Wellbeing
Welcome back
A warm welcome back to all our families at SFS. I hope this week has been a positive one for you all and your children have settled back well into the new school year. It is normal for children to feel a bit anxious about the new school year, with some children worrying about their teacher, the work and whether they will make new friends. Remember to have daily check ins with your children to talk about how they are feeling. This is a great thing to do as you sit at the dinner table each night. If you have any concerns about how your child is adjusting to come back to school, please do not hesitate to contact me. rlenko@sfslynbrook.catholic.edu.au
Here are some suggestions that may help you and your child transition back to school in a positive way taken from the Good Grief website, Seasons for Growth fact sheet.
Routine
Start shifting back into a routine a week before school restarts: • set wake-times (bed-times will follow – no naps!) • turn off devices an hour before sleep • re-establish breakfast, morning snack and lunch patterns • read books • practice wearing a mask for longer periods (if required).
Choices
Giving kids choices can help them feel they have some control. Ask if there is anything that would help them with the first day (such as meeting a friend at the gate or taking a special item in their bag). Get children involved in: • choosing a healthy breakfast • sharing ideas for what to eat at recess and lunch • helping pack their bags • preparing any extra masks or other pandemic-related items
Prepare
Talk about any pandemic protection measures that will be in place at school so your child knows what to expect. It may be helpful to practice or role-play some of these, such as mask wearing, greeting friends, washing hands or drop-off procedures. Ensure your child has everything they will need for school this year (e.g., uniform, well-fitting shoes and school bag, plus masks, tissues etc.).
Time
Lay out everything together the day before school starts. Give yourselves extra time on the first morning to get ready and get to school. Perhaps play some music you all enjoy at home or in the car. Take a few deep breaths together before your child leaves the house / before they go through the school gate.
Listen and reassure
Give your child opportunities to share any worries and listen carefully to their concerns. Reassure them it is okay to feel nervous and/or worried, but try not to share any of your own anxieties. Encourage positivity by reminding your child about the aspects of the school term they enjoy, such as seeing or making new friends, playing sport or beginning a new activity. Model trust, both in the school’s protection measures and in your child’s ability to handle things.
Reconnect
Reconnect over an after school snack or by playing a game together. Acknowledge that some children don’t talk much about their school day, but do provide opportunities for them to share any issues. Try asking if they would like to do anything differently for school tomorrow. If necessary, problem-solve the night before so they can sleep easy.
SWELL week
We begin each new school year with SWELL week. This is a focus on wellbeing when we return to school so that teachers and students can work on building relationships with each other, to help the children create a sense of belonging and to have fun! This week, the students have participated in games and activities to get to know each other and re-establish or school Commitment of Co-operation. The students have learnt about our school values and how they can act on them at school. They have participated in Specialist classes with a wellbeing focus. We had a whole school incursion with Circus Challenge. https://www.circuschallenge.com/
The children got to participate in a 1 hour circus skills workshop. Circus Challenge provides unique social development opportunities, focusing on interpersonal skills, interaction, and cooperation. All activities are designed to support process learning, problem-solving and lateral thinking. Students are challenged to develop new neural processes that drive coordinated movement, attention, perception and reasoning. Circus Challenge allows students to take physical, social and emotional risks in an environment that provides supportive and positive risk-taking. The sessions explore the power of bouncing back when things go wrong and how to deal with disappointment. Being resilient only comes through evidence that we are able to cope. Circus Skills provide the opportunity to "rehearse" how we react to difficulties. The children also enjoyed a whole school circus performance. We finished SWELL week with a Prayer/reflection.
Seasons for Growth
Seasons for Growth is a program which focuses on strengthening the social and emotional wellbeing of children, young people and adults following significant change and loss in their lives.
If your child has had an experience of change or loss such as death of a loved one or pet, divorce or separation of parents, birth of a new sibling, moving house or some other change which has impacted on them, then this program may help them.
The program is for children in Year 1 to 6 and runs once a week for 8 weeks in a small group. I am a trained Seasons for Growth Companion, trained through McKillop Family Services. I would like to run some groups this year. If you think your child would benefit or you would like some more information, please contact me rlenko@sfslynbrook.catholic.edu.au
Social Skills groups
I work with children in small social skill’s groups each morning to help them develop their social skills. This could be to help them develop their confidence, to build their understanding of emotions and how to express them, to give them strategies to help them make friends or deal with conflict in the playground. If you have any concerns about your child’s social skills and you would like to discuss this with me or you feel your child may benefit from being a part of a social skill’s group, please let me know.
The Resilience Project
We are proud to again partner this year with the Resilience Project. Resilience and wellbeing are key factors to ensure a happy and fulfilling future for our young people. We are proud to partner with The Resilience Project to assist our students in their wellbeing journey. In order to gain an accurate understanding of our student’s strengths and challenges, we will be conducting a resilience survey developed by Resilient Youth Australia and the University of South Australia. In recent years, they have surveyed more than 390,000 Australian school students. We will administer the Resilience Survey this year online in class time. Students typically take 30-35minutes to complete the survey. The data from the survey will be reported in aggregate descriptive form only, by year level and gender, and no individual student responses can be identified. The Resilience Survey is completely voluntary and anonymous. The survey will provide valuable information to assist us to create and maintain the best culture of wellbeing and resilience that we can .If you have any questions or concerns regarding your child’s participation in this survey project, please contact Rachel rlenko@sfslynbrook.catholic.edu.au We thank you for your support.
Action for happiness
The theme for the February calendar is Friendly February. This month let's focus on reaching out to connect with others and doing our best to be a good friend. Our acts of kindness and connection ripple out and impact so many more people than we realise - and they also boost our own happy hormones too! In stressful times people around us may be feeling the strain, so let's try to keep calm, take time to listen and show compassion.
If you have any concerns about the wellbeing of your child, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Rachel Lenko
Student wellbeing Leader