St Mary's School, Castlemaine

Wellbeing

Hello St Mary’s Community,

 

 

After being on long service leave for six weeks and due to the fact that we are over halfway through the year I thought I would remind you of my roles at St Mary’s. They include Wellbeing, Learning Diversity, PE and I am also part of a program known as MHiPS (Mental Health in Primary Schools). The Wellbeing and MHiPS roles aim to;

 

  1. Promote a whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing 
  2. Support teachers and school staff to expand their capacity to embed evidence-based mental health strategies, interventions and programs 
  3. Support St Mary’s to create clear internal and external pathways for referrals for students identified as requiring further assessment and intervention
  4. Proactively work with external agencies
  5. Advocate for and value student voice and agency

 

Overall I strive to create a safe and supportive environment for students on a whole school level and to also support staff wellbeing. I am not a counsellor but I do support and check in with students on an as needed basis. Teaching PE on Thursdays is a great way to incorporate our wellbeing ideals through the curriculum and allows me to get to know all of our St Mary’s students across all year levels throughout their St Mary’s journey. I love my role here and they do overlap quite a bit, although wearing many hats presents an exciting challenge. 

One of our new initiatives is ‘The Big Question’. St Mary’s staff will work together to come up with a school wide Wellbeing focus that they have identified as needing some attention. This coming fortnight's question is What’s in a Name? This topic will explore how we talk to people and the effect it can have both positively and negatively. This will be explored in class discussion during our Circle Time sessions and culminate in class displays and assembly presentations.  

In our next newsletter I will tell you a bit about my Learning Diversity role and what that entails.

If you need to catch up with me about any of these areas or you would like to come in for a chat then please do.

You can also contact me by phone on 54722270 or email me mark.osullivan@smcastlemaine.catholic.edu.au

 

Mark O’Sullivan