Self belief, like self worth, means that you value yourself and expect to be treated with respect.

People with a sense of self-belief try not to compare themselves to others. Having self worth comes from setting goals, working to attain the goals and achieving success. This makes us feel good about ourselves.

Self-Belief comes within the “Meaning” arm of our wellbeing model because people with self-worth are inspired by and use the character strengths of positive role models, they do things that make a positive difference and use their strengths in all that they do.

The positive side effects of high self-esteem, include:

• Taking responsibility for our actions
• Forming positive relationships
• Feeling confident and respected
• Feeling proud of our achievements
• Understanding mistakes is part of learning
• Being resilient and independent
• Being confident of our decisions in the face of peer pressure
• Having a positive self-image

To understand yourself better and increase your self worth and boost how you feel about yourself you can use these sentence stems (or prompts) :

• I was really happy when . . .
• A goal that I have achieved recently is…
• Something that my friends like about me is . . .
• I’m proud of . . .
• My family was happy when I . . .
• In school, I’m good at . . .
• Something that makes me unique is . . .
• Others tell me my character strength is…

You can also use positive self-talk to boost your self worth. To do this, you need to catch yourself saying negative things about yourself in your head and chage the thinking to being more positive (eg. I’m not as good as the rest of my team (at, say, football) you could say; I may not be as good, but I play a valuable role and my team mates think I’m funny/kind/nice)

You can also use positive self-talk to boost your self worth. To do this, you need to catch yourself saying negative things about yourself in your head and change the thinking to being more positive eg. Instead of thinking; I’m not as good as the rest of my team (at, say, football) you could say; I may not be as good, but I play a valuable role and my team mates think I’m funny/kind/nice)

Perfectly Norman by Tom Percival

What is the main message in this story?

So Few of Me by Peter H. Reynolds

My favourite line in this story is: What if I did less but did my best?

Willy the Champ by Anthony Brown

From Cosmic Kids Yoga: Jamie writes; “Here are 3 meditations for kids that are specially designed to boost confidence. They will motivate a positive can-do attitude and give kids (and grownups too) a sense of self-belief! Go get ’em tiger!” 🐯

Do you know what positive affirmations are?

They are statements that can be used for positive thinking and self- empowerment and can help us to achieve success. This week, have a go at writing down three positive affirmations each day and if you get stuck, google positive affirmations!

As we embark on Week 8 of our new school year we will be focussing on friendship and relationships, both old and new. At Barwon Heads PS the friendship character strength encompasses social intelligence; what we sense about others and what we do with this awareness.

This morning, as I walked along 13th beach I saw this group coming down the stairs together, stretching together, talking, laughing and showing an obvious bond before heading into the surf.

It is no conincidence that the week we focus on Friendship is “Harmony Week” which is about celebrating cultural diversity, tolerance and inclusiveness of all Australians.

Good friendships have a positive impact on wellbeing for a number of reasons. Supportive friendships can alleviate stress and provide security and a sharing ear for tackling difficulties. Being in the company of those that we like can evoke pleasure and laughter. Furthermore, forming new friendships requires an element of bravery and reciprocity.  The famous Harvard study (almost 80 years old) into the health and happiness of a group of graduates found that it was relationships that had the most powerful effect on health and that those who cultivated their relationships over the long term tended to live for longer.

With the biggest predictor of happiness and fulfilment being our relationships, the need for us all to pay attention to our friendships becomes evident.

At Barwon Heads PS we use the analogy of “bucket filling” as a metaphor for maintaining good relationships.

Here is “Have You Filled A Bucket Today?” just in case your classs hasn’t seen it yet

“Stick and Stone”

I know that this is from the eprspective of kinder children, but it’s cute!!

For older children “The Very Best of Friends” shows what can happen if friends are neglected

The Friend Ship

Self Control is the ability to stop and think before making a choice. Self Control comes within the Engagement arm of our PERMA model; “I make the most of my learning opportunities”.

Self Control means being able to control our emotions, thoughts and actions. It means thinking carefully about how we behave.

At school, demonstrating self-control can involve:

-Waiting, being patient and resisting doing what is not right

-Coming to class with everything needed

-Following directions

-Making thoughtful decisions

-Getting to work right away

-Paying attention

Interpersonally, demonstrating self-control can involve:

-Playing cooperatively with friends

-Being a good listener rather than interrupting

-Being polite to all

-remaining calm

This clip explains self-control and gives examples

The Marshmellow Test is all about self-control!

“No David” by David Shannon – I love this story as poor David learns about self-control

Techniques for Self-Control

Decibella and her 6 inch voice

Teamwork comes under the Relationships arm of the BHPS wellbeing model which means; I accept, understand and empathise with others.

We can also relate teamwork to Voice and Agency because being part of a team means working “for the good of the whole“.

The VIA Institute says of those who have, or aspire to have, teamwork as one of their character strengths: “I am a helpful and contributing group and team member, and feel responsible for helping the team reach its goals.”

An oldie but a goodie!

Swimmy is about a group of ingenious little fish who come together, literally to solve a problem!

The Grizzly Bear who lost his GRRR

Just because everyone loves a meercat!

I bet you know which arm of our PERMA model Persistence fits into? Yep – It’s the accomplishment area.

Being persistent means working hard to finish what we set out to achieve and not giving up. It means setting and achieving goals despite challenges and difficulties. Being persistent involves “grit” which is similar to stamina and effort. People who show persistence have a growth mindset, they know that if they practise and put in effort, they can achieve their goals!

Do you remember when you were learning how to read or ride a two wheeler bike? It was tricky at first, but you used your grit and kept trying until you’d got the hang of it. What happens is that is new (neural) pathways are created, and, like muscles, these help your brain to grow and you to become good at things.

Lessons on Grit

It pays to be persistent!

The Most Magnificant Thing

A Little Spot of Perseverence

(Perseverence is a synonym for persistence!)

Have you set your goals for this term?

What is your main takeaway from “Lessons on Grit?”

How are you going to use grit this week?