From the APA's desk
After eight weeks of the school year already completed, I am feeling like I am settling into St Saviour’s and am more relaxed and comfortable in my role. Similarly, I have a sense that students and teachers are feeling settled into their classroom environment and have made connections that build a sense of belonging and a sense of a shared purpose. It is often this time of the year when relationships can start to fray or be tested. We become ‘used to’ each other and we have a sense of how things work, which personalities we are going to work well with or may need to try harder with and who may impact us either positively or negatively in different spaces. At the core of a school is the relationships that exist between all members of the community. The quality of those relationships have a direct impact on the collective wellbeing of our community.
We are investing in building our collective skills to enhance student wellbeing and research would suggest that prioritising building and sustaining relationships is an important factor. Our Wellbeing consultant, Sue Chandler from Transformative Schools visited us last week. Sue spent time with members of the Wellbeing committee to begin work on framing our whole school wellbeing approach, as well as model one of the strategies that will sit in our framework ‘circle time’. Sue modelled this style of lesson in all year levels across the school. Circle time is an approach which gets its name from how it is facilitated, in a circle. Using circle time as an approach with a consistent structure and purpose is an authentic method of facilitating the development of positive relationships and developing social and emotional capabilities. The mere formation of a circle creates a sense of openness, inclusivity and belonging. Building strong connections between teachers and students and student to student is fundamental to building the capacity to have a restorative lens when relationships are harmed. Teachers will continue to develop and hone this strategy as the year progresses.
I am looking forward to the last few busy weeks of this term and navigating relationship building and repair. Everyday every member of our community has an opportunity to cement a connection and strengthen a relationship. There is also however opportunities to damage a relationship. On assembly this week I spoke around the need for all students to speak up if there are things happening for them that are causing them concern. Relationships are at the core of our work but if we do not know how relationships have broken down, we can have all the preventative measures operating successfully, but are still unable to assist. I also encourage you as parents that if you have any concerns around your child’s wellbeing at school and the quality of their relationships, to please reach out to their teacher or myself so that we can assist students in navigating their problems and restoring their relationships.
Katie Hauser
APA
