Students' Wellbeing

Together with Professor Lea Waters, Visible Wellbeing continues to evolve across the College in 2019 and students in Years 7, 8, 9 and 11 actively engage in our Wellbeing Programmes either on a weekly or fortnightly basis. Visible Wellbeing is an approach that cultivates the wellbeing of our community and aims to improve functioning across six key domains.

The key domains are:

1. Awareness and attention
2. Emotional management
3. Comprehension and coping
4. Goals and habits
5. Strengths
6. Relationships

Professor Lea Waters is a Professor in Psychology at the Centre for Positive Psychology, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne. She is the first Australian to be appointed a Professorship in Positive Psychology, the Founding Director of the Centre for Positive Psychology and the Inaugural Gerry Higgin Chair in Positive Psychology. She is a researcher and has held an academic position at the University of Melbourne for more than 20 years. Lea holds affiliate positions at Cambridge University’s Well-being Institute, the University of California, Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, and the University of Michigan’s Center for Positive Organizations. Lea is the 2017-2019 President of the International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA) and serves on the Council of Happiness and Education for the World Happiness Council. She is a registered psychologist (AHPRA) and a full member of the Australian Psychological Society. She is on the Advisory Board for the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Ambassador for the Positive Education Schools Association and Patron for Flourishing Education Japan.

Year 7 students are focussing on virtues this semester and identifying their strengths. In Year 8, students are examining the concept of how their strengths are linked to their identity. Year 9 students are working through a series of rotations including meditation, digital presence, leadership and the link between health and wellbeing. In Year 11, students are examining how their strengths can help them thrive. The programme includes visits to Mudgeeraba Special School, meditation for insight, nutrition and wellbeing and emotional management, working with our Junior School friends.

Based on 2018 student feedback, we have also taken the opportunity to run Study Without Stress, a programme from Macquarie University that equips students with skills to manage expectations surrounding exams, creating effective study timetables and building good study habits. Mrs Cathy Makin, College Counsellor, operates this programme for our students in Year 11 as they enter their final years at the College.

Please encourage conversation with your children at home about these lessons.