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STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AND CONNECTEDNESS Maintaining a healthy, positive and vibrant approach to Student Wellbeing is a very strong focus within our school community. Our Coordinator is Margaret Plumstead and her role is to strengthen, maintain and further develop initiatives in student wellbeing with all staff members. We work very closely with the Catholic Education Office both at East Melbourne and Moorabbin to ensure we provide the best and most up to date whole school approach to the wellbeing of our students. We engage in a number of projects / initiatives that enhance student’s sense of wellbeing eg: Schools as Core Social Centres Bounce Back Resilience Program P-6 Boy's Education Attitudes to School Survey Leadership Training Program Year 5 MPower Girls program Seasons Program For loss and Grief Leadership Recess Activity Groups Prep and Year 6 Buddy program Staff and Year 6 Buddy Program Class Meetings and Student Representative Council Circle Time Student Leadership     Schools As Core Social Centres The aim of the project is to improve “social capital” – improving social capital means that we improve the connectedness of parents and guardians to our school and that we ensure our school is connected to the wider community. Research suggests that when families are engaged in the life of the school community the learning outcomes of the students improve remarkably. We run many programs and events that support families being connected to our school: eg. Annual Fun Runl, Footy, Pie and Drink Night, Father’s Day Breakfast, Breakfast at the Beach, Twilight Family Beach Night, Trivia Nights, Prep, Prayer and PJ Night… We aim to have 100% participation of families in the life of the school community. To ensure we keep track of who attends our school data is collected throughout the year.  Bounce Back Resilience Program Young people need coping skills more so now than ever before with the challenges that modern society places before them. They are more likely to encounter a greater range of difficult circumstances, negative events and down times than previous generations. The most important tool students need to cope with this is, resilience. This skill is taught in a fun and engaging way through this P-6 Program. It is integrated into all aspects of students life,  resulting in increased student connectedness, increased school connectedness, higher levels of emotional wellbeing and enhanced self esteem. Boy’s Education Over the past three years we have been part of a cluster of schools that has promoted the key principles that enhance the learning opportunities for boys in education (these principles have also been very advantageous for the girls also). We have particularly focussed on literacy, engagement in learning, building relationships and in 2006 – 2008 we have added information technology. An interesting website to visit is: boysforward.com. Attitudes to Schools Survey: We undertake this survey annually to find out how our students are feeling about school life, connectedness to school, their peers and teachers and how engaged they feel about their learning process. MPower Girls Program MPower Girls program explores the relationships girls have with each other and the secret world of girls’ aggression. The program deals with the issues of bullying, cliques and how girls relate to on another. MPower Girls seeks to encourage students to talk about what it means to be a girl and to discuss what happens in their friendship groups and how it affects them. Seasons Program for Loss and Grief Many families suffer times of grief and loss in their life. When something significant happens in a family, the entire family is affected. Even though death or divorce appears to be only a grown up problem, it does have a profound affect on the children that it touches. When a parent dies or a divorce occurs, not only do the parents grieve, the children do also. Because of their age and short life experience, some children find it extremely difficult to verbalise those feelings.   We offer a special program called “Seasons” where children who have suffered in this way get a chance to put those feeling into words, work through their grief, build a strong sense of self esteem and begin to accept what has taken place in the family.             Leadership Training Program Our Year 5 students, during Term 4 of each year, engage in a program that supports their understanding of the nature and purpose of leadership. The program prepares them for their most important role as school leaders in Year 6 and in particular for those who will take on key leadership roles – School Captains, House Team Captains, Student Induction Coordinators… Leadership Recess Groups Our Year 6 students have the opportunity of leading special recess groups at least twice a year. They nominate the focus, the number of students who will attend, the venue and the age group. Some of the activities have been: stamp collecting, hip hop dancing, flower pressing, drawing, dancing, chess, dress-ups and drama…At the completion of their 5 week program they are asked to complete a self-assessment that is then discussed with their Staff Buddy. Prep and Year 6 Buddy Program To promote a sense of responsibility in all Year 6 students they are allocated a Prep Child to look after. This benefits the new preps who are in need of special attention in their first year at a new school.  However the biggest benefit is for the Year 6 students who rise to this challenge and we see a great  bond develop between all concerned. Staff and Year 6 Buddy In order to promote connectedness and leadership within our Year 6 class each staff member is given a Year 6 student to buddy during the year. The Staff and Year 6 students have lunch, breakfast, and morning teas together and get to know each other throughout the year. We have had: tomato soup days, pancake morning teas, Melbourne Cup special hat Morning Tea, pizza lunch, prayer celebrations… The initiative has proven to be a very successful way to support our Year 6 students in their ongoing leadership training, their communication skills and sense of responsibility. Class Meetings and Student Representative Council Each month each class is asked to conduct a Class Meeting that explores the positive things about the way the class operates and aspects of school life. They are also asked to discuss any areas of need. The SRC Representative then takes these areas of need to the SRC meeting for discussion. All matters are then discussed with the Principal. Circle Time Circle Time is held regularly throughout the week to discern what is happening in the lives of the students. Circle Time allows students the opportunity to say how they feel, what they think and what they can do to keep our school improving. Student Leadership Each student at St Francis Xavier School is expected to take on the role as a leader within the day to day running of the classroom. Each student has the opportunity to show his or her leadership skills throughout the day eg. Good example, respect, tidiness, friendliness, peer support… There are however special roles within the school and class that are nominated and designated as special leadership roles. SCHOOL CAPTAINS: At the beginning of the school year the Yr 5 & 6 classes and the staff vote and nominate 2 School Captains per term for the school year from the Yr 6 class. The role has certain designated expectations and other aspects of the role vary according to the nature of each term. After discussion and approval by the Principal the Captains may have their own ideas that are incorporated within their role eg. Tea, Tots and Talk, Mini Fete, School Newspaper Article… The Captains meet with the Principal on a regular basis to discuss their progress. HOUSE CAPTAINS: Two Co-House Captains (appointed from the Yr 6 class) support all aspects of Health and PE. The Co-House Captains are voted in at the beginning of each year and their role lasts for the year ahead. All students are assigned a House Team on enrolment to our school and wear their House colour team t-shirt on 2 or 3 designated days during the year (parents will be notified). The House Colours and Names are: Kealy – green (named after Fr Joe Kealy, Parish Priest in the early days of the formation of St Francis Xavier Parish) MacKillop – blue (named after Blessed Mary MacKillop – Mary founded the Sister of St Joseph and the sisters were the founding teachers of our school in 1928) Francis – red team: the first part of our school’s Parish Saint  Xavier – yellow the last part of the name of our Parish Saint Health and Wellbeing During 2008 we will continue our “Healthy Body – Healthy Mind” project. We will be supporting parents with parent information nights in relation to: healthy eating, healthy life-styles diet and exercise.   Students bring only fruit or vegetables to eat before lunch. Each class has a fruit/vegetable break at 10.00am Water Bottles are encouraged We will be really targeting students who bring foods to school that do not supply the necessary nutrition for energy, concentration and fitness.

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