Wellbeing News
Foundation
A warm welcome to our new Foundation students this year. They have already achieved so much in the first 4 days of school. This week they have attended all 4 specialist lessons and have attended their first school Mass. They have met their year 6 buddies who were very supportive in assisting them at Mass.
Some of the highlights have been making their calming bottles and meeting their little classroom furry friends (Beanie Boo) and playing on the playground. Each morning the students have had an opportunity to chat with each other and learn more about their classmates during developmental play sessions. They have made an all about me banner to share with each other about their family and the things they like.
We look forward to watching them develop new friendships, set goals in their learning and feeling the sense of belonging in our school community.
This Tuesday 6th February is Safer Internet Day around the world. All classes will be doing an activity to begin their cyber safety learning for the year. The theme for this year is “Connect, reflect, protect.” This Tuesday all students will bring home a copy of their level's Internet agreement. We would like you to read this agreement with your child/ children and discuss the importance of staying safe online. Please sign the document and return it to their classroom teachers.
I would highly recommend visiting the eSafety commission website https://www.esafety.gov.au
and enrol in some of their free parent webinars. Below are the topics for term 1, for more information about dates head to www.eSafety.gov.au/parent/webinars
The following statistics from a number of data sources on the eSafety commission website highlight the need for all of us to ensure our children know how to be safe online and that they know what to do when working online on any platform if they are feeling unsafe.
The eSafety Commissioner leads the initiative in Australia. We educate people about online safety risks, like online abuse, how to be safe online and where to go for help.
This Safer Internet Day we're encouraging you to take three simple actions when approaching online safety: Connect. Reflect. Protect.
Connect safely by keeping apps and devices secure and reviewing your privacy settings regularly.
Reflect on how your actions online may affect others or your safety.
Protect yourself and others by visiting eSafety.gov.au to find out how to stay safe online and report online abuse.
By doing these things and sharing the Connect. Reflect. Protect message, we can work towards making every day a Safer Internet Day.
Excerpt from https://www.esafety.gov.au/newsroom/whats-on/safer-internet-day
This year we are very excited to be partnering with The Resilience Project as our main Wellbeing program. The Resilience Project (TRP) is committed to teaching positive mental health strategies to prevent mental ill-health and build young people’s capacity to deal with adversity.
Staff have completed professional learning modules about the program on our first day back at school. The teachers and students will engage in weekly lessons and activities around the key principles of Gratitude, Empathy, Mindfulness (GEM), and Emotional Literacy to build resilience. This week classes will begin the first of four introductory lessons. Throughout the year you will receive a few take it home activities related to particular lessons.
Please read the supporting letter from The Resilience Project with information about the program. I encourage you to scan the code on the page to gain access to the TRP@HOME page. They have some wonderful podcasts and practical tips. In Term 2 we will be exploring the program further with our parent community. We look forward to working in partnership with you all to build and strengthen the resilience and wellbeing of our school community.
