Bounce Back! in the Junior School

Monday afternoon on the indoor Basketball courts saw the launch of the Bounce Back! programme in Years 2 to 6. There was plenty of action with the students tasked to keep 18 beach balls continually bouncing back into the air.

Bounce Back! is a Positive Education approach to well-being, resilience and social-emotional learning. It aims to provide practical strategies to help students cope with the complexity of their everyday lives and learn how to "bounce back" when they experience sadness, difficulties, frustrations and challenging times. While the language used in Bounce Back! is integrated into the students' everyday learning, each class will complete a 30 to 40 minute weekly lesson.

Bounce Back! is a Positive Education approach to well-being, resilience and social-emotional learning. It aims to provide practical strategies to help students cope with the complexity of their everyday lives and learn how to "bounce back" when they experience sadness, difficulties, frustrations and challenging times.

In Year 2, students are introduced to the B.O.U.N.C.E! acronym:Bad feelings always go away.Other people can make you feel better if you talk to them.Unhelpful thinking makes you more upset. Think again.Nobody’s perfect – not you and not others.Concentrate on the things that are still good when things go wrong.Everybody has unhappy times sometimes, not just you.

In Year 3 to 6, students are introduced to the B.O.U.N.C.E. B.A.C.K! acronym:Bad times don’t last. Things always get better. Stay optimistic.Other people can help if you talk to them. Get a reality check.Unhelpful thinking makes you feel more upset. Think again.Nobody is perfect – not you and not others.Concentrate on the positives (no matter how small) and use laughter.Everybody experiences sadness, hurt, failure, rejection and setbacks sometimes, not just you. They are a normal part of life. Try not to personalise them.Blame fairly. How much of what happened was due to you, to others and to bad luck or circumstances?Accept what can’t be changed (but try to change what can first).Catastrophising exaggerates your worries. Don’t believe the worst possible picture.Keep things in perspective. It’s only part of your life.