Tēnā koutou katoa
Ngā mihi nui kia koutou katoa - Warm greetings to you all.
At TPS we have several hauora/wellbeing initiatives that aim to create the conditions supporting the health and wellbeing of our students. We strive to support our learners to be confident, kind, resilient and respectful young people. Below are a few of the strategies we employ as part of our Hauora/Wellbeing focus.
We use Mindfulness at TPS. We follow the Pause, Breathe, Smile programme created by the Mental Health Foundation (NZ). It is an evidence-based mental skills training programme for children that is shown to improve mental health and emotional well-being. The programme requires children to focus on breathing deeply and being present in the current moment. This helps bring a sense of calm and enables them to gain some positive control of their choices and actions.
Why is this important? We have noticed that there is an increase in the number of children who demonstrate signs of anxiety and have challenges managing life’s ups and downs, for example managing friendships, coping with expectations and deadlines, grief, changing family dynamics etc. UNICEF (2020) data shows that NZ ranks 35th out of 41 countries regarding overall childhood well-being. Our adolescent suicide rate is the highest among developed nations. It is critical that children feel safe, happy and calm so that they can be ready to learn. We believe that teaching Mindfulness is an important tool/strategy to help achieve a ‘calm’ mind so that children are able to tackle the day and present moment successfully.
This year we have developed two sensory rooms on site. They are calming spaces that students can use to regulate their emotions when they are feeling overwhelmed or are demonstrating negative behaviours. The rooms are equipped with a variety of sensory objects that help promote a sense of calm and comfort. See further on in the newsletter for some pictures. We have already had a lot of success with students using these spaces, and have noticed that some students are able to regulate their emotions and regain control of their choices a lot quicker when in the sensory room.
We use the Zones of the Regulation framework to help students name and develop an awareness of their feelings and emotional state, teach strategies to self-regulate, and positively manage everyday challenges. There are four colour zones (blue, yellow, green, and red) that we use to describe and understand how our brain and body feel. By teaching this programme in a manner that is easy for all children to understand, we hope to build our TPS students' capacity for resilience and their ability to 'self-regulate' when they encounter challenges.
We also coordinate a Peaceful Playgrounds programme which includes various lunch clubs, a supported playgroup (structured play supported by an adult), adult led sports games (teachers. Kelly Sports and our Sport Coordinator - Jo), Sport Leaders games (year 6 students), Peer Mediators (trained year 6 students support our junior students at lunchtime), as well as our ongoing investment in creating lots of high quality play spaces and equipment.
Our school day is structured so that children only have a maximum of 1 hour 15 mins in class learning. Our students have regular break times during the day to rehydrate, eat and 'blow off some steam'.
Lastly, we also teach students to use their MIWITS as a strategy they can use to navigate challenging situations:
M = Mindfulness
I = I statement
W = Walk Away
I = Ignore
T = Talk to someone (friend, parent, teacher)
Welcome to Samreen Kaur, Maxinemillian & Johnson Beroi, Banks Boag, Madeline McCartney and Remy Davis who have recently started at TPS. It's lovely to have you and your family join the TPS team.
Thank you for your ongoing support of our school.
Hei kōnei rā
Fiona Hawes
Principal
principal@tauranga.school.nz
