St Roch's Parish Primary School
St Roch's Parish Primary School
COMMUNITY WELLBEING ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
STUDENT WELLBEING
In our positive school community every face has a place, every voice is valued and everyone has something to contribute. Our positive school community creates opportunities for all our students, families and staff to feel included and to belong to such a vibrant and dynamic place.
St Roch’s is committed to the development of the whole person; spiritually, socially, intellectually, emotionally and physically to enable each child to reach his/her full potential. This philosophy is embedded in all aspects of the curriculum and in specific programs designed to promote wellbeing.
Our aim is to support our students to manage themselves as individuals and in relation to others, to understand the world in which they live and to act effectively in that world.
Curriculum content includes a focus on social skills and social and emotional wellbeing (SEL) that develop the five core competencies - self- awareness, social awareness, self-management, responsible decision-making and relationship skills.
CHILD SAFETY
St Roch’s Parish Primary School is committed to child safety and providing a safe environment for all students and young people. We want children to feel safe, happy and empowered. To achieve this the school has developed and actively enforces Child Safety Strategies to ensure that any person involved in ‘child connected work’ is aware of their obligations & responsibilities for ensuring the safety of all children under their care.
LEARNING DIVERSITY
Through our curriculum, interpersonal relationships and organisational practices, St Roch’s uses strategies that take into account the different abilities, skills and life experiences of our students. A range of significant factors are considered when choosing responses to student behaviour. We respond to learning diversity so that all students are actively engaged in learning and experience success. We partner with parents throughout the year to support our students. Program Support Group Meetings (PSGs) are held once per term to enable the school and families to strengthen their partnerships in supporting the students in our care - whether it be enabling or enriching.
RESTORATIVE PRACTICE
At St Rochs’ we use restorative practices as our approach to behaviour management in the classroom and throughout the school. This approach is one that values dialogue and allows everyone to be heard. We focus on the specific behaviours or incidents without blame and discuss who was affected and how they were affected using direct questions aimed at problem-solving and finding a solution. We want to know what needs to happen to “make things right”. Through restorative practices, students learn that emotions are an important and legitimate expression of healthy dialogue. This learning helps them to deal with conflict, tensions and differences in respectful ways that engender trust and foster healthy relationships.
CIRCLES
Working with each other collaboratively and purposefully ensures that everybody understands clearly what is expected of them and others. At St Roch’s we incorporate Circles into our weekly timetable to create a positive classroom culture. Circles are about relationship-building and creating an atmosphere of trust. We use a structured framework containing various components that facilitate communication and deep thought and use a talking piece to give everyone the opportunity to speak. Research shows that Circles enhance self-awareness. self-esteem, resilience, emotional intelligence, connectedness, empathy as well as teach skills in anger management, communication, conflict resolution and problem-solving.
MEDITATION & MINDFULNESS
Our Student Representative Council Members support their class by leading them in meditation and mindfulness activities. This process is part of educating our students to be mindful, to learn to pay attention in a particular way, on purpose and to remain in the present moment. Mindfulness will help our students develop the competencies of self awareness, social awareness and self confidence.