Researchers consider healthy relationships to be the single most important factor in happiness.

“People with strong and broad social relationships are happier, healthier and live longer. Close relationships with family and friends provide love, meaning, support and increase our feelings of self worth. Broader networks bring a sense of belonging. So taking action to strengthen our relationships and build connections is essential for happiness”. 

Our connections with other people are at the heart of happiness – theirs and ours. Whether these connections are with our partners, families, friends, work colleagues, neighbours or people in our broader communities, they all contribute to our happiness. Chris Peterson, one of the founders of positive psychology puts it simply as: “Other people matter”.

https://www.actionforhappiness.org/10-keys-to-happier-living/connect-with-people/details

Martin Seligman who created the PERMA framework for wellbeing rates relationships as one of the keys to wellbeing too.

We are all missing our friends at the moment, so this week we can reflect on the qualities of (or what makes) a good friend and why our friends are important to us. We can think of ways to connect with our friends.

Within our BHPS positive statements, Relationships means;  “I can accept, understand and empathise with others”.

We created this video about the ways in which we can nurture our relationships. Hope you enjoy watching it!

People who are good friends recognise and understand the emotions of others so that they can figure out how others are feeling. Research has shown that empathy (noticing what other people are feeling) is associated with children who are smarter, nicer, happier and more resilient. Have you reached out to someone who may not be feeling great?

Chocolate Milk Por Favor – A book about Empathy

When learning from home and unable to see our friends face to face, we can be creative about connecting. Zooms are a great way to connect and I bet you can all remember this song by The Wiggles!

How have you connected with your friends and family members?

This book is about a boy called Dennis, who is different to the other children.

Rose Meets Mr Wintergarden is another book about empathy and making connections and being kind.

Some ideas for connecting include:

Talking with family and friends via phone, Facetime or Zoom. You could even do an activity together such as baking or making something. You could set up a backyard challenge and share with your friends.

Write handwritten cards or notes to family and friends. These could be posted or dropped off in people’s mailboxes. Everyone loves receiving these! You could also send messages via text or email.

Make encouraging posters and signs and put them in your windows to support your neighbours. This can also be a fun craft project.

There are so many examples of people connecting and being kind to others in the last two weeks in our community. We would love to hear about how you have been connecting – feel free to share on this blog x

Although testing at times, the journey that our community is currently experiencing is both uplifting and heart-warming. Personally, I feel a sense of gratitude towards you, our school and wider Barwon Heads community for your sense of kindness and compassion and for going out of your way to seek and offer assistance to those of us in need.  

I remember, many years ago when teaching a Grade 1/2 Class, the students started asking me questions about an horrific and confronting accident that had occurred. As I stumbled and bumbled my way through trying to interpret and make sense of what had happened in a way that might helpfully make sense for 24 wide eyed 6- and 7-year old’s, one of the children came to my rescue. He said, we saw this last night on the news, and my mum says, even when things are bad, there is always something good to look for. He was right, the heroes who came to the rescue of the victims became the part of the narrative that we focussed on. We talked about their strengths, their ability to take a risk, their kindness, courage and bravery.

As a school, we teach and learn that focussing on the positives is one of the keys to wellbeing. Through the science of positive psychology, we understand, that through practice, we can use interventions to improve how we feel. The most effective of these include sharing kindness, practicing gratitude, spotting strengths and being mindful.

Our students are seeing shining examples of this modelled by their parents and friends through the many acts of kindness being carried out in our community. Examples include messages of hope on social media, shopping for others, dog walking, donating and delivering food and even pea straw for guinea pigs! I can’t imagine how many more acts of kindness are being carried out that I haven’t heard of. This is also going on in homes with character strength spotting, acts of kindness, appreciation, families sharing ideas of activities, books to read and things to do to name a few.

I am so proud of our students and the Barwon Heads community for using this opportunity to focus on the positives, and in doing so, bringing out the best in themselves and those around them. I for one, feel grateful to be part of this experience.

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented many new challenges for children and the experience of a COVID-19 test can be particularly challenging.

The challenges of a COVID-19 nasopharyngeal or throat swab test

Testing for COVID-19 requires a nasopharyngeal (through the nose) and/or oropharyngeal (through the mouth) test using a cotton swab. These tests can cause distress for children due to the associated discomfort, unfamiliarity with the procedure, and change of routine. The use of visual aids to help prepare young people, and strategically selecting a comfortable testing environment, can help with a successful procedure and reduce anxiety.

What to do?

Prepare for a COVID-19 test using visual support

Review a social story Social stories are a sequence of pictures and sentences to help prepare for a new experience. Some children benefit from more detailed social stories, while others do better with simpler instructions. It is important to consider which approach will work best when selecting the story. Both detailed and simple social stories, as well as a COVID-19 testing toolkit introduction, are available.

Watch a video such as these two….

Positive psychologist Professor Martin Seligman has spent many years researching ‘happiness’. Positive Psychology suggests that happiness is the natural result of building up our well-being and satisfaction with life. His studies have helped him identify 5 building blocks of well-being. Each of these elements is essential to our well-being and satisfaction with life. Together, they form the solid foundation upon which we can build a happy and flourishing life.

He calls his model the PERMA model and this is the model that we use at Barwon Heads PS :

• P – positive emotion
• E – engagement
• R – relationships
• M – meaning
• A – achievement (accomplishment)

Thanks to “Discovery in Action” for these words and infographic.

This week we focus on Positive Emotions

Positive emotion is more than just ‘happiness’. There are a range of positive emotions, including amusement, hope, interest, joy, love, compassion, gratitude, and pride. Part of our capacity for experiencing positive
emotions is genetic, but all of us have the ability to purposefully experience more positive emotion.

You can build positive emotion by:
• Taking time to find things you are grateful for in your life and reflect on what is going well and how you have contributed to those situations.
• Spending time with people that you care about
• Doing activities that you enjoy, such as hobbies or pastimes
• Play with your family members, your pets or your friends
• Listening to uplifting music that you love
• Exercising. It can help raise your levels of positive emotions, as well as keep you healthy
Having an attitude of optimism which is critical to building resilience.

Barbara Fredrickson has led much of the research into Positive Emotions.