MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING
Mental Health and Wellbeing News
Dear Parents/Carers,
Welcome back to Term 4. The year has gone so quickly and before we know it we will be celebrating Christmas. This Term the school-wide expectation we are focusing on is “Be a Learner”. Being an active learner includes having a positive mindset, being engaged, having ambition, and setting goals for oneself. Helping your child develop these skills is a way to assist them become life-long learners.
Active learning is where children engage in their learning by thinking, discussing, investigating and creating. Children need to be doing more than just listening in order to learn. It is not passive. In order to be active in learning, our children need to be empowered to learn. This can be encouraged at home as well as at school. The learning does not have to be academic but can involve lots of things that you might do at home.
EMPOWERING THE LEARNER
When learners are empowered they become motivated, work harder and strive to do well. For our children, when they feel empowered, then learning is going to be more fun and they will be happier. This is true not only in learning but in all aspects of life.How can we empower our children in their learning? These can be done at school and also at home.
- Help them find their passion
- Encourage critical thinking, debate and expressing ideas
- Brainstorm
- Encourage problem solving
- Find opportunities to use leadership skills
It is wonderful to see your children participating well in what they are learning. It can be easy to bog children down with unnecessary stuff that can drain their motivation.
How we can engage learners:
- Set goals. You can do this together, especially if your child is older. When expectations are known, it is easier to keep attention and motivation.
- Make learning favourable for your child.
- Choose an area that interests your child.
- Give rewards. Met a goal? Reward! Working ahead of schedule? Reward! There are many different types of rewards, from some time off or screen time, or a tangible something they have been wanting.
Working together as a school/home partnership will ensure our students have the best opportunities available to them to “Be a Learner” and gain valuable skills and insights into their own learning styles.
If you have any questions or would like further information please do not hesitate to contact me.
Deb Owens
Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader.