Wellbeing
SWPBS -
These students have all received 10 or more tokens for showing our school values in their attitude and behaviour.
Congratulations to:
Mason C. 0JD
Logan H. 0TJ
Jacob M. 0TJ
Zoe W. 0TJ
Micah P. 1MG
Alyssa C. 1MG
Will T. 3/4M
Maddi M. 6HC
Transitioning to onsite learning after lockdown 6!
Every school household may be experiencing mixed emotions about returning to onsite learning. Perhaps there is a confusing mixture of excitement and relief along with anxiety about another change and what that will look and feel like.
Some tips for a positive return to school are -
Preparation beforehand:
- Check in with your child about how they are feeling about returning to onsite learning. Listen to any concerns. Respond calmly and reassure them that any anxious or nervous feelings are a normal response and that everyone at school is focused upon helping their transition to be as smooth and safe as possible.
- If they continue to find things difficult, remind them of times in the past when they were able to do things that were difficult, when they faced situations that made them nervous or scared. Remind them of the good outcomes on those occasions.
- Ask your child what they like about school and what they are looking forward to when they return. Perhaps they could draw or write about those things.
- Assure them that all school staff are looking forward to seeing them.
- Try to re-establish a normal school week bedtime and wake up routine prior.
- Help your child to pack their bag and prepare for school the day prior to ensure nothing is forgotten.
- Allow additional time to wake up and get ready on the first day back.
Ways to prepare for changes and new school procedures:
- Check the latest school communications to familiarise yourself with any new procedures such as changes to parental access to the school grounds, drop off and pick up points as well as new rules such as wearing face masks or about hygiene.
- Work out with your child how these changes will be managed from your family’s perspective. The better they understand the changes, the more your child will feel at ease about them. If they are feeling uncertain about entering school unsupported, it may help them to walk in with a classmate or taking a special item in their school bag may provide a sense of security.
- Let the school know of any concerns relating to your child that may impact their transition back to school. This will assist with implementing appropriate support strategies.
The staggered return to school -
Some families will have children attending school on different days of the week. Some children may feel disappointed that they are not continuing with remote learning with their sibling, or they may even feel disconnected from the family.
Ways to assist your child through this challenging process are:
· Listen to them and assure them it’s okay to feel sad or disappointed.
· If they’re super excited and their sibling is feeling sad and disappointed, assure their sibling that it won’t be long before all students are back at school. Although it will likely be a challenging period, it’s something that has to be got through the best way possible. Please consult with your child’s teacher about any major concerns.
· Ensure there is an enjoyable activity for your child after they return home from onsite learning.
· Avoid excluding your child from fun activities with their siblings while they are away at school.
At the end of their school day:
· Talk to your child about their day, including what they enjoyed, what they felt concerned about and what they are looking forward to tomorrow. If your child prefers, get them to write down or draw their experiences and feelings.
· Provide opportunities for your child to play and relax at the end of the day as they may be feeling more fatigued and emotional than on previous occasions of onsite learning.
· Schedule extra family time together as your child may have missed being at home with you,
· Encourage your child to ask for help if they need it.
For those children experiencing heightened emotions -
With previous returns to onsite learning, a number of children experienced heightened emotions and some had difficulty regulating their emotions. It can be a big deal for them as they readjust to the pleasures and challenges associated with being at school. This readjustment phase should improve with time.
If your child needs some support in managing strong emotions some helpful tips include:
· Creating a quiet space where they can calm down
· Making up a tool box of calming, distracting items, such as slime and fidgets.
· Including some relaxation strategies into the daily routine.
· Providing an opportunity for exercise which may assist with getting rid of pent-up energy and emotion.
Finally -
· Take care of your own wellbeing while supporting your child’s return to learning at school.
· As always, if you are concerned about your child, seek support by contacting the school.
Delighting in a mini world and being an explorer in it
During these final weeks of lockdown and with the ever-increasing feelings of frustration at remaining constrained, I wonder whether shifting our focus to the mini world around us and becoming an explorer of it may help some of us to get through this period.
Once we shift our focus to the mini world around us, a whole new world opens up to us. By using our eyes and ears we will uncover clues about the different creatures visiting our garden. Such clues might be found in the droppings on the lawn; a sudden rustling in a shrub; the flapping of wings; a small pile of grainy sand; a silvery trail or a glistening web. We may quickly discover that our garden is feeding and housing a surprising range of creatures.
Along with the larger creatures in our mini world such as birds, possums and bats, there is also the world of reptiles and insects to explore.
Within the mini world of bugs, we will require good observational skills to find them, because they are very small and they like to hide.
https://museumsvictoria.com.au/melbournemuseum/at-home/play/backyard-bioblitz/
Perhaps our mini world becomes so fascinating to us we might decide to set up our garden to attract extra wildlife so that we can study even more birds, frogs, lizards, bees, butterflies, ants, snails and many other creatures, such as the Blue banded bee below.
Then there’s the world of plants and flowers. These can be enjoyed in our own mini world as well as in our neighbourhood. How much more will we observe as we walk past other people’s gardens, visit local parks or go for walks in the bush? A great deal of pleasure can be obtained through the close examination of leaves, seed pods and flowers.
At a different time of the year, in Autumn, we particularly take notice of leaves. The deciduous tree leaves change colour and drop to the ground for us to collect and enjoy.
Seed pods come in a huge variety of ways. They can be hard or fleshy, small or large, brown or coloured. Some of these are fun to collect and examine as well.
Springtime is a great time to observe flowers. Some plants such as the pansy have flowers that are bright, cheery and look like they are always giving us a cheeky, “Hello”!!
Taking a close up look at many flowers reveals just how incredibly detailed and complex they are. Here are just a few examples we could see right now:
1. This Fuchsia flower looks like a ballerina.
2. This Lavender flower has wings on the top and a barrel like body beneath with what look like ‘bobbles’ on it.
3. This Grevillea flower almost looks spider like.
For more information, check out the websites included in this article and explore any others that are of interest.
Enjoy dipping into the delights of the mini world just outside the back door or down the street.
Take care of yourselves and those you love,
Anne Lawry
Chaplain