October is Mental Health Month, a time to ‘tune in’ and think about our mental health and wellbeing.

At Woodend, we will be holding a Wellbeing Focus Day on Monday 25 October (week 3).

There are 3 aspects to the day:

  • Wellbeing awareness workshops
  • Talk-and-Walk-Athon
  • Wearing clothes that represents something that enhances wellbeing

Wellbeing Awareness workshops (R-2 classes)

Pamela Hansen (Wellbeing support) has designed an engaging workshop in which children will explore what wellbeing means. During this workshop, students will work together to create a ‘nature mandala’. Please gather any natural materials you may have access to (bark, leaves, twigs, flowers, seeds, nuts etc) for your children to bring to school in preparation for this activity. Materials can be stored in classrooms or in the glasshouse, or brought in on Monday morning. Flowers would be best brought in on the day. The mandala will be created in the glasshouse.

Talk-and-Walk-Athon (Year 3-7 classes)

It’s important that our children feel safe, connected and supported at school and within the wider community. The Talk-and-Walk-a-Thon has been designed to strengthen this feeling of connection and sense of belonging, allowing students to get to know other students at school. 

Students will be invited to stretch their legs and talk about topics ranging from their favourite music, food, movies, sports and more. These topics will encourage peer engagement, help strengthen bonds and allow students to feel connected with people they see every day but may not necessarily know. 

The Talk-And-Walk-A-Thon is an initiative by Peer Support Australia, a not-for-profit that has been helping Australian schools build student wellbeing for 50 years. Find out more at peersupport.edu.au/talk-and-walk-a-thon.

Clothing to represent wellbeing

All students are invited to come to school wearing clothing that represents something that enhances their wellbeing (gives them a sense of belonging and connectedness or makes them feel happy). Students will be asked during the day to explain how their clothing represents this.

We are looking forward to the day and anticipate this will help our students to think about how they might care for their own wellbeing.