Wellbeing

MANAGING BIG  FEELINGS WEBINAR

For Parents and Carers of Prep and Grade 1/2 children. 

Peaceful Parents, Peaceful Kids'

Georgina Manning joined us on Thursday night and delivered a seminar for our parent community.  Georgina Manning is the Director of Wellbeing for Kids, an educator, counsellor and a psychotherapist. Georgina has many years of experience working in schools supporting children and parents, and facilitates regular parent seminars in schools.  Georgina has created the ‘Peaceful Kids’ and 'Peaceful Parents' Mindfulness and Positive Psychology programs and holds training for school staff and mental health professionals across many states in Australia.

Key points from last night's seminar: 

• Mindfulness means paying attention and being present; it decreases stress and anxiety as there are less things to worry about. It also improves sleep, strengthens the  immune system and improves physical symptoms.  Please refer to the Operoo sent with a range of resources from Georgina.
• We continue to practise meditation mindfulness 5 minutes every morning to support our students starting the day with a positive mindset. 
• Parents can access materials from Peaceful Parents website https://www.peacefulkids.com.au/parents.html

Thank you for organising Georgina to come along and share some peaceful parenting tips with us last night. I found the workshop really useful and a great reminder of how to be a more present and mindful parent. I loved the guided mindfulness practice that Georgina ran through with us and the encouragement to practice mindfulness in our busy lives. I practiced this on my walk home after drop off this morning and definitely felt better for it. I also really liked the reflective listening exercise. It was a great reminder to listen to our children without interrupting, allowing them to speak their thoughts and feelings freely and not jumping in with our own opinions or 'investigator' questions.

Megan Cassar 

Thank you so much for the opportunity to attend Georgina Mannings seminar on Peaceful Kids, Peaceful Parents.  The juggle and balance of work, children, commitments to events, quality time with friends and loved ones, to often feels like a vortex of chaos and overwhelming. Georgia’s session was invaluable, reminding us to take the time, to be grounded and sharing simple strategies that can provide a solid foundation to set your day and your child’s day up for success.

Today I feel a significantly reduced stress level, I actually can’t believe it, achieving a heightened self awareness by attending one seminar.  My husband and I look forward to sharing and implementing the mindful strategies Georgina taught us with our children. Thanks once again. 

PJ & Davo  

Many thanks for organising the Peaceful Parenting workshop with Georgina Manning last night. I’ve heard her speak before (through an OLA arranged session) but I always feel better after listening to her and inspired to change my behaviour to improve the way I live and our family functions. Her sessions are always a good chance for reflection and a reset. Georgina validates people (including our role as parents) and understands the pressures of raising a family in today’s world. Last night she gave us a few simple skills to help us navigate this world peacefully, ‘fill our cups up’ and have a positive impact on ourselves and those around us. I highly recommend attending her sessions and/or accessing her resources. Many thanks for offering this session (and the babysitting service!) for OLA parents to attend. Sally Wright

2023 Lunch Club Overview

Making lunch times extra special! 

Lunch clubs are completely run by the dedication of our wonderful staff at OLA. Staff volunteer half of their lunch time and run a club for students to enjoy! 

Students are very fortunate to have a variety of them on offer each week.  Lunch Clubs provide students with other options of play rather than outside play during half of their lunch.

Lunchtime clubs at OLA offer students the opportunity to engage and participate in activities that they enjoy and are passionate about, socialise with groups of multi-age students, 'take a break' from the playground or try something new. 

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) On School Students with Disability 

What is the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data? 

Schools must now complete the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD) every year. It counts the number of students who receive additional adjustments or “help” at school because of a disability. The NCCD helps governments plan for the needs of students with disability. 

Please read the pamphlet attached for more information. 

Buddy Program at OLA

At OLA we offer our Prep and Grade 6 students a program called ‘Buddies.’ It is one of the many ways OLA helps prep students settle into school, as well as promoting and developing leadership skills in our senior students. Buddies meet regularly throughout the year to complete fun activities together. These activities include literacy and technology activities, maths games and craft. The program has an extremely positive impact on both the Prep and Grade 6 students.

Benefits of the buddy program include:

Prep students having another positive role model within the school

Prep students having someone to go to if they are worried/scared in the playground

Prep and Grade 6 children developing new and positive relationships

Grade 6 students taking on and developing responsibility

Grade 6 students are learning how to be a positive role model for other students. 

MOIRA’s Occupational Therapy service delivers a person-centred practice, using an evidence-based approach by a compassionate and experienced team dedicated to enhancing the potential for people to live independent and fulfilling lives and create their own stories. Please read pamphlet attached for more information.

Josy Reeder

Wellbeing Leader