Michael Grose - Leading Parent Educator

Parents have always worried about their children. It’s part of the job description.

But today we worry more.

Many see the world as a frightening, competitive place in which their kids’ very survival, let alone success, depends on their constant vigilance.

“There’s no disputing it – today’s parents monitor their own children much more than their own parents ever monitored them,” says Michael Grose, one of Australia’s leading parenting educators

“Parents have developed an aversion to letting their kids learn through exploring, for fear of the child making choices, and a wish to make life easy and keep them happy,” he explains.

When parents experience such anxiety it can distort their notion of success and wipe out common sense, says Andrew Fuller, also the author of Raising Real People. “I see parents who are on an endless quest to maximise their child’s potential,” he says. “If their child is ranked second in their class, they immediately ask, ‘What can I do to make them top of the class?’ It’s an attitude that’s toxic to good childhood.”

The hypervigilance noted by Grose and Fuller has spawned the term “helicopter parent.” Just as helicopters hover over scenes of disaster, such parents hover over their children, fearing disaster at every turn.

Why is this happening?

Grose points at least one finger at the media. “The daily bombardment of bad news portrays the world as a dangerous place and parents’ natural reaction is to closet their kids,” he says.

The Fear  Factor

More than anything else, today’s parents fear for their kids’ physical safety. In parents’ minds, the proverbial monster – in the shape of a rusty nail or a child molester – lurks at every corner.

But is the world really a riskier place?

The statistics say not so. The overall crime rate in Australia has fallen steadily since 2000. While certainly not free of risk, the world today poses fewer physical dangers to our children than it did ten or 20 years ago.

Along with safety, today’s parents worry about their children’s futures in what they perceive as an intensely competitive world.

Most parents want their kids to be happy with themselves – to have high self-esteem. Nothing wrong with that, of course. A problem arises when parents can’t tolerate their kids’ sadness even temporarily and feel compelled to step in and make it go away.

Fran Kammermayer, a certified family educator, understands the temptation to step in when our children get hurt. “We feel their hurt, too,” she says simply. But we need to remember that “always stepping in prevents our kids from developing the skills to get over their sadness.” When we allow kids to sit with their sad feelings, “they learn the valuable lesson that life is full of grey areas. Kids tend to see things in black and white: ‘If my friend Sarah snaps at me, she must be a bad person.’

The reality is that she may be snappy because she has a stomach ache or a sick pet.”

Our insistence that our kids be happy at all times may lead us to cry “bully” every time they get their feelings hurt. While applauding today’s heightened awareness of bullying, Kammermayer says parents do their kids a disservice by “wrapping them in cotton wool.” The best way to prevent kids from being bullied is to give them the space to develop self-reliance. . “Being overprotective can make some children more vulnerable to bullying,” she says. “They lose the opportunity to develop their own initiative if their parents are always stepping in and fighting their battles.”

Recipe for Sanity

So where do we draw the line between protecting and overprotecting our kids? “There’s a simple rule,” says Fuller. “Try not to do things for your child that they could do for themselves.”

To make an informed decision, Grose suggests you arm yourself with the facts. “When you don’t know anything you fear it – so find out the real risks and help children identify the dangers,” he says. Along with the facts and figures, you need also to consider your own child’s temperament and maturity. If parenting has become more stressful than joyful for you, if you suspect your anxious hovering is clipping your kids’ wings, Fuller suggests you consider the price you – and your kids – may be paying. “Placing pressure on your kids to achieve what you want for them can only backfire.”

Finally, Grose exhorts us to revisit some of our notions of success. “Too much value is placed on productive activities that have measurable outcomes.

Perhaps parents need to remember that having a happy and contented child is the greatest achievement of all.

TOPIC 8: POSITIVE GENDER RELATIONS

Learning activities within this topic focus on building an understanding of the effects of gender-based violence and focus on the standards associated with respectful relationships. Students develop the skills needed to solve problems, set boundaries within relationships, and play an active role within the prevention of gender-based violence. They develop peer support and help-seeking skills that can be applied in response to situations involving gender-based violence in family, peer, community or on-line relationships.

This is an example of an activity at the Foundation Level.

Fair and Friendly Play

Learning intention

• Students review the rules of fair play that are used in popular games
• Students talk about how boys and girls can play in a fair and friendly way when playing together
• Students talk about how boys and girls can play in a fair and friendly way and share space when playing near each other but in different games
• Students talk about how boys and girls can play in a fair and friendly way when playing in boys only or girls only groups
• Students identify that some types of mean talk are about what kind of boy or girl someone else is, and that this kind of mean talk is not fair or friendly

Method

1 Provide each student with paper and coloured pencils. Ask each student to draw a picture of themselves playing with some friends at school. Use the class timer to give the students an idea of the time limit for the activity.

Inform students when time is nearly up so they can finish their work.

2 When the students have finished their drawing, place the drawings up on a wall. Invite students to talk about the games they play. Ask:

• How do people make sure that the games are fair for everyone who is playing?
• What are the rules?
• Who can play?
• How do we play together?
• How do we play alongside people playing other games?

3 Ask what ‘mean’ and ‘friendly’ look like in these games. (Also discuss common games such as sandpit, ball, chasey, adventure playground, make-believe.)

Discuss that everyone can choose to play in either a fair and friendly way, or a mean way. We can play in a fair and friendly way when playing in boys-only or girls-only groups, or when playing in a mixed group. It is important to be able to be friendly and fair whatever game you play.

4 Invite students to think about how they can be fair and friendly when working and playing with each other. Invite them to demonstrate this as they pack up and prepare for the next lesson/play break.

Make regular opportunities to check back in with children about how they are managing to ‘play fair’ during break time. Post some of the children’s suggestions about how to play fair up around

This is an example of an activity on this topic at the 5 / 6 Level.

What is Violence?

Learning intention

• Students build a definition of violence which includes physical, verbal, psychological and sexual forms through which violence can be enacted
• Students give examples of the types of violence that can play out in face-to-face and digital environments
• Students identify the emotional effects that violence can have for victims, observers, perptrators and those closely connected to them.

Method

1 Draw the outline of a body on the white board. Explain that students are to map the actions or behaviours that can hurt, distress or harm others. Elicit a few examples, and show how they can be written around the outside of the body to signify these are actions done to another. If not already suggested, prompt for some examples of verbal and psychological violence.

2 Identify that all these behaviours can be grouped together under the term violence. We might commonly think of violence as just including the physical acts, and not the verbal or psychological. However, if we understand that violence includes actions that cause others hurt as well as physical injury, the word violence can be used more broadly. The word is used this way when you hear terms like sexual violence, gender-based violence, or domestic violence.

Useful Definition of Violence

Physical violence. When a person slaps, pushes, kicks, throws objects, or uses objects to hurt a person; or when a person damages property or possessions – e.g. smashing, throwing, stealing, hiding.

Verbal violence. Saying or writing or posting or texting mean, hurtful or untrue things about a person so as to put

them down.

Psychological violence. Deliberately excluding people, making rude or threatening facial expressions or gestures, stalking people, threatening or scaring people, humiliating, shaming or embarrassing people.

Sexual violence. Unwelcome and unwanted sexual behaviour or contact that offends, humiliates, intimidates, upsets or hurts a person. It can be physical, verbal, written or other conduct. It includes behaviour that does not involve actual touching (e.g. forcing somebody to watch pornography or engage in sexting).

3 Invite students to think of some of the emotions that people can feel when they are the target of some of the hurtful or harmful violent acts already identified. Demonstrate how these words can be written inside the body, to signify these are some of the effects of violence on the target or victim.

4 Arrange students into groups of four or five. Provide each group with a large piece of paper and some felt pens. Explain that their task is to work together to make their own body map. On the outside of the body they record all the different types of violent acts that students may experience or witness in or around the school and when interacting within digital environments. On the inside of the body they record the emotions the violence may trigger within the target.

Once groups have completed their brainstorm, give them some time to prepare to report back. Arrange for different groups to report back against different types of violence, including: verbal, physical, psychological/ emotional, and sexual. Ask another group to report back on the emotions. Check if any groups want to add to each other’s categories.

5 Ask: In what ways can witnesses or those closely connected to the target also be affected? Have the groups revisit their emotions list and put a tick next to emotions that could also be felt by the witnesses, or those closely connected to the victim.

Once this step is complete, ask: In what ways can the perpetrator or those closely connected to the perpetrator also be affected? Invite students to discuss and put a cross next to the emotions that could also be felt by the perpetrator, or those closely connected to the perpetrator.

Invite the students to report back on what they noticed from this analysis.

6 Reinforce that the upset, hurt and harm associated with violence can be felt not only by the victim of the act/s, but also those observers and perpetrators, and those in their circle. Thus violence prevention efforts set out to prevent harm that might occur for any and all of the parties, even though it has a focus on protecting the rights of the target/victim.

Display the completed body maps on the wall to refer to in the following activities.

Review

Review the learning intentions by asking students to reflect on the different types of violence that were identified in this activity (including violence in digital environments). Ask some students to summarise the various emotional effects that violence can have on the different people involved.

TOPIC 7: GENDER AND IDENTITY

Learning activities within this topic assist students to challenge stereotypes and critique the influence of gender norms on attitudes and behaviour. They learn about key issues relating to human rights and gender identity, and focus on the importance of respect within relationships. The activities promote respect for diversity and difference.

This is an example of an activity at the Foundation Level.

Who Am I? Different Things To Know About Me.

Learning intention

• Students think about their likes and dislikes
• Students recognise that sometimes they will like the same things as their friends and that sometimes they will like different things (and that is OK)
• Students recognise that what they like does not have to depend on whether they are a boy or a girl
• Students identify that some of their likes and dislikes may change as they grow older
• Students identify that they can have different preferences in different situations

Method

Part 1: Game: Voting With My Hands and Feet

1 Invite students to stand or sit in a circle. Explain that you are going to ask students to ‘vote’. (Clarify the meaning of ‘vote’ with students.) Remind the class that it is OK to be the same and different. It is OK to like some of the same things as other people and be different about other things. For example, ask: Does anyone have a food they like that someone in their home does not like?

2 Round 1: Voting with your hand: Explain that students can put their hand up if they agree, down if they don’t and in the middle (waist height) if they are not sure.

Work through some examples like:

• I like ice cream
• I like creepy crawly insects
• I like big bouncy dogs
• I like playing with water
• I like playing in water on a freezing cold day.

3 Round 2: Voting with your body: Ask students to stand for yes, sit for no, and crouch half way if they are not sure.

Work through some examples like:

One day I would like to...

• Climb mountains
• Fly a plane
• Crawl through deep mud in the jungle
• Hold a baby chicken
• Have my photo taken standing next to a hungry lion
• Eat a grasshopper sandwich
• Jump off the high diving tower.

4 Ask: What do you notice? Does everyone always like the same things? Invite students to make observations about ‘close matches’ (i.e. students who would like / not like to do several of the same things). Make the observation that we can be the same on some things and different on others.

5 Round 3: Voting with your feet: Explain that voting with your feet is more complicated. You go to the place in the room that shows what you agree with. Explain that if your favourite is ‘Answer A’, you go to one side of the room, and if your favourite is ‘Answer B’ you go to the other side. If you have a ‘different’ favourite, you stand in the middle. If you are ‘not sure’, you also stand in the middle.

6 Work through the following examples with students:

• What is your favourite flavour of ice cream?

A: Chocolate. B: Vanilla.

Ask some of those in the different area what flavour they were thinking of. Ask: Can boys and girls have the same favourite flavours?

• What is your favourite thing to do on the playground equipment?

A: Slides. B: Monkey bars.

Ask: Can boys and girls have the same playground favourites? Elicit or make observations, e.g. I can see that

Ashya and Ben like to play soccer. Can girls and boys like the same outside activities? Yes, they can.

• What is your favourite quiet activity in the classroom?

A: Story time. B: Drawing time

Ask: What are some of the differences for those in the middle? Who also likes to do these things? Can boys and girls have the same favourite quiet classroom activities? Can we have more than one thing we like to do?

• What is your favourite colour?

A: Green. B: Red.

Ask: What other colours were in the middle? Who also likes these colours? Can boys and girls have the same favourite colours? Do boys have to like blue best? Do girls have to like pink best? Can girls like blue and boys like pink?

7 Throughout the game, model and invite students to make ‘close match’ observations. E.g. I can see that Wesam and Sophia both like to play on the monkey bars and draw during quiet time. Model and invite students to make diverse observations. E.g. I can see that Nick and Enzo both like to play football, but when it’s quiet time in the classroom, Nick likes story time and Enzo likes drawing, and that’s OK. We can be friends, but also like different things.

Part 1 Review 

Emphasise that it is OK to like the same things and that it is also OK to like different things. Use context-based examples to highlight that even when we disagree, we can respect other people’s preferences. E.g. Levi likes playing with cars, but Jack doesn’t. Jack likes to draw, but Levi doesn’t. Both boys think this is OK. Both boys are respecting each other’s choices. 

Point out that just like the other favourites, different boys and girls can have different favourites. It is also OK for boys and girls to like the same things, to play the same games and when they are grown-ups, this is true as well.

Part 2 A Drawing About Me

Method

1 Invite the children to sit at a table and provide them with paper and colour pencils. Ask them to close their eyes.

and think about:

• What do you like to do after school (or on weekends)?
• What kinds of clothes do you like to wear?

Elaborate on this open question, by asking more specific, context-related questions, such as, what clothes do you like to wear when you are playing at home? What clothes do you like to wear when you are going to a party? What clothes do you like to wear on a really cold day? etc.

• What are some of your favourite toys?

You might have a favourite toy to cuddle when you are very tired or another to play with outside when you have lots of energy.

• What games do you like to play in the playground or at home?

2 Ask them to open their eyes and draw a picture of themselves wearing some of their favourite clothes, playing their favourite game or with their favourite toy.

Use a class timer to give the students an idea of the time limit for the activity. Inform students when time is nearly up so they can finish off their work.

3 Invite students to sit in a circle and take turns to share something about their drawing. During sharing time, invite students to make observations and connections between individual's contribution.

Part 2 Review

Invite students to review the learning intentions by asking: What have we learned about being the same and being different from each other?

Point out that different people have different favourites. In some ways we may be the same as others and in some ways we may be different. At school we learn to enjoy working and playing with people who are both different and the same. We learn to enjoy the different ways in which people are special and we might learn new things with and from them.

This is an example of an activity on this topic at the 5 / 6 Level.

Born or Made? Thinking about Gender.

Learning intention

• Students describe the way in which gender influences how people relate to young children

Method

1 Ask the class to think about the announcement of the birth of a new baby. What are the first questions that tend to be asked in response to this announcement? (Students may identify questions such as: Is it a boy or a girl? What is its name? Are mother and baby healthy? How much did it weigh?)

2 Ask students to work in pairs to brainstorm the things that might be different for the baby, based on whether it is born a male or a female. Use some trigger questions to get them started:

• What kind of clothes might the girl baby/boy baby be dressed in?
• What kinds of gifts might the girl baby/boy baby receive when they are born? On their first birthday? On their fourth birthday?
• What kinds of hobbies, toys or games might the girl child/boy child be offered by their parents, carers or family members?

3 Invite pairs to make fours to compare their answers. Invite some groups to report back on their answer. 

Record the key contributions.

Ask the class to identify what they notice from looking at the responses. Useful questions include:

• What do you notice about how people act or respond differently to the child as a boy or a girl?
• To what extent might these actions or responses play a part in shaping the identity of the child (or shaping how the child grows up) as a boy or as a girl?

Review

Review the learning intentions, asking if students believe they were able to describe ways in which gender influences how people relate to babies and young children, and to sum up some of the key influences they detected.

TOPIC 6 HELP-SEEKING

Learning activities in this topic area are designed to helpstudents discuss the importance of seeking help and providing peer support when dealing with problems that are too big to solve alone. This helps to normalise and de-stigmatise help-seeking behaviour. Scenario-based activities help students identify situations in which help should besought, identify trusted sources of help, and practice seeking help from peers and adults.

This is an example of an activity at the Foundation Level

How To Ask For Help

Learning intention

• Students practise help-seeking conversations

Method

1 Explain that the class is going to play a ‘let’s pretend’ game about help-seeking. Ask everyone to think about a situation where a child needs some help but is a bit afraid to ask for it. Collect some ideas from the class and choose one that is relevant to the school setting. Ask: What sorts of things will the child will need to say when they go for help in this situation?

2 Arrange students into pairs to act out this help-seeking conversation. One person will be the teacher and one the student. Help the pairs to work out who will play which part.

3 Ask the ‘teacher’ to pretend that they are standing in the playground. Ask the ‘student’ to move a few paces away. When you give the signal, the ‘student’ will approach the ‘teacher’ and begin the help-seeking role play. After the pairs have tried their scenes, ask them to swap parts and replay the scene.

4 Ask some pairs to show theirs to the class.

5 Name some of the positive accomplishments they demonstrated (e.g. they approached the teacher, they used a calm strong voice, they named the problem, they explained what help they needed).

6 Arrange for some more replay to add some additional lines if needed – particularly emphasising the importance of telling the person you need help, and telling them what the problem is. To continue the exploration, arrange for students to work with new partners and select a different type of problem as the basis for the help-seeking. If necessary, play the part of the student yourself and ask one of the children to play the ‘teacher’ in your scene.

Review

Reflect on the activity, asking students what they have learned from this role playing activity where they practiced asking a teacher for help and where it would be useful for them to remember this in the future.

This is an example of an activity on this topic at the 5 / 6 Level

I Wonder If I Need Help With This?

Learning intention

• Students identify types of problems they can solve independently
• Students identify types of problems where they can benefit from seeking help from peers
• Students identify types of problems where they can benefit from seeking help from adults

Method

1 Explain that in this activity the class will focus on the issue of help-seeking. We have seen in our activities on problem-solving that there are lots of ways to solve problems and many can be solved independently. However, there are times when some problems are just too big to handle alone. It is helpful to be able to think about how you are feeling and what the problem is when trying to decide if you need to get some help.

As people grow up they naturally expect to do more and  more for themselves, and not to ask other people for help all the time. We call this being independent and we take a lot of pride in it. However, we also need to be able to work out when it is the right thing to ask for help, either from our friends or from appropriate adults.

The help-seeking that was easy and automatic when we were little children can become difficult as we get older. We need to develop skills to work out how and when to ask for help, and when it would be dangerous or silly to try to handle something on our own.

2 Ask students to work with a partner to build a list of some small problems they can manage themselves, and some larger problems they think are too hard to handle alone.

Record these on the board under small problems and large problems section. (Note that some small problems can turn into big problems if they happen frequently or happen in combination with a lot of other small problems, or lead to lasting feelings of distress or experiences of unfairness.)

Ask: What feelings could tell us that a problem is a large one? (Examples might be fear, feeling sick in the stomach, headaches, being grumpy, having trouble sleeping, not wanting to do something like come to school.) Ask students to identify the feelings that go with some of the items in the ‘large problems’ section.

3 Explain that in the next task they will look at some problems and decide which are the type you could imagine you would sort out on your own, which you would want friends to help with, and which you would need to refer to adults for help. There will also be a ‘not sure’ category for those in the ‘too hard’ basket.

Divide students into groups of four and provide each group with a set of Help-seeking scenarios and a set of Help-seeking labels. Ask students to discuss each scenario and group them under the different headings. As they work through the scenarios, they should discuss why they chose the help-seeking option.

Invite a student from each group to report on one of the scenarios. Rotate until all the scenarios are accounted for.

Ask if there has been any difference of opinion between (or within) groups. Highlight these scenarios for further discussion. What were the different views and concerns here?

4 Discuss those scenarios where students had different responses. Ask:

• Were there any scenarios where you think it is essential that the person seeks help and if so why?
• How could listening to feelings help in deciding when to seek adult help?
• How could listening to negative self-talk stop us from asking for the help we or others need?
• What feelings might those with large problems be experiencing?
• What are some of the things that would make it hard for some of these people to ask for help?

Re-examine the scenarios that were referred for adult help. Ask if there is any difference between asking for adult help on physical safety (such as the asthma attack) or practical problems (such as the stolen phone), and asking for help on relationship issues (the parents splitting up or the cyber-bullying situation) or financial issues (the boy with no lunch). 

Identify that sometimes we fear being judged or blamed for having relationship or money problems in a way that we don’t with other health emergencies. This is called stigma. It is important to make sure that this fear of stigma does not prevent us for asking for help for ourselves or our friends. No one should have to carry significant distress on their own.

5 Ask the students what they should do if they have promised to keep a secret, but then discover that the situation is really distressing. What should they do if they feel the secret should be broken?

Point out that if in this situation they can tell their friend that the secret is not a good one to keep, they can offer to go with them to get the right adult involved. This is not the same as spreading the story everywhere. It can still be kept private, even though it is not kept totally secret from the right adults. If the friend refuses, the next step is to go to a trusted adult and explain the situation and ask for some help. Tell your friend you have done this because you are worried, you care about them, and you do not want them to suffer without help. You might also tell your friend the problem is also distressing for you.

Review

Review the learning intentions by asking students to reflect on what they have learned in this activity about the different levels of help that we might need to draw on in different situations.

TOPIC 5: STRESS MANAGEMENT

Children and young people experience a range of personal, social and work-related stressors in their everyday lives. Activities within this topic have an explicit focus on teaching positive approaches to stress management. Assisting students to recognise their personal signs and symptoms of stress, and to develop strategies that will help them to deal with stress effectively, will help students cope with future challenges. The activities focus on the ways in which self-calming strategies can be used to manage stressful situations.

This is an example of an activity at the Foundation Level.

The Melting Tiger Game

Learning intention

• Students develop self-calming and self-control strategies

Method

1 Explain that we are going to play the Melting Tiger game to help us focus on self-control and self-calming. As you tell them a story, the students will act out the movements of the melting tiger.

2 Organise the class to stand in a free space with room around them. Use the following script or devise one of your own.

MELTING TIGER

3 Stand in your own space, not touching anyone. Your feet are stuck tight to the spot. You do not walk around. You are a big angry tiger with your claws out and your feet tight on the ground. Hold your muscles tight and still and strong. This tiger is angry. He wants to pounce and fight, but he can’t move.

4 As the tiger holds tight, the hot sun comes out. This tiger is made of butter. He starts to melt. His muscles feel soft. He slowly melts into a pool on the ground. He lies on the ground, still and quiet. His body is a soft pool of melted butter that is sinking into the ground. As he lies there a soft breeze comes to blow across his skin. It starts to wake him up. He is not a tiger anymore. He is just a sleepy person. Maybe he or she had a dream that they were an angry tiger.

5 It is time to wake up the sleepy person. Wiggle your toes. Wiggle your fingers. Slowly, slowly sit up, and then stand up tall. Show how calm and peaceful you can be when your angry tiger has gone away. Show how you can walk silently and in slow motion around the room without touching anyone.

6 Ask:

• How did that activity make you feel?
• Did you feel more gentle and relaxed after you had melted the angry tiger?
• Sometimes we can feel like an angry tiger. When does that happen?
• This tiger melted with the sun, all their anger soaked away into the ground. What helps to calm us down when we feel angry? 
• What can you do to help keep our classroom peaceful?

This is an example of an activity on this topic at the 5 / 6 Level.

A Guided Relaxation

Learning intention

• Students recognise that we may need ways to calm our body when we feel intense emotions

• Students identify a range of ways to calm and relax our bodies

• Students practise some calming strategies

Method

1 Explain that the next activity will provide a chance to practise a relaxation technique. When we experience intense emotions, these feelings are embodied. That means they are felt in our bodies, not just in our minds. Our responses to intense or long lasting negative emotions might include reactions like: difficulty sleeping, crying, palpitations (rapid heartbeat), sweating, goose bumps, nausea, trembling, shivering, headaches, stammering, difficulty speaking, lump in the throat, loss of voice, difficulty concentrating, difficulty remembering, having nightmares, being short-tempered, having tantrums.

To manage these reactions, we often need a way to physically calm ourselves. A guided relaxation is one way to do this.

2 Ask students to find a space in the room and to sit comfortably and close their eyes. Put on meditative music and read the Pegasus Adventure provided on the next page.

Ask student to be aware of their breathing and also how their body feels during the activity.

When finished ask:

• What happened to your breathing?
• How did your body feel?
• What things were going through your mind?
• How do you feel now compared to before the exercise?
• Is this something we should do more often at school?

The Pegasus Guided Meditation Script

I am going to take you through one strategy that can help with relaxing and be useful in managing stress.

Lie on your back or remain seated and put your head down on the desk.

Close your eyes... allow your body to relax and be quiet...tell your legs to be floppy, your arms and hands to be loose, your head to just be heavy on the floor/desk. For the next couple of minutes, just a little time, ask your body to be still and your ears to listen. Well done!

You are going to take a journey. A magical Pegasus, flying horse has been sent just to you. It floats down and lands quietly at your feet. Feel the gentle breeze from its flapping wings on your face. It indicates for you to climb aboard the golden, jewel-encrusted chariot harnessed to its back. You step up. Cushions of every colour greet you. Lie back among the soft, feathery cushions. They feel so soft it is as if you have fallen onto a cloud. Allow yourself to sink down low into their warm embrace. The Pegasus begins to flap its powerful wings. It rises gradually into the air. You feel safe. You are feeling very calm and relaxed. A soft, warm breeze flows past you. As you travel higher into the air, you look down to see a glistening ocean beneath you. The Pegasus floats down taking you close to the water. There are dolphins playing, diving gracefully over the waves. Their wet bodies glisten in the sunshine. The Pegasus has taken you close enough to feel the salty water gently spray your face. So close you hear their squeaks and squeals. So close you can run your fingers over their slippery skin. Again Pegasus rises higher and higher into the bright blue sky. As you rise, the air becomes warmer. The Pegasus turns and in the distance you see a vast desert. Flying over the desert you see palm trees swaying from side to side. In the shade of one tree you can see a camel and its driver in a deep restful sleep. You lie back and close your eyes. Now the Pegasus is slowing, descending, its wings moving rhythmically. You know this journey is almost over. Take a deep breath and thank your body and mind for travelling along on this Pegasus ride. Allow your attention to come back to lying on the floor/sitting in your seat.

TOPIC 4: PROBLEM SOLVING

Problem-solving skills are an important part of the coping repertoire. The classroom program provides a number of learning activities to develop students’ problem-solving skills. The activities in the program assist students to develop their critical and creative thinking skills, and to apply them to scenarios exploring personal, social and ethical dilemmas.

This is an example of an activity at the Foundation Level.

The Picnic Problem Solving Game

Learning intention

• Students recognise that problems are a normal part of life
• Students increase their ability to identify and name problems
• Students recognise that there are solutions to problems

Method

1 Explain to the class that you are the leader and you need the students' help so you can all get to the park for the picnic. Ask the students to stand up and follow you as you move around the room. As you progress, stop from time to time to create a problem or barrier. Ask the students to help you solve the problem. 

For example: We need to pack a picnic. What will I take? (Seek ideas. Then move along.)

Let’s pack everything in a bag. Oh no! It won’t all fit in one bag!

What should we do? (Seek ideas, etc...)

We are ready to go. Oh dear! It’s raining outside. What should we wear to stay dry?

Oh no! We forgot to invite everyone, and now some people are sad to be left out. What can we do?

Announce a happy arrival at the end to the game.

2 Sit back down at the mat and ask:

• What problems did we have in the game?
• How did we solve the problems?
• Who helped?
• When you have a problem, what do you do?
• Who helps you sometimes?
• Sometimes you help other people. When have you helped others?

Review

Highlight with the students that problems often arise, but usually there is a way to solve them. When we can’t solve the problems by ourselves, we can ask others to help us. When we see that other people have a problem, we can try to help. When people get left out, they can feel very sad or angry. If we think carefully, we can find a way to include other people in our games.

This is an example of an activity on this topic at the 5 / 6 Level.

Problem Solving Panel

Learning intention

• Students describe commonly occurring problem situations
• Students develop advice for how to deal with these situations

Method

1 Explain that this activity will require students to identify some common problems that young people around their age encounter, and to practise some creative thinking approaches to addressing these problems.

Explain they are going to practise their lateral thinking skills by working out what different types of advice might be given from different perspectives or from different people. It is helpful to look at a problem from many angles before deciding how to act.

2 Pre-prepare a list of scenarios for the class to use, or ask the students to write a ‘Dear Dorothy’ letter. (A letter explaining a problem and seeking some advice.) Model an example for the class.

Allow time for students to write a Dear Dorothy letter which outlines a problem that affects people in their peer community. They should not name anyone. This is also an anonymous letter. Emphasise the importance of them choosing a realistic and relatively everyday sort of problem. Collect the letters.

3 Set up an ‘advice panel’, allocating students to groups. Each group will be allocated a ‘role’ and they will help to prepare a volunteer from their group to act this role on the panel. However, they should be prepared to ‘sub on’ and take that representative’s place as the panel deals with its various requests for advice.

The roles on the Panel role cards include:

• Doctor (focuses on how to keep you safe and healthy)
• Movie Star (focuses on how to ensure your popularity)
• Grandparent (focuses on how to ensure your good future and happiness)
• Sports Coach (focuses on how to encourage you to get the best performance)
• Beautician (focuses on how to make you look good)
• Psychologist (focuses on how to help you feel good in yourself)

The student’s challenge will be to provide advice from the perspective of that role. This may not be the same as their own personal advice.

4 Allocate the roles to the groups and arrange groups to have a quick meeting and brainstorm the sorts of things that their representative might have to say. They should also choose their first representative.

While groups are preparing, (if using Dear Dorothy letters written by the students) select some for the attention of the panel.

5 Read the letter/scenario. Allow some extra time for the groups to think up a response.

6 Invite panel members forward. They should wear their role card and take their seats across the front of the room. Introduce yourself as the chat show host.

7 Re-read the scenario. Interview the panel members in turn to seek their advice. Encourage the class to applaud each panel member’s contribution. When all have contributed, ask the audience if they want to make further suggestions or critique the advice given by the panel members.

8 Finish by acknowledging one useful thing about each person’s contribution. Invite the new panel members up and repeat with an exploration of a second problem.

9 After the activity is complete, ask students what they learnt from that exercise. Ask:

• Could any of this advice be useful in real life?
• Could any of this advice be harmful in real life?
• Is there any advice they did not think of which could be useful?

Review

Review the learning intentions by asking students to reflect on what they have learned in this activity.

Topic 3: Positive Coping

Learning activities in this topic provide opportunities for students to identify and discuss different types of coping strategies. When children and young people develop a language around coping, they are more likely to be able to understand and deliberately utilise a range of productive coping strategies and diminish their use of unproductive coping strategies. Students learn to extend their repertoire of coping strategies and benefit from critically reflecting on their own choices and being exposed to alternative options. Activities introduce students to the concept of self-talk and practice using positive self-talk to approach and manage challenging situations. Positive self-talk is a key strategy for coping with negative thoughts, emotions and events. It is associated with greater persistence in the face of challenge, and can be learnt or strengthened through practice.

This is an example of an activity at the Foundation Level.

The Think I Can Game

Learning intention

• Students learn positive self-talk strategies

Method

1 Arrange the students to work in pairs facing each other. Introduce the idea that sometimes we are asked to do new things and we don’t feel like we can do them. Our body might tell us this through its feelings. Our tummy might hurt, we might feel like we are going to cry, we might not want to get out of bed, we might feel scared, or worried about getting things wrong.

At times like this we can sing a little chant to ourselves which will help us to try something new, or try hard to keep going when things are hard. I will sing a line, and then you echo me.

‘I think I can, I think I can,

I try and try, I try and try, I did it!’

2 Practise the chant a few times. Add some actions to make it fun. Change the volume from a soft start to a loud finish.

Introduce yourself as the orchestra conductor who can direct the volume and tempo of the chant.

3 Explain that you will read some short stories about children who need some help. We will help them by showing them how to sing the chant.

Read each scenario (or develop some of your own), then lead the students in a chant in response.

New Situations

• I have a new reader. It has new words that I don’t know. I feel nervous. What should I say to myself?
• I have to take a note to the principal’s office. I feel scared to knock at the door. What should I say to myself?
• I have to wait and wait for my mum to stop talking on the phone. I feel really impatient and angry. I don’t want to wait anymore. What should I say to myself?
• I am going to play at my new friend’s house after school. But I feel too shy to talk to her mum. What should I say to myself?
• I want to go down the big slide, but I have never done it before. I feel scared to try. What should I say to myself?
• I have to share my toys with my brother and I don’t want to. I feel grumpy. What should I say to myself?
• I am starting swimming lessons. I feel scared of being in the water without my mum. What should I say to myself?

Review

Invite students to comment on whether they think the class met the learning intentions. Ask: Did you learn a special chant to help you try hard to keep going when things are hard?

Ask for some examples of where students might use this chant in the future.

This is an example of an activity on this topic at the 5 / 6 Level.

Introducing the Concept of Self-Talk

Learning intention

Students investigate the concepts of positive and negative self-talk

• Students develop a positive self-talk vocabulary
• Students practise using positive self-talk

Method

1. Remind the class that they have looked at how intense emotions can be felt in their bodies, and how we can experience ups and downs, and more intense emotions. They have looked at how character strengths can be drawn on to help deal with the challenges in their lives. Now they are going to look at how their minds can create or deepen their level of upset, or help them to manage or reduce it. Write the term self-talk on the board. Ask students to guess what they think this term means.‘Self-talk’ refers to the conversations that we have with ourselves in our heads. When you were little you probably did quite a bit of thinking out aloud, or talking aloud to yourselves. As you have gotten older, this ‘talk’ is mostly done inside the head, rather than out loud. It is part of our thinking. Explain that sometimes our level of upset is produced by our ‘self-talk’ or the things we say to ourselves about what that experience means. For example:

• I might miss a catch and tell myself, ‘nice try’, or I might tell myself, ‘clumsy idiot, you are letting the team down’. In the second version I am going to feel a lot more upset.
• I might get a low result on a test and tell myself, ‘that’s disappointing, but I am going to work at doing better next time’, or I could tell myself, ‘I am no good at this, I might as well give up’. The second one is much more negative and is going to lead to me feeling more upset.

2 This talk we do in our head is called our ‘self-talk’ and it makes a big difference to how we cope with the challenges that come our way. You can hear from the examples that we can have positive or negative self-talk. Our self-talk can help or hinder the way we deal with situations. If we tell ourselves negative things, it can make it hard to keep going when things go wrong. Using positive self-talk can help us get through challenging times and to maintain our determination and effort.

3 Explain that the students will be checking their ability to think of both positive and negative self-talk. Read the scenario or create your own.

Scenario: Lan’s Day

After struggling through a Maths test in which she could only do nine of the 20 questions, Lan was looking forward to interschool sport because she was playing her favourite sport, soccer. She went to get her lunch out of her bag but it wasn’t there. She had forgotten to pick it up off the kitchen bench. Luckily her friends shared their food. The school team was playing a tough match. It was the final minute and the score was three all. Lan stopped an attack from the opposition, but the ball flicked from her hand and then disastrously into the other team’s goal. The siren sounded and her team was defeated.

4 Ask students to think of some negative self-talk Lan might have in response to one of the things that happened.

Draw Lan’s face with a negative thought bubble on one side, and positive on the other. Map the negative self-talk into one thought bubble.

Hand out the Positive self-talk handout for students to read. Which statements could Lan use as positive self-talk to help her deal with the situation and her feelings? Map this positive self-talk into the other thought bubble. Hand out the Positive self-talk handout for students to read. Which statements could Lan use as positive self-talk to help her deal with the situation and her feelings? Map this positive self-talk into the other thought bubble.

Review

Invite students to comment on whether they think the class met the learning intentions. Ask volunteers to summarise the concepts of positive and negative self-talk. Ask students to reflect on how this activity has helped them to practice their skills in positive self-talk. Ask students where this skill might be useful to apply in the future.

Week 9 - Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships (RRRR)

We continue to highlight the Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships (RRRR) curriculum  so you are able to understand the topics that are covered. We include an example of an activity for a particular year level so you can see how the topics aim to build on knowledge over time as students mature and develop their social and emotional learning. There are 8 topics in the learning materials.

Topic 2: Personal Strengths

Children and young people need a vocabulary to help them recognise and understand strengths and positive qualities in themselves and others. This topic provides learning activities to build this vocabulary and to use it when discussing personal, social and ethical challenges.

Research in the field of positive psychology emphasises the importance of identifying and using individual strengths.

Social and emotional learning programs which use strength-based approaches promote student wellbeing, positive behaviour and academic achievement.

This is an example of an activity at the Foundation Level.

Building strengths through cooperative games

Learning intention

• Students identify examples of the ways in which individual strengths are used in collaborative play
• Students describe characteristics of good team behaviour

Method

The Simon Says Game

1.  Introduce how to play the modified Simon Says game.

Explain that you will be the leader, and the class will listen for instructions. That means when you say something, they will perform the action. You will explain that they need to listen carefully because your actions might be different to your words. The instructions can be large body movements (e.g. Simon Says jump for joy). Include some instructions that refer to emotions, such as give a big smile, shiver with fear, give a frown, laugh out loud.

2.  After the game ask:

• What did you have to do to play this game well? (Use their skills of good listening and quick thinking.)
• Was it easy to listen?
• When was it hard to listen?
• What helps you to listen to your friends when you’re playing?
• What helps you to listen well in class?

The Magpie Game

1.  Explain that magpies like to collect things as they fly from space to space. This game is about working with a partner to collect objects. Explain that everyone will have to listen to you for instructions.

2.  Place the children in pairs. Explain that you will call out a name of an object. When you say 'go' they must walk together with their partner to find the object before you finish counting to 20. Make sure there are enough of each object for each pair to find, e.g. find a crayon, find something blue.

3.  When the students return, ask them to take turns to tell the class what they collected.

Invite students to comment on whether they think the class met the learning intentions by asking: What skills did you use in that game? What skills helped to make a good working partnership? When do you use these same skills in the classroom, the playground, and at home?

What are character strengths?

This is an example of an activity on this topic at the 5 / 6 level.

Learning intention

• Students review their understanding of the difference between talents and character strengths
• Students identify the character strengths they admire or value in others

Method

1.  Explain that in this activity the class will focus on the positive personal qualities we value in ourselves and others.

2.  Ask students to draw a rough sketch which shows them (or another character) doing something positive for, or with, someone else. This sketch shows something they think is a ‘good’ thing. It helps make the world a better place for someone. Once drawn, they should label their sketch.

3.  Ask students to share their picture and label with the class. Record the key ‘kindness’ actions as the students present.

4.  Ask the class to reflect on the examples. Ask: What does it take for people to do the actions presented? (You are looking for words such as kindness, fairness, courage, caring.)

5.  Explain that the characters in the pictures have been displaying qualities which we can also call character strengths. Your character is what makes you who you are. Character strengths are different to talents, skills and knowledge. They are attributes like courage, kindness, humour and persistence which help you make the most of your experiences and deal with your challenges.

6.  Distribute the Character strengths handout and review it with the class to determine which of the strengths were captured or indicated in the pictures they drew. Check to see if any of the strengths were missed out. If so, ask what actions and pictures could be added to represent that strength (ask some students to add quick sketches to complete the set).

Invite students to comment on whether they think the class met the learning intentions by asking a volunteer to summarise what a character strength is. Ask for some examples of the strengths that students admire in others. Encourage students to be on the look out for the strengths displayed by their family and friends, and to complement them on these strengths.

Week 8: BRAVE Program

The BRAVE Program is a fun, online program that will help you learn ways of coping better with your worries.

An interactive, online program for the prevention and treatment of childhood and adolescent anxiety.

Aims

BRAVE Self-Help is an interactive, online prevention and intervention program for youth anxiety. BRAVE teaches cognitive behavioural strategies to manage anxiety and worry, through a program of 4 to 10 sessions (depending on the age level). Each session builds on information and strategies learnt in the previous session, and aims to help young people manage anxiety. There are also parent sessions to help parents to better manage their anxious child. The BRAVE for Young Children is completely parent focused.

Program theory

The intervention was based on theoretical and empirical research relating to the psychosocial determinants of child anxiety and evidence-based, cognitive behavioural interventions.

Topics

Psychoeducation, emotion identification, identification of physiological symptoms, relaxation training, identification of cognitions and coping statements, cognitive restructuring, avoidance and exposure, reinforcement strategies, problem solving, preventing relapse.

Cost

The program is free to all children and young people aged 3 to 17 years, and their parents, who are living in Australia.

Program structure

4 to 10 sessions (depending on the age level), from 30-60 minutes. Families can access the sessions at any time, including after completion.

Who can do the program?

There are 2 programs, one for children (aged 8-12 years) and one for parents. Any child who worries about things will find the program useful. Any parent wanting to learn more about how to help their child overcome worries can also do the program. You can do the program on your own, or together.

Week 7: Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships (RRRR)

We introduced the Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships (RRRR) in an earlier newsletter and as promised we will cover the topics over the next few weeks and also provide an example of an activity for a particular year level so you can see how the topics aim to build on knowledge over time as students mature and develop their social and emotional learning. There are 8 topics in the learning materials.

Topic 1: Emotional Literacy 

Emotional literacy can be defined as the ability to understand  ourselves and other people. It includes the ability to  understand, express and manage our own emotions,  build empathy, and to respond appropriately to the emotions  of others. Building a large vocabulary for emotions helps to  increase emotional literacy and build self-awareness and  empathy for others. 

This is an example of an activity at the Foundation Level.

What do emotions look like?

Learning intention

• Students recognise and name some commonly experienced emotions
• Students identify what the emotions look like through facial and body expressions

Method

1 Bring the class together for a mat session. Explain that while you read this story, you want them to notice all the different feelings or emotions that the characters are experiencing. For example, if a character is sad, or if a character is angry.

2 Read the story that illustrates different emotions – through the story line and the illustrations. As you read each page, ask:

• Can you guess the emotion that this person is demonstrating?
• How did you guess? What are the signs that tell us what they are feeling? (Elicit comments about facial expressions or other body language.)

Sum up by naming all the different emotions that the students found in the story.

3 Explain that it is a very good thing to know the names of lots of different emotions. This can help us explain to other people how we are feeling. It can help us to understand ourselves. Sometimes we need to be able to tell other people how we feel.

Review

What new emotion words did you learn today? Did we identify how emotions can be seen in people’s facial expressions and other body language? What are some examples of this?

The following is an activity in topic 1 aimed at the Year 5 or  6 level.

Recognising positive, negative and mixed emotions

Learning intention

• Students review a vocabulary that can be used to describe a range of positive and negative emotions
• Students identify triggering events or situations that can lead to particular emotional responses
• Students investigate the notion of mixed emotions or emotional complexity

1. Explain to children- In any one day we can experience multiple and complex emotions. Emotions are triggered by events/situations and also by what we think about what is happening to us.  We may experience strong or mild emotions, and a mix of positive and negative or comfortable and uncomfortable emotions. We are going to think and talk about these emotional highs and lows with a focus on understanding ourselves and others better. We are going to use many ‘emotions’ words. The more words we have for describing emotions, the better we are at communicating our feelings, seeking help when we need it, and helping others.

2. Write the headings ‘positive/comfortable emotions’ on one side of the board and ‘negative/uncomfortable emotions’ on the other. 

Ask the class to brainstorm some examples of positive emotions and some examples of negative emotions.

Discuss:

• What do positive emotions tend to look like when we see them in others? Sound like? Feel like? 
• What do some of these negative emotions look like? Sound like? Feel like? (Invite some students to demonstrate.)

Explain there are times when we can feel mixed emotions, or both positive and negative emotions at the same time. For example, you might be excited about competing in the cross-country finals, but also nervous about whether you will do well.

Distribute the Emotions handout and ask the students to put a cross next to the ‘negative’ emotions and a tick next to those that are ‘positive’. Compare lists during class feedback.

Then ask students to work with a partner or trio to provide some examples of when:

• someone could experience positive emotions
• someone could experience negative emotions
• someone could experience mixed emotions, or both positive and negative emotions at once.

Students can use the emotions list on the top part of the handout to help them. Ask each group to share one of their examples with the class.

Week 6: CatholicCare

Last week we were pleased to welcome Helen Diamond, who is a parent educator from CatholicCare. It was great to listen to Helen share her experience and knowledge of research and supportive approaches to help parents build strong relationships with their children. It can be challenging to navigate the journey of parenting with all the information that is available.

Helen shared what we can do to support children to feel ‘safe, seen and secure’. Helen was drawing on evidence-based parenting programs such as ‘Circle of Security Parenting’, ‘Bringing up Great Kids’, by the Australian Childhood Foundation and ‘Tuning into Kids’. We look forward to working in partnership with Helen to offer support to parents in our school. Helen will be available for individual consultation and will also run group programs offsite. Parents can have consultations with Helen at school or the Warrnambool Office.

Helen can be contacted through the Warrnambool office of CatholicCare, 142 Timor Street and by phone 5559 3000.

Helen recommended a number of parenting resources which I will list below. I have ordered all of the text books and they will be made available for parent borrowing when they arrive and are catalogued. It will give parents a chance to have a look and decide if they would like their own copy or they can have a read.

Websites

• Janet Lansbury
• Mona Delahooke
• Dan Siegel
• Karen Young. ‘Hey Sigmund’
• The Gottman Institute
•  Michelle Mithell
• Dr Becky ‘Good inside’

Books

• Raising a Secure Child by Kent Hoffman, Glen Cooper & Bert Powell
• Beyond Behaviours by Mona Delahooke
• The Whole Brain Child by Dr Daniel Seigal & Dr Tina Payne Bryson
• The Power of Showing Up by Daniel Siegal & Tina Payne Bryson
• Raising an Emotional Intelligent Child by John Gottman
• No Bad Kids by Janet Lansbury
• Good Inside by Dr Becky Kennedy

Week 5: Fears and worries

It's normal for children to feel afraid at times. Fear is an emotion that can help kids be cautious. Things that are new, big, loud, or different can seem scary at first. Parents and teachers can help kids feel safe and learn to feel at ease.

So how do we help kids start feeling braver? The key is an invisible skill called self regulation. Self-regulating is essentially the ability to process and manage our own emotions and behaviors in a healthy way. It’s what gives us the ability to talk ourselves down or to feel things without acting on them. Most grown-ups practice self-regulation without a second thought. Think of feeling a moment of fear before reassuring yourself that there’s really nothing scary about a dark room. But for kids, building self-regulation takes time, practice and space to learn — which means parents have to get comfortable with letting kids be a little uncomfortable as they figure things out. This can be challenging.

Remember:

• It takes time and practice for children to learn new coping skills.
• Young children usually learn best when you do it with them.
• Older children may be able to use coping skills but still need support when scared.
• Children feel secure and confident when they have regular quality time with parents and carers.
• Bedtime is often when fears can surface. Try to have some calming time before bed to unwind and develop a bedtime routine.

Help children identify what is happening in their bodies when they experience strong feelings like fear, for example some children say they have a pain in the tummy. Help them understand that their thinking ( I’m scared of the dark), leads to strong feelings ( in this case fear) which then influences what happens in the body, (such as the way they breath  or things like pains in the tummy). These things then impact what actions the child can take, such as settling down to sleep.

Fears and worries 

Difficulty	Ideas on how to support your child
Feels scared and worried	Acknowledge the feeling - ‘You’re having trouble going off to sleep because you are worried something might happen.
Feels unsafe	Reassure - That storm was only on TV it is not going to happen here.
Can’t think through logically	What are the facts - that can’t happen where we live.
Feels overwhelmed by a scary thought	Label it. Eg. That’s just a scary thought. You don't have to keep it.
Doesn’t feel confident about managing fears	Encourage helpful thinking and self talk. Eg Tell those scary thoughts I know I am safe so go away.   OR I know it is new but I can try my best and I know who to ask for help.
May not believe in own ability to manage fears	Praise and encouragement eg You did it ! You are trying really hard to be brave. Well done!

Week 4: Gratitude

Wellbeing of all, is at the heart of Catholic Education. Enabling a learning environment which provides for the spiritual, physical, emotional, cognitive and social wellbeing of its participants. It is especially important to ensure that children and young people’s wellbeing is looked after in times of uncertainty and stress. Supporting wellbeing not only helps children and young people to feel happier and less anxious, it will also help them to have positive interactions with the rest of the family and to learn more effectively.

Some parents or carers may choose to do wellbeing activities with their child or even with the whole family. Activities that support wellbeing are beneficial for people of all ages and can provide a great opportunity for family members to bond and experience positive emotions together. One activity is practising gratitude. It may be something you have done before but it may be something that has dropped off in the business of life.  You may like to give this a go with your family.

Gratitude

It is always important, especially in difficult times, to appreciate the things that we may take for granted – like having a place to live, food, clean water, friends, family, even access to technology. Gratitude is pausing to notice and appreciate these things. It’s taking a moment to reflect on how fortunate we are when something good happens — whether it’s a small thing or a big thing. Did you know that practising gratitude for 21 days in a row can re–train the brain to look for positives in the world instead of negatives? By simply being grateful, children and young people can experience a greater sense of optimism, happiness and calm.

Gratitude Questions to use with your children:

1. What was the best thing that happened to me today?
2. Who am I most grateful for today and why?
3. What am I looking forward to most about tomorrow?

Week 3: The Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships

Learning materials have been designed for teachers to use in the curriculum in primary and secondary schools to develop students’ social, emotional and positive relationship skills. Efforts to promote social and emotional skills and positive gender norms in children and young people have been shown to improve health related outcomes and wellbeing.

As well as teaching academic skills, it is part of the core business of schools to promote student resilience, wellbeing and positive social attitudes. One way that schools can achieve this is through the teaching of evidence based programs that explicitly foster personal and social capabilities. 

Explicit efforts to provide Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) opportunities is recognised as a key part of this work.

SEL is the process through which children and young people build and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary to:

• Understand and manage emotions
• Set and achieve positive goals
• Feel and express empathy
• Establish and maintain positive relationships
• Make responsible decisions
• Develop resilience to deal with change
• Create positive gender norms
• Contribute to social cohesion.

Social and emotional skills help students develop the resilience to deal with change, challenge and unpredictability.

Social and emotional skills are also the foundation of positive relationships, including positive gender relationships, and contribute to social cohesion.

Efforts to promote personal and social capabilities and build resilience can be fostered through a whole school approach. A key component of a whole school approach is the promotion of positive teacher-student relationships. Positive relationships are significantly associated with increased ‘school connectedness’ and with cognitive, emotional and behavioural engagement.

The Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships (RRRR) learning materials cover eight topics of Social and Emotional Learning across all levels of primary and secondary education.

These topics will be shared with you over the coming weeks so you can partner with us in supporting your child in their learning. 

2023 Wellbeing Team at St Joseph’s

This year we are excited to announce that the wellbeing team is available over each day and we welcome Liz Noonan who joins Maryanne Evans in the team. In this complex and busy world we live in, the needs of students have developed over time and being able to support them through our Wellbeing team is very important. Students can seek support for themselves or they can be referred by their teacher or a parent can contact the team directly or via email.

Typically, students seek support for friendship, personal or social situations. The support can be in small group or individual, one to one meetings or pastoral chats.

Maryanne Evans

Maryanne has been working in wellbeing for the past 10 years following a 20 year career in nursing and a move to education in 2006 led to working at St. Joe’s as a classroom teacher for over 12 years. She has completed a Masters in Student Wellbeing and has studied counselling and Clinical Pastoral Care education. She brings enthusiasm and passion and a genuine interest in the wellbeing of children and families.  She has raised a family of three and enjoys her 6 grandchildren.

Maryanne Evans email: mevans@sjwarrnambool.catholic.edu.au

Liz Noonan

Liz has been in teaching for 25 years 15 years of this time at St Joseph’s, teaching across all year levels. She has a particular interest in the wellbeing of students and is very excited to be involved in this area. Liz has had substantial experience working with students in all year levels. She has a passion for the wellbeing of students and looks forward to working with students and their families. Liz is looking forward to further developing her knowledge in these area by completing more study this year. She comes from a large family base, having 4 sisters who all have children. She has 3 adult children.

Liz Noonan email: lnoonan@sjwarrnambool.catholic.edu.au