Wellbeing Update
Breakfast Club Update
Boost Your Brainpower
A reminder that Breakfast Club is available to students each Tuesday and Thursday morning from 7.45am to 8.20am. We encourage students who have not had a bite to eat to come along and get some toast and a hot milo. Children and adolescents who eat a healthy breakfast each day tend to:
- Perform better academically
- Have better memory and concentration
- feel a greater level of connectedness with teachers and peers
- Have more positive health and academic outcomes.
The breakfast club team are also looking for anyone who would like to volunteer their time to help out the wellbeing team, one or both of the days we provide breakfast club. Please let the Wellbeing team know if you can help out. Happy for helpers both or even one of the days. We also love donations to go towards breakfast club – Margarine, Cheese Slices and Milo are the things we would greatly appreciate.
Respectful Relationships Update
GCASA workshops for years 7 & 8 students
On the 5th May the year 7 & 8 students attended a session presented by the Gippsland Centre Against Sexual Assault (GCASA).
This session included discussions about what sexual assault means, consent, what sexting is and a brief discussion on the law, what respectful and healthy relationships are and where to go for help for ourselves and our friends.
Students engaged well with the presenters and took away important information that supports our important work as a Respectful Relationships Lead School.
Later in the year Lowanna will be hosting an online information session about consent for parents and carers. Stay tuned for more on this later.
Respectful Relationships in the classrooms
This term our students have started participating in the Respectful Relationships program in the classrooms. We have had some wonderful feedback from teachers…..
“ Students payed attention and their body language indicated interest”
“ students were engaged”
“ students said they wanted to practice being assertive”
“ I found being really honest about the fact that although we had just indicated that to be assertive is the goal, we don't always achieve this and that sometimes our emotions, or being stressed/out of comfort zone etc. gets in the way. This led to a really productive conversation about apologies”
Classes have chosen topics of interest and topics that are relevant to how students might be feeling at the moment.
I encourage you to talk to your child about what they are doing in the classrooms …. Asking questions will open up the dialogue with your child about this important work and keep you well informed about what is happening in the classroom.
Below are images of some of Mr Mitchell’s students planning and preparing a Respectful Relationships activity they delivered to the class.
Smiling Minds- Mindfulness
All staff training on Mindfulness
The process of honing your own mindfulness practice can provide great benefits in terms of an individual’s sense of well-being and sense of presence in their work. Furthermore, mindfulness helps bring the curriculum to life in a non-academic way and can have profound effects on students learning. Mindfulness training can be instrumental in reducing stress and helping students focus on the tasks for the rest of the day.
Introducing mindfulness across Lowanna means staff exploring and experiencing the process for themselves. To assist staff in implementing mindfulness in their own life and to help them in the process of introducing this approach to students, the method of mindfulness breathing was introduced at recent staff meetings.
During the first staff meeting of the term it was great for staff to learn the science behind mindfulness and to integrate the positive aspects of mindfulness into their own thinking. Key learnings for staff included: how brain function is improved using mindfulness; the benefits of mindfulness in reducing stress and anxiety; and hearing of the positive experiences of other schools’ staff and students.
With teachers learning the procedures of mindful breathing in another staff meeting they had the opportunity to practice skills that cultivate present-moment attention and support emotional regulation.
It was great to see teachers and support staff engaged positively in the three two-minute practice activities that were integrated into the staff meeting at the start middle and end. It was a delight to hear the many positive comments on how mindfulness eased stress and made the meeting more enjoyable.
Out Of Home Care News
Out of Home Care carers morning tea
On Wednesday 8th June the wellbeing team will be hosting their second morning tea for carers of students in Out of Home Care.
This is an opportunity for carers to come together, share experiences, meet school staff and learn more about the school. At Lowanna College we recognise the important job all parents do, in particular the role of carers (champions) for young people who are placed in their care for various reasons.
We hope to provide this opportunity each term. Please help us to celebrate the wonderful job these people do.
At Lowanna, we are committed to supporting all of our students in out of home care. Donna Perkins (Wellbeing Coordinator) is responsible for ensuring we have clear plans and goals for these students so we are able to meet their needs. We believe strong relationships with Out of Home Care carers will support the young people in their care to achieve their goals.
Mothers Day
Sunday 8th of May we celebrated Mother’s Day. At Lowanna College we acknowledge that this is a day where young people can celebrate any people in their lives that may take on the role of a mother.
Young people may have a step mother, a foster care mother, a grandmother, a dad or someone else who is caring for them and doing the job of a mum.
We hope whoever you spent your day with that you enjoyed the time together and did something special. To all of those people who take on the role of a provider, carer, supporter and advocate for our young people …. Well done on the amazing job you are doing and continue to do.
Regards,
Paul Fry – Wellbeing Leader