If your top character strength is “Hope” you are a person who looks forward to what’s ahead and has a rosy outlook towards the future.

Similar to optimism, hope is like a bright, shining light inside you. It’s the feeling that things will get better, even when they seem tough. Imagine it as a sparkly rainbow on a rainy day, or a cozy blanket wrapping around you when you’re feeling a bit chilly. Hope is what helps you keep going, no matter what.

Hope sits within the Positive Emotions arm of our PERMA model and our BHPS definition of hope is; “I look forward to the future and believe that good things will happen.”

When thinking about next year – having hope can mean that you have the self-belief necessary to shape the future to be what you want it to be. For example, if you have a positive attitude towards your new class, the chances are that not only will you spend the holidays looking forward to it, but you will have a fantastic year because you will make it happen!

Positive Thinking – Class Dojo

What does Hope mean to you?

Ella and the Waves

Be Positive – A book about optimism

Hope the Boat

What is your hope?

Known as “Zest” within the VIA classification of character strengths, enthusiasm is an approach to life which is also known as vitality. People who are enthusiastic do everything with excitement and energy.

This week we enthusiastically welcome Mr Bennetts to BHPS as our new principal!

Enthusiasm comes within the Engagement arm of our PERMA model – “I make the most of my learning

opportunities”.

Exhibiting enthusiasm could involve:

-Doing a physical activity of your choice, one that you don’t have to do and that you are not told to do.

-Actively participating by asking questions or listening closely

-Showing enthusiasm through smiles or excited comments

-Invigorating others around you

-Exercise is a great way to use the strength of enthusiasm

-Celebrate your next two accomplishments and victories and include others without doing this in a boastful way.

Enthusiasm is similar to Zest and in this clip, students explain the power of Zest!

Here is GrandMa Z to add some enthusiasm to her Grandson’s life!

An attitude of enthusiasm can help you with your learning.

If I ran the circus by Dr Seuss

E is for Enthusiasm!

How to find your enthusiasm

Open Mindedness comes within the Relationships arm of the BHPS PERMA. Being open minded means “I think carefully before making a decision. I can adapt my decisions when things change”.

Characteristics of Open-Minded People

Being open-minded means understanding we are all different and embracing these differences. Other open-minded characteristics that students with this strength exhibit include:

• respecting and considering the perspectives and approaches  of others
• being eager to learn new things
• reflect on their own learning and the ideas of others
• reacting positively to constructive feedback
• acting with positivity, honesty and empathy
• listening attentively
• putting themselves in other people’s shoes
• willing to venture outside their comfort zone 
• asking questions to broaden their mind and understandings
• working towards positive relationships and collaborative experiences.

Key Benefits of Being Open-Minded

There are many benefits to teaching perspectives and helping your students to view their life with an open mind. Open-mindedness gives students the ability to:

• embrace different points of view
• listen to and consider the perspectives of others before making a decision
• understand new ideas and experiences broaden their mind and challenge their thinking
• understand mistakes or failure leads to a deeper understanding
• be eager to learn new things and build on existing knowledge, even if it challenges existing views
• be honest, understanding they don’t know everything and can admit it
• know the first answer is correct and will search for alternatives before settling on an answer
• be an effective team player and collaborator
• be fair and objective, building trust with others.
• handle constructive feedback, understanding they learn from their mistakes.

The above information has come from childrenslibrarylady.com

Here students from Grades 4&5 in 2021 share their thoughts on open mindedness

They All Saw A Cat – A book about differing views and perspective

Going Places is a book about how an open mind can help someone to think in a different way in order to cross the finish line.

Some wisdom on being open minded.

At this time of the year at school “Leadership” is on the minds of some of us as we think about our goals for the remainder of the year and 2025.

People who are good leaders are able to organise their group and make sure that everyone feels included.

When thinking about Leadership, we can all bring to mind people who we know and admire who are great leaders. Some of these include our parents, family members, teachers, our school leaders and public figures. Nelson Mandela is one who springs to mind for me as does Bachar Houli, the Richmond AFL player.

“The Lorax” is a great example of leadership. The main character is upstanding, inspiring and brave enough to do what’s right.

This is the original version of the book (25 mins)

Upstanders are also good leaders as they stand up for what they know to be right.

A big part of being a great leader comes within the MEANING part of our PERMA model – I belong to world bigger than my own. Which of the statements do you think apply to leadership?

What is a Leader?

Do you think that King Pig was a good leader?

It’s always a good time to practice gratitude. Gratitude for your teachers, your parents, those who have helped you throughout the year. You can also be thankful for where you live (places don’t come more beautiful than Barwon Heads), for our school, your friends just to name a few.

Practicing gratitude is one of the simplest tools that you can use to improve how you are feeling.

Research has shown that the positive side effects of using gratitude include physical benefits such as better sleep and psychological benefits including less anxiety and increased happiness and resilience.  Social benefits include; fewer feelings of loneliness and isolation, increased forgiveness and greater helpfulness and generosity.

When thinking about the things that we are grateful for, the benefits will be greater if you don’t think about the “things” you have, such as toys but rather, look for kindness from others, or a kind deed that you have seen or been involved in.

Sone of the ways in which you can practice gratitude is to write a thank you letter to your teacher family members or someone else who has supported you during the year. Saying thank you can benefit the wellbeing of you and the recipient of the gratitude.

Another way of practicing gratitude is to be a gratitude detective by watching for kind and caring behaviour from other people.

How about boosting your wellbeing by setting yourself a challenge to show gratitude in some way every day?

Short Film about Gratitude

Gratitude is my Superpower

My Attitude of Gratitude

The Science of Gratitude

Did I Ever Tell You How Happy You Are? Dr Seuss

The Gratitude Tree Guided Meditation

The Gratitude Experiment

What are you grateful for?

“I forgive people who hurt me and give people a second chance. I put my sadness behind me and move forward”.

Forgiveness means letting go of hard feelings like anger, sadness, or frustration that happen when you or someone else makes a mistake. It’s saying “Thank you” or “That’s okay” when someone apologises and not staying upset about what they did. It’s having patience with yourself and others, and recognising that no one is perfect—everyone makes mistakes.  It’s letting go of hurt feelings, and moving ahead, ready to do things. It doesn’t mean that all of a sudden what someone did doesn’t hurt or isn’t wrong. It means that you find it in your heart to give the person another chance.

In many ways Forgiveness is about taking power back by “flipping” the mood/situation. I use the analogy of the sparkle jars. Harbouring hurt or anger as a result of someone hurting your feelings can feel like a whirlwind in your tummy but as soon as you forgive it can lead to a sense of calm like when the sparkles fall to the bottom of the jar.

Forgiveness comes within the “Relationships” part of our PERMA model because being able to forgive those around you is one of the building blocks to successful friendship.

Little Life Message: The best revenge is to move on and find your happy.

Forgiveness Activities:

• Take 20 minutes and write about the personal benefits that resulted from a negative incident.
• Think of someone who wronged you recently. Put yourself in their shoes and try to understand their perspective.
• Write a forgiveness letter. You don’t have to send it, but read it to yourself each day for a week.
• If someone hurts or upsets you, try to understand things from their perspective, then think about whether your reaction is hurting them or you.
• Think about all of the picture story books that have at their core, the message of the importance of being able to forgive. Write a list and send to Mrs Kebbell to add to the list on this blog!

Blue Sky, Yellow Kite is a favourite of mine and as I read it I like to stop and infer the many emotions that the characters in this book are feeling due to the actions of the other person.

Elmo didn’t mean to…

I love my new toy by Mo Willems

Enemy Pie by Derek Munson

People who have the character strength of “Creativity” in abundance are people who come up with new and helpful ideas and ways of doing things.

Creativity comes within the “Meaning” arm of our PERMA wellbeing starfish.

Creativity means thinking of new ways to do things. When faced with a problem, creative people define the issue clearly and then come up with multiple solutions.

There are so many different ways in which you can be creative. These includes writing (developing ideas), art, music, craft and even using an everyday household object in a new way.

“The Whisper” is a book about a girl who lets her imagination run wild.

“The Girl Who Thought in Pictures” is about Temple Grandin, a scientist whose autism is a strength that gives her the ability to think differently (creatively). This enables her to solve some important problems related to treating and handling cattle in a compassionate and humane way. She has won many awards for her work and study in this area and there is even a film based on her life story.

This picture story book is based on her life.

“Ish” by Peter Reynolds, is another picture story book about a boy with a ctreative mind.

I love the creative ways that the children in this clip are able to think of to solve problems

Creativity is not just about making something, it is a way fo thinking to solve problem (for older students).

You can reflect on this strength by asking yourself:

In what situations are you most creative?

How does creativity help you to solve problems?

What holds you back from expressing your creativity?

WHAT IS CURIOSITY?

People who are curious are interested in new experiences. They are also keen to learn and build their knowledge. Curiosity means looking forward to finding answers, learning new facts and having experiences such as visiting a new place or researching an area of interest. It can also mean finding out about someone, learning something new or exploring new ideas, activities or experiences.

“I want to explore and find out new things”

People who are curious are interested in learning more about anything and everything. They are always asking questions and find all subjects and topics fascinating. They like exploration and discovery.

Curiosity comes within the Engagement area of our PERMA model because people who are curious are always asking questions and learning.

Key Concepts:

There are two key components to curious individuals: They are interested in exploring new ideas, activities and experiences, and they also have a strong desire to increase their own personal knowledge.

Benefits:

Curiosity fuels intrinsic motivation to learn
Curiosity brings pleasure and enhances memory
Curious people have more developed cognitive skills; they learn more and
learn better.

Luke’s Way Of Looking

Sesame Street – “Follow Your Curiosity!”

“Dear Greenpeace” is about a curious girls who writes letters to find the asnwers to her questions.

Families talking about curiosity and wonder

Persistence and the Growth Mindset sit within the “Accomplishment” arm of our PERMA Starfish.

Supporting this, our Accomplishment wellbeing statements are, I will…

• think positive thoughts and not give up
• challenge myself
• always do the best I can
• have a growth mindset
• learn from my mistakes
• believe in myself
• achieve my personal best and not compare myself to others and
• make a plan and work hard to achieve my goals.

Persistence is when you continue to do something even though it is difficult

Growth Mindset is the belief that intelligence improves through study and practice. Having a growth mindset means that you see challenges as opportunities to grow and understanding that you can improve your abilities by working hard. It means that instead of saying; “I can’t do it”, you say, “I can’t do it YET!”

“The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes”

This clip compares two seeds and shows how the growth of one is more successful than the other. Can you explain why?

This picture story book “Your Fanstastic, Elastic Brain”, shows how your brain works with a growth mindset.

Growth & Fixed Mindsets explained