It was wonderful to see so many smiling faces come through the school gates last week. As we begin each new school year, we all need to make a few changes for example getting to know a new teacher, a different classroom environment, and for some of our students this can be a little overwhelming. This year I have been appointed as the school’s Wellbeing Leader. For new members of the school community my name is Maree Hills, I am also the Year 1 teacher at St Catherine’s. Throughout the year I will be sharing in the newsletter articles relating to the safety and wellbeing of our students.

One word that comes to mind at this time of the year is resilience. Resilience refers to our ability to cope and bounce back from the challenges we experience. Michael Grose states “Building resilience helps children not only to deal with current difficulties that are a part of everyday life, but also to develop the basic skills and habits that will help them deal with challenges later in life.” “Promoting personal resilience focuses on helping kids cope with life’s hurts, disappointments and challenges in the present, while building strengths for the future.” Allowing our students to develop independence such as carrying their own school bag, unpacking their belongings, encouraging them to persist with difficult tasks and see through activities to the end are ways to support our students on the path to being more resilient.

Often friendship can cause ups and downs which lead to students needing to build resilience in this area. This year during Term 1, each year level will be introduced to a whole school strategy called Friendology.  This program provides opportunities for our students to learn strategies and skills to assist them when dealing with current friendships and when making new friends. The first two sessions will help the students understand the importance of having things in common with their friends. They will role play how to introduce themselves, how to start a conversation to find things in common with others, looking for a simple connection with a student to start a new friendship. The students will learn how to describe what is normal in a friendship through the 4 Friendship Facts: 

1. No friendship/relationship is perfect. This helps students understand that conflict is a normal part of a friendship.
2. Every friendship is different. This helps students understand that no two friendships are the same; what works with one friend might not work with another friend.
3. Trust & respect are the two most important qualities of a friendship. Students learn the various ways trust and respect are shown in a friendship, the importance of honouring their differences, and how healthy friendships rely on this as the foundation.
4. Friendships change…and that’s okay! Students recognize that friendships are always changing because they are always changing.

The following posters are displayed in each classroom and around the school to remind the students about the Friendship Facts. I would encourage families to discuss each fact to gain a shared understanding and to refer to the facts if friendship issues arise.

I look forward to meeting the newest members of our St Catherine’s community in the coming weeks.

Best wishes for the week,

Maree