Primary School Wellbeing

The Primary School wellbeing program is largely based on ‘The Leader in Me’ program and Steven Covey’s ‘7 Habits of Highly Effective People’.

Within this structure, programs aim to build skills in personal effectiveness through concepts such as proactivity, organisation and prioritising, as well as interpersonal skills like exploring teamwork and empathic listening, self-care and rejuvenation.

Independence of Self-Mastery – teaching the students to take control of, and for, themselves

• Habit 1: Be Proactive – Take initiative and then take responsibility for your choices and the consequences that follow.
• Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind – Consider your goals and values and strive towards choices that align with these.
• Habit 3: Put First Things First – Prioritise, plan and work towards your goals in a logical, productive manner.

Interdependence – teaching the children to interact productively and positively with others

• Habit 4: Think Win-Win – Genuinely work hard to solve problems in a way that values and respects all people involved.
• Habit 5: See First to Understand, then to be Understood – Use emphatic listening to create an atmosphere of caring and positive problem solving.
• Habit 6: Synergize – Combine the strengths of people through positive teamwork to achieve goals.

Self Renewal – Rejuvenation and Relaxation

• Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw – Take time to rejuvenate, relax and consider things with renewed energy.

These concepts are taught through classroom lessons, assembly items and whole school initiatives. The Year 6 leadership program, our Student Representative Council (SRC) and our Make a Difference (MAD) projects also contribute significantly to the opportunities to enhance student wellbeing. The MAD projects aim to ‘give back’ to the local, Australian and global communities by allowing students to investigate and take actions to make a difference to others. Emanuel Primary School welcomes a range of external organisations to support our wellbeing learning. These include Life Education, Keep Them Safe and Interrelate.

Mindfulness in Schools Program

We offer Mindfulness sessions to all students. In Primary School we use the PAWS .b program, which introduces young people to the potential benefits of mindfulness in the safety of the school classroom. Taught by trained teachers, Paws .b offers a toolkit of practices, most between 1-10 minutes, which aim to introduce children to mindfulness in ways they find helpful and enjoyable. To have a significant impact, these curricula sit within the School’s broader frameworks of social and emotional learning, safeguarding, and wellbeing support. Early research suggests that mindfulness may provide young people with a valuable life skill by supporting them in a number of areas: to feel calmer and more fulfilled; to get on better with others; to concentrate and learn; to manage stress and anxiety; to perform well in music and sport.