s continue to check in with one another, celebrate the positives and help our children finish the term feeling happy, connected and proud of all they have achieved.

Take care of yourselves and each other.

Tracey Farrar

St John's Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader