Student Wellbeing
Wellbeing News
Brookside Boost
This 2020, has been a wild year for all of us especially for our students and staff members.
During the remote learning period the Wellbeing Team led by our Team Leader, Raj Kandasamy, conducted a wellbeing program for staff to enjoy titled “Brookside Boost”.
This short-term, 4-week, wellbeing initiative was developed to battle against the exhaustion and lack of connection and interaction with our friends, family and especially our school community.
The aim was to boost up our staff’s energy and motivation levels whilst encouraging social interaction with other staff members through the period of lockdown. The idea was to pamper staff by bringing in external connections to lead the groups. All the activities were delivered through Zoom, which was a convenient platform for everyone to access.
Each week had two/three sessions running for 30-40 minutes during lunch break or after school. The activities that were conducted were:
- “OM” – yoga/mindfulness session
- “Keep it going” – physical training and exercise
- “Shake your Body” – Zumba, dance and music fitness
- “Let’s Chat” – a discussion session to exchange thoughts and ideas about mental health coping strategies
Overall, the session were attended by a variety of staff members from various sectors, and was an enjoyable experience to be a part of. We extend our thanks to those who took part in the activities and to the external sources who helped us to achieve our goal.
We hope to continue to provide the staff fun and engaging wellbeing initiatives such as Brookside Boost to ensure our staff members at Brookside College are well taken care of.
Drumming to be Different Social Skills Program
Drumming to be Different has been a 7-week music infused social and emotional wellbeing program running in Term 4. Every Wednesday during Session 3 we have met to learn to the art of drumming with djembe drums.
Working with a small group of Year 5 boys we have learnt, and mastered the 3 basic techniques of djembe drumming. The first drumming technique we learnt was the bass, this is fundamental to djembe playing, forming the base of any song. We also learnt the tone and slap technique which produce higher pitched notes than the bass. Learning these techniques culminated in an exciting performance which showcased our skills.
The program helped the students
To understand respect and personal/group boundaries,
Identify personal strengths & growth areas
Understand the importance of teamwork
Understand different communication styles
Develop and implement effective problem-solving skills
Recognise, understand and regulate emotions
Reflect on personal resilience
The program has been facilitated by our music teacher Matthew Apted and Counselling student, Tracy Pengelly who is currently undergoing her placement at Brookside College. As part of her learning experience, this has been a great opportunity for her to build relationships and have fun.
Take care and stay safe!
The Brookside Wellbeing Team