It has been great to see the girls return to Barbreck rested from the term break and ready, once again, to continue their learning.

As discussed in Term 1, throughout 2022, we will be working closely with The Resilience Project to support the wellbeing of our School community.

Our School Values of Gratitude and Empathy are cornerstones of The Resilience Project (TRP), and we are excited to further highlight and embed these Values into our everyday lives.

The Resilience Project delivers emotionally engaging programs and provides evidence-based, practical strategies to build resilience. In Term 1 we shared resources from TRP on Resilience. Our next presentation focusses on empathy and kindness.

Empathy is our ability to put ourselves in the shoes of others to feel and see what they do. We practise this through being kind and compassionate towards other people.

Brain imaging data shows that being kind to others registers in the brain as more like eating chocolate than fulfilling an obligation to do what’s right (e.g., eating brussel sprouts)!

Research shows that practising empathy, such as performing acts of kindness, taps into our brain’s ‘mirror neurons’, builds compassion and our behaviour becomes more social and community-based.

The Empathy Presentation can be viewed here.

Here’s an activity to practise empathy and kindness:

1. Reflect on someone in your life who could benefit from an act of kindness today. It could be a friend who would love some affirmation about their work, your pet who deserves an extra treat, or a family member who would love a phone call or text message.
2. Make a plan for who you are going to provide an act of kindness to, and what you are going to do.
3. If you want to add accountability to your plan, share it with someone else and encourage them to do the same thing.
4. Follow up with each other in a few days’ time to ask how it went!

Sources: Psychology Today, UC Berkeley, Greater Good Science

For mental health resources and support information, visit The Resilience Project’s Support Page.

As all Junior School classes have begun learning about the program, it would be worthwhile discussing the themes of Gratitude and Empathy as a family. Having those discussions and using those terms at home supports and strengthens the learning at School.

Out of School Hours Care – Term 2 Week 3 Activities

Upcoming activities for Term 2 Week 3 are detailed here.

St Catherine’s School offers an Out of School Hours Care program to all ELC and Junior School families. The program is implemented by our provider ‘After the Bell’ and operates within the ELC building. Parents are reminded that if you need to use the Before School Care or After School Care service, registrations need to be made in advance with ‘After the Bell’. Please allow up to five business days for your registration to be processed before your child can begin attending the program. Registration is free. All families are encouraged to register so that they can use this service in the event that you are unable to pick up your child.

Before School Care – 7.00am to 8.45am

After School Care – 3.00pm to 6.00pm

Registrations can be completed via the ‘After the Bell’ website.

Please phone 9758 6744 for all inquiries.