Wellbeing
Staff Wellbeing Week
November 4th to 8th was Staff Wellbeing Week here at DSC - a week set aside to remind and support staff in their wellbeing. We know that staff wellbeing is directly related to student wellbeing. If a staff member has a positive sense of their wellbeing and are able to thrive through the challenges of life, then the students they work with are more likely to have a positive sense of wellbeing.
Staff Wellbeing Week was a chance for staff to engage in different activities that other staff were willing to lead.
There were 25 activities offered across the week. Options included: wellness walk, morning story time, meditations, pilates, crochet class, band jam, Christmas decorations, trivia, volleyball, yoga, colouring in, clay work and board games. Staff filled out the Staff Shout Out board, offering gratitude and thanks to other staff members. On Melbourne Cup day, staff were encouraged to do one thing for themselves and one thing for someone else.
I want to thank all staff who were willing to share a passion of theirs and to all the staff who signed up to the activities.
Drew Hanna, Student Wellbeing Team – Youth Worker
Whole School Approach to Wellbeing
The core element of the Whole School Approach to Wellbeing is the NIP approach - NIP it in the bud (Notice, Inquire, Plan). Watch the above short video that explains what NIP is and how all of us are able to use it to express care and concern for people in our lives.
The clip is a sneak peek of the webcast: Anxiety— Practical Support Strategies for School Communities. Kristen Douglas is the National Manager of headspace Schools, and explains the NIP strategies that can be used with everyone from toddlers to 90-year-olds. Kristen's full presentation will be webcast on Thursday 21st November. Tap here to Register: https://bit.ly/32KMpB0.
Quick Tips To Boost Mental Health
Why not take some time out of your day and read these six steps from the Smiling Mind Blog to boost your mental health.
Is self-care something you prioritise? Or is it something you view as indulgent or feel you don’t have time for? It can be a difficult lesson for many of us to learn, but to truly be at our best, both for ourselves as well as the people around us, we need to make self-care a priority. Far from indulgent, try to view self-care as a necessity for the pace and pressure that life can place on us all.
So what exactly is self-care? Self-care refers to the activities and practices that support physical, emotional and mental health. Contrary to what some people believe, self-care doesn’t have to be lavish or expensive. It’s often the simplest things that make the biggest difference.
We’ve put together our top tips for developing your own self-care practice (it really is a practice!). Why not try to be proactive and embed some form of self-care into your daily, weekly, monthly and yearly routine? Don’t wait until you’re struggling, start your self-care practice today!
Alex Dang
Wellbeing Placement Student