Wellbeing

Absenteeism 

As Christine mentioned in last week’s newsletter, we have definitely seen an increased rate of absenteeism this year, particularly post Covid. No doubt, we are still feeling the after affects of 2 years of remote learning and many more children reporting feeling anxious.

Every day counts – school attendance

We all want our students to get a great education, and the building blocks for a great education begin with students coming to school each and every day.

Missing school can have a major impact on a child’s future – a student missing one day a fortnight will miss four full weeks by the end of the year. By Year 10 they’ll have missed more than a year of school.

There is no safe number of days for missing school – each day a student misses puts them behind, and can affect their educational outcomes.

Coming to school every day is vital, but if for any reason your child must miss school, there are things we can do together to ensure they don’t fall behind:

• Speak with your classroom teacher and find out what work your child needs to do to keep up.
• Develop an absence learning plan with your teacher and ensure your child completes the plan.

Remember, every day counts. If your child must miss school, speak with your classroom teacher early as early as possible.

From 1 March 2014, new laws will mean that parents can be fined for not sending students to school without an acceptable reason.

If you’re having attendance issues with your child, please let your classroom teacher know so we can work together to get your child to school every day.

Positive Behaviours for Learning (PBL) 

This term we are continuing to imbed Positive Behaviours for Learning (PBL) with the students and school community. PBL is a framework that we are using to teach the children about expected behaviours in different parts of the school. The children will have a weekly social skills lesson on a Monday identifying a specific social skill we would like the children to learn and practice around our school expectations of 

RESPECT

RESPONSIBILITY and 

KINDNESS

This week we have chosen to focus on the value of KINDNESS and the expectation of “Encourage and support others”. The teachers will focus on this in class in the coming weeks and looking at the language we use with each other to demonstrate this. 

We teach the children about Empathy. When we are kind, our brain releases oxytocin. This leads to an increase in our self-esteem, energy levels and overall positivity.

Just because your friend is hurt or upset doesn’t necessarily mean you feel the same way.

But you would still show them kindness because you understand how bad it feels to be hurt or upset. This is called empathy — when you put yourself in someone else’s shoes.

Evidence Everyone is different. But trying to understand how someone else is feeling by being kind and compassionate towards them doesn’t just help them to feel better. When you show empathy or do something kind for someone else, your brain releases a chemical that makes you feel happy too! Imagine you’re the richest person in the world but you have no friends or family to share it with. You wouldn’t feel very happy, would you? Empathy helps us feel closer to other people and makes us better friends and family members. This makes us feel better about ourselves and gives us more confidence, energy and overall happiness.

Look for opportunities to practice empathy such as :

Keep an eye out for how others are feeling today. Maybe you could invite a classmate who doesn’t have anyone to play with at lunchtime to join you. Or if a family member seems a bit sad, give them a hug. Try to show empathy to at least one person every day.

For more ideas of ways to practice Gratitude, Empathy, Mindfulness and build Emotional literacy, visit https://theresilienceproject.com.au/at-home/kids/

Connected Parenting

The following excerpt is taken from the Connected Parenting resource from the Australian Childhood Foundation. It is all about helping children deal with stressful events. For more information visit www.bringingupgreatkids.com.au

“Families face many stresses these days. For example, long working hours, divorce, illness, unemployment and moving house affect both adults and children. Whilst a new baby is an exciting time for a family, it can also be a time of significant change for everyone, especially children. These experiences impact on our parenting. Your own feelings at these times may be so strong that you may not notice or feel able to respond to your children’s needs. What’s going on for your child? Your child may feel frightened, vulnerable and insecure at times of stress or change. Do not assume your child understands what is happening. This can be a very confusing and unsettling time. Children can feel responsible for ‘bad’ things happening to people they care about. Children respond to stress or change in a number of ways: 

• They may act younger than their age. This is their way of telling you that it is all too much and they need you. 

• They may be clingy, demanding, or disruptive in an effort to gain attention, care, support and information from you. 

• They may have disturbed sleep, nightmares or bedwetting.

 • They may become very withdrawn or easily upset.

 • They may try very hard to make everything better for the family.

 • They may find it hard to tell you how they are feeling because they do not want to worry or upset you further.

What to do…. 

• Reassure your children constantly that you love them. 
• Tell your children that what is happening is not their fault. You may need to do this a number of times. 
• Let them know that even though you may be upset yourself, you are in control.
•  Be honest and clear with your children about what is happening.
• Where possible include your children in decisions that affect them. 
• Give your children time to talk. If they can’t talk to you encourage them to talk to someone they trust.
• Let your children know they may experience a range of feelings. Reassure them that it’s OK and give them ways to express how they are feeling.
• Take time to try and understand how they are feeling and why they are behaving the way they are. Be patient and tolerant. 
• Try to stick to familiar routines.”

If you have any questions or concerns about the wellbeing of your child please do not hesitate to contact me on rlenko@sfslynbrook.catholic.edu.au

Rachel Lenko

Student Wellbeing Leader