Assistant Principal - Wellbeing & Welfare

It is so wonderful to see our students and families back at school. Greeting families at the gates and around the school has shown the positivity, the eagerness and the excitement for being back at school. We look forward to a year filled with happiness, growth and kindness in 2024.

To my Family, 

Please help me to be confident and resilient … 

• Let me carry my own bag to school. 
• Let me put my bag & fruit snack away in the morning. 
• Guide me to change my take home book rather than do it for me. 
• If I forget something please don’t race home and get it for me – there is always tomorrow! 
• Please remember that at times I will have conflict with my friends – this is really normal and a part of growing up. Sometimes I might just need to talk about it with you and get emotional support. 
• If I am tired after school and have a meltdown remember lots of people cope this way, and there is nothing to worry about – I have just been on my best behaviour all day! 
• Let me make my own breakfast (even in Foundation I can get out the cereal and milk!) 
• Let me make some of my own lunch (with some guidance if I am making unhealthy choices) 
• Let me clean up after breakfast / dinner – if I can use a iPad, then I can clean up! 
• Please allow me to make mistakes without upsetting you as I need to explore the world myself with some guidance from you. 
• Please give me a chance to solve problems on my own – it’s the only way I can build resilience. 
• Please give me lots of time to just play each day (without technology) so I can relax, be active, be creative and build independence. 
• Please let me explore the world and follow my own interests! 

Thank you!

Building Resilience in Children

Resilience … it’s a familiar word, isn’t it? But what does it really mean? 

When we talk about resilience, we’re talking about a child’s ability to cope with ups and downs, and bounce back from the challenges they experience during childhood – for example moving home, changing schools, studying for an exam or dealing with the death of a loved one. Building resilience helps children not only to deal with current difficulties that are a part of everyday life, but also to develop the basic skills and habits that will help them deal with challenges later in life, during adolescence and adulthood.

Resilience is important for children’s mental health. Children with greater resilience are better able to manage stress, which is a common response to difficult events. Stress is a risk factor for mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression, if the level of stress is severe or ongoing.

How to Foster Resilience in Everyday Life

A child’s capacity for resilience is the result of both their genetic make-up, as well as environmental factors that can be influenced and changed.  Whilst we can’t change someone’s genetics, there are many things that families can do to build resilience in children.

There are three characteristics of an environment that helps to build resilience:

1. An environment where caring and support are considered important, and foster a sense of belonging
2. Consistent boundaries, as well as support for children to behave appropriately and achieve positive goals
3. Opportunities to participate in shared activities and contribute to decision making

So how can families work to create a resilient family and an environment that builds resilience?  There are many ways, and the following suggestions are not a complete list.  You may be able to find more!

• Be actively involved in the community and have regular contact with friends, neighbours, teachers and activity groups
• Show affection and compassion to those around you
• Don’t blame others, focus on changing behaviour
• Work positively to resolve arguments, communicate positively
• Set clear, realistic boundaries for children’s behaviour
• Focus on people’s strengths and encourage them to build on them
• Provide children with many different opportunities to succeed
• Allow children to participate in decision making
• Make children responsible for appropriate tasks
• Listen to and respect the opinions of others, even if you don’t agree with them

Looking beyond a single child, resilience in families go hand in hand with fostering resilience in children.   Studies into resilient families have identified six common characteristics:

1.  Commitment to the family
2.  Appreciation and affection for each other
3.  Positive communication patterns
4.  Enjoyable time together
5.  A sense of spiritual well-being and connection
6.  The ability to successfully manage stress and crisis

There are many common themes between resilient children and resilient families – spending time together creates a sense of belonging, showing affection and focusing on positive communications are all common threads.  In many ways, a commitment to fostering resilience in children is also a commitment to fostering resilience in your family.

Celebrating Students at Park Ridge

Across every class, throughout the year, each student will be acknowledged for their strengths and qualities from their peers and their teacher. Acknowledging students' strengths and qualities, rather than their achievements is a great way to build a community in your child's classroom. When students share about themselves, students are able to find commonalities between themselves and their classmates. Each year level may acknowledge students differently but the idea behind the acknowledgment is consistent. Each student will be acknowledged once during the current year.

Each week, a Park Ridge Primary School Values Award will be awarded for one student across each year level.  This will be discussed and decided upon as a year level team.  The awards will be based upon student's displaying exemplary school values consistently across all aspects of school life here at Park Ridge Primary School. These awards will be presented at assembly.