Wellbeing

Hello, 

My name is Ruby Mitchell. It is a pleasure to meet you and introduce myself. I have joined the Gilgai Plains Primary School Wellbeing Team this year and will be working as our Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader, alongside our Wellbeing Leader, Natasha Caruso. 

As Wellbeing Leader, Natasha works with our Education Support (ES) staff members who do a wonderful job at assisting our children with their learning inside the classroom, and even when developing their social and emotional skills outside of the classroom at recess and lunchtimes, too. You may have seen some of their happy faces around. Similarly, Natasha takes wonderful care of our referral processes and works with external services, also. 

My role as Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader (MHWL) is to work with our wonderful staff members, building their capacity to respond to the needs of our students, predominantly through the use of evidence-based classroom resources. Throughout the year we will be undertaking professional learning to further our knowledge and understanding as a collective staff, around the importance of mental health within our young children. 

Meditation and mindfulness have certainly gained traction and popularity throughout recent years. Did you know that learning to meditate helps children to develop their emotional regulation? It also has the power to lower stress and anxiety and improve confidence and self-esteem. How great! This link below is to a great article that outlines the benefits of meditation for children. You may like to use this at home. What a great way to engage as a family, before bedtime or before the busy school day begins. Your children might have heard of YouTube channels like Cosmic Kids Yoga or Smiling Mind, too. You can check them out here. https://www.mightier.com/resources/the-benefits-of-meditation-for-kids/

Cosmic Kids Yoga: https://www.youtube.com/user/CosmicKidsYoga/videos

Smiling Mind: https://www.youtube.com/@SmilingMindTV 

You can often find Natasha and I in our Wellbeing Office, located in Hub 2. See you around Our Gilgai.