Engagement & Wellbeing

Respectful Relationships 

This week the students in Grade 3/4 Green looked at taming angry feelings. Throughout this lesson we identified types of events and situations that can lead to strong emotions and the 10 techniques that we could use to control our emotions.  

The 10 techniques explored for controlling our emotions include:  

1. Count first: Before you do anything – you count to 10 in your head.  Then tell yourself to calm down. 
2. Balloon breathing: Imagine you are going to blow up a balloon. Take a big breath in and then breathe out slowly. Do this five times until your ‘balloon’ is full. Then imagine you have let the balloon zip away and lose all its air. Imagine that it is you losing all your angry feelings. 
3. Time-out: This is when you find a safe or quiet place to be for a while so you can calm yourself down. This might be a bench in the playground or the corner of your bedroom. 
4. Five deep breaths: This is when you take a slow breath in and let a slow breath out and then do this four more times. 
5. Glass of water: This is when you take a slow drink of water to help you gain control of yourself, your mouth and what you will say. 
6. Squeeze: This is when you squeeze a stress ball or hold on tightly to an object. You grip hard and then slowly let go, letting go the tension at the same time. 
7. Hands in pockets: This is a good way to remind yourself you are not going to hit anyone. If you have no pockets, put your hands behind your back, sit on your hands or press your hands together. 
8. Robot to rag doll: Scrunch up tight and hard like a robot, then slowly let go to turn yourself into a floppy rag doll. 
9. Ice to water: Scrunch up tight and hard like an ice block, then slowly let yourself melt. 
10. Take a walk: This is when you go for a fast walk around the room, or the yard to get yourself calmed down. 

Once we had explored all 10 techniques, we then practised using them in different situations to help regulate ourselves and control our emotions.  

School Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS)

The SWPBS team and all staff and students are celebrating the awesome work everyone has done this year improving behaviours at our school. In our last edition of the newsletter, we shared some graphs displaying data and behaviours that each class is working hard on improving. 

This semester, behaviour in our classrooms will be a focus across the school with regular discussions around how best we can show our School Values while we work and play. We would encourage all families in our school community to support us with helping their children by taking a moment to have a look at our SWPBS display board which is located outside the Art room, near The Hub play area.

The pictures above show the location of our SWPBS focus board and we encourage all families to continue to familiarise themselves with our focus each term to support the continued improvement in behaviours inside our classrooms and outside in the school yard. Any follow up conversations at home are greatly appreciated. This board also shows our new 'Stop Routine', which is being taught in all classrooms to support students with their problem solving.

SRC Update

Dear Community,

As part of our SRC Student Voice initiative, our students have chosen to start a lunchtime computer games club. Our recent Pyjama Day raised $423 toward this project, which our Parent Club very generously matched dollar for dollar, before providing some additional funds to make sure we could get the most kids engaged in this club as possible. The SRC would like to say a big ‘THANK-YOU!’ to the Parents Club for helping out.

We have ordered two Nintendo Switches with some games and additional controllers, which will be available to use shortly.

We are now deciding how and when to run these Computer Club sessions, and hope to have at least one started before the end of this Term. 

From the SRC

Hats are Back!

As a proud SunSmart school, students will be asked to wear broad-brimmed hats or bucket hats outside from next week. Although it may not feel like hat weather, UV levels can still be damaging on cool, cloudy days. Students without an appropriate hat will be asked to use shaded areas or suitable areas protected from the sun.

Too much of the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation can cause sunburn, skin and eye damage and skin cancer. UV damage accumulated during childhood and adolescence is associated with an increased risk of skin cancer later in life. Skin cancer is the most common cancer in Australia. It is also one of the most preventable cancers. You can’t see or feel the sun’s UV. Whatever the weather, if the UV levels are three or more, it’s important to Slip, Slop, Slap, Seek and Slide! 

Hats may be purchased from our uniform supplier, Noone.

Noone's hours are Monday to Friday 9 am-5 pm and Saturday 9 am-12 pm. 

Noone

21 Queen Street

Bendigo Victoria 3550

Phone: 03 7018 4199

Email: Bendigo@noone.com.au