What a fast term it has been! I can't believe how quickly it has gone! I wish you all a restful holiday with your families and look forward to seeing you in Term 3!

Term 2 Recap

Term 2 absolutely flew by!!! What a great Term we had, full of so much learning and fun! Regarding PBL, we have seen excellent growth in our student's overall behaviour, particularly within the toilets, where they have kept them so clean and tidy! We have been seeing lots of students being Responsible for school equipment in the playground as well as in the classrooms as well! It has been so amazing to see students helping and reminding their peers of how to be Respectful and Responsible. This Term, we had a big focus on 'Resilience' and focused on using the BOUNCE BACK acronym.

B- bad feelings always go away again

O- other people can help you feel better if you talk to them

U- unhelpful thinking makes you feel more upset. Think again.

N- nobody is perfect. Mistakes help you learn.

C- concentrate on the good things and have a laugh

E- everybody feels sad and worried sometimes, not just you.

B- blame fairly. How much of what happened was because of you, how much was because of others, and how much was because of bad luck or circumstance?

A- accept the things you can’t change but try and change the things you can first.

C- catastrophising exaggerates your worries. Don’t believe the worst possible picture.

K- keep things in perspective; a distressing situation is only one part of your life

This acronym and explicit teaching has really helped our students to build their resilience both in the playground and in the classroom. Resilience is something that underpins a lot of everything we do in our lives, no matter how old we are. It is pleasing to see students developing and improving on their resilience from such a young age!

We have been really lucky and excited to be able to have two PBL rewards this term! One was our hot chip lunch for the excellent responsibility of upkeep in the toilets, and this afternoon we had an end of Term reward for filling our Gotcha Tower!!! Today we had a special treasure hunt and puzzle activity within our friendship groups! It's so great to finish the term on such a high note!

Friendship groups have been so wonderful over this Term. We have been focussing a lot on Social Norms and Social Thinking! We will be continuing this learning again next term!

Looking ahead to Term 3

Looking ahead to Term 3:

Respectful Relationships topic- Help-Seeking
Friendship Groups- Social Norms and Social Thinking
PBL- Starting the term, we will be doing a lot of work on 'Transitions around the school' (moving between buildings, when the bell goes etc.) We will also continue our work on Resilience and other areas of focus that need attending to
Kids Helpline Workshops- Grade 5/6: Leadership workshop, Grade 3/4: Friendship workshop, F/1/2: Resilience workshop
We are still organising the details for a few other parent sessions, and we will let you know ASAP. We have had some great feedback from parents as to what they are looking for, so we are hoping to have some parent sessions with external providers in regard to the following topics: Resilience, Puberty Education, PBL and more.
There are a few other workshops that we are looking at as well, but I cannot confirm this at this time, but we have something in the works that is exciting!

Mental Health First Aid Course

Last week Nick and I attended a Mental Health First Aid course in Mansfield. We are now trained Mental Health First Aiders. The two days were absolutely fantastic, and I have so much that I would love to share with you all.

One thing from the day I found fascinating was looking at food that is being studied that is fantastic for kids and their brains to learn new things. They discussed about yoghurt, blueberries, gold kiwi fruit, eggs, salmon and sushi!

Another thing I wanted to share with you all is some advice for parents (given to us during the course):

Encourage your child to talk about their emotions and feelings
To get them to let you know when they feel overwhelmed
If they open up to you- Explain to them that these feelings are common in lots of kids
Support them gradually to do the things that make them anxious- have practical plans to tackle anxiety-driven tasks
Providing fun activities

I also received information on some fantastic links that you may find useful (Some may be targeted to older children but could still be relevant):

Please reach out if you ever need anything.

Kind regards,

Bec

rbeveridge@sjyarrajunction.catholic.edu.au

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