Student Wellbeing
Dear Parents/Carers,
Welcome back to Galilee for 2018!
We are all very happy to be back at school and commenced this term with Wellbeing Week.
This week was designated as a week to build relationships, make connections, get to know each other, set class agreements and generally build a positive, safe, happy, cohesive class group for 2018.
We suggested that students take part in at least 2 wellbeing activities each day.
Below are some of the activities that were suggested the students and staff participate in:
- Class discussion about what makes a safe, happy classroom - then come up with their 2018 Class Agreements.
- Circle Times - getting ‘to know you’ activities, story discussion, how are you feeling? activities using emotion cards
- Mindfulness colouring
- Calm Down Yoga for Kids
- Mindful Meditation
- Berry Street Activities - Body Book
- Go Noodle calming activities - www.gonoodle.com
- Walk & Talk - choose a partner & walk around the school playground as a class group - have students talk to their partner about themselves, their likes, families etc. Swap to a new partner half way through the walk and start discussion again. The students may need to write the prompt questions on a card to help them.
- Read stories about feelings - describing, identifying emotions etc.
We also arranged for all students to participate in the ‘Green Planks’ incursion and a Yoga session.
During the ‘Green Planks’ sessions, the activities were designed to have the students build constructions using larger ‘jenga’ blocks. This provided situations for them to work together collaborating, listening, connecting and building positive relationships with each other.
It was wonderful to see how the students worked so well together and organised their working groups to include all classmates. I was very impressed with the imaginative constructions they worked together to complete.
The activities provided further opportunities for the students to discuss in class this week how they decided on their constructions, how they felt when their ideas weren’t accepted by their group & when the construction fell down, what emotions were displayed, what else could they have done etc. The ability to discuss and share all helps to build connections and relationships within their class group.
The yoga sessions proved a success and once again can be continued in class with Mindfulness Meditations.
It was a great beginning to Term 1 for all - well done!
onpsych
Once again, we have enlisted the services of onpsych to provide additional support to those students, parents and teachers who experience challenging times.
Vanessa Lowe provided a valuable service to our community in 2017 and we are delighted that she will continue this year.
Onpsych provides psychological services to schools in Victoria. They are a passionate team of fully qualified, registered psychologists and social workers who specialise in child and adolescent services. They work in primary, secondary, and special schools, from both public and private sectors. They work in both individual and group sessions with students and parents. In most cases, services are performed at no cost to the school, student or parent.
Onpsych services are provided on-site, at the school. They value working collaboratively with school welfare teams, teachers and parents to ensure the best possible outcomes for young people across Australia. A Health Care Plan, with clear outcomes, will be tailored for each individual. Through Medicare, individuals are eligible for (up to) 16 individual sessions each year, at no cost to the student or the school.
Mental Health disorders significantly impact on a student’s ability to cope. Depending on the intensity of the disorder, they strongly prefer sustainable change that is seen as incremental steps towards a more positive future, rather than giant leaps in self-awareness that may quickly evaporate. With this in mind, they develop strategies with their clients that will assist in:
- Improved social skills and clearer communication,
- More rational thinking and coping mechanisms
- Stronger positive attitudes and self-assurance
Vanessa will be available on Mondays here at Galilee. Vanessa will be here while there is a need, however if our community does not avail the onpsych services, we will discontinue their services.
If you feel you would like to use this service, please speak to me and I will provide you with further information and commence the process with you.
Kind regards,
Julianne Price
Ph. 96992928