Wellbeing at SPA
One of the most important roles of staff at our
school is to help kids find their SPArk!
What is Wellbeing?
It is well researched that children with higher levels of emotional, behavioural, social and school wellbeing have higher levels of academic achievement and are more engaged in school. They exhibit better attention skills, and are more alert and engaged.
Here at SPA, school is a safe and inclusive place for everyone in the community. This year we will build our Wellbeing programs around the 8 Cultural Forces focusing on social and emotional learning in our Inquiry Based Learning.
SWELL Week
Most educators recognise that the first days of school are critical for establishing a culture of learning that will set the right tone for the rest of the year. To promote a positive classroom learning environment, it is important to make these first days the most productive they can be in building relationships. A sense of community in the classroom and school motivates students to participate and engage, while helping them feel safe to learn and grow both individually and collectively. This sense of community doesn’t just happen, it must be cultivated. Here at SPA we do this through our SWELL Week at the beginning of the year and SWELL days at
the start of each other term. No stress, assessments or tests during this time!
By adapting our habits, teaching and learning strategies and expectations around the 8 cultural forces (time, opportunities, routines and structures, language, modeling, interactions and relationships and physical environment, and expectations) during SWELL Week, we can create a positive learning community that helps each student fulfil their potential both academically and as a whole human being.
Some whole school events include
Get to know the SPA Staff |
Each staff member will present a short presentation about themselves to share with the whole school at the end of lunchtime | ||
Whole School Expectations Expo** |
Each class will select an area of the school to define the expectations for and create a display for sharing at a whole school event. | ||
Values Assembly – Manifestos, Learner Dispositions and School Values** |
Each class will create a manifesto (a statement where you can share your intentions, opinions and vision. | ||
Performing Arts, Science, Cooking, STEM and Community Group Activities |
Activities that focus on ‘Kids teaching Kids’ in each of these learning areas | ||
Whole School Tabloid event |
A whole school tabloid event and will have a picnic lunch together out on the oval! Perhaps some icy poles for a special treat, |
Mindfulness
In today’s hectic world, the ability to remain present has many positive benefits. Mindfulness is a tool that we use here at SPA to support our learners with their wellbeing. Mindfulness is noticing what is happening in the present moment. It can help us learn to pay close attention to many things. It can also help us calm down when we are angry, sad, frustrated, or have any difficult emotion. Mindfulness can help us notice when we are happy or grateful too.
Essentially, when we teach mindfulness we are equipping our children with the tools to manage distractions and strong emotions in order to reach their full learning potential. We practice mindfulness every day at SPA. For resources, lesson ideas and guidance please see your Team Leader, Jenny our REC and Chaplain, or Geraldine our Student Services and Wellbeing Leader. A fantastic app we use regularly is ‘Smiling Mind’, you can download this onto both Android and Apple products.
Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships
Respectful Relationships supports schools and early childhood settings to promote and model respect, positive attitudes and behaviours – and to teach our children how to build healthy relationships, resilience and confidence. It is a whole school approach which recognises that our school is a workplace, a community hub and a place of learning. Everyone in our school deserves to be respected, valued and treated equally. Each team leader has been given access to a range of shared resources for learning about the initiative and also a range of teaching and learning materials. As part of our ongoing Professional Learning, staff will be provided with a range of Professional Development opportunities on the Respectful Relationships Initiative.