Middle School's Personal Wellbeing Practices

This year in our Middle School, we have introduced Personal Wellbeing Practices. The Personal Wellbeing Practices (PWPs) are based on positive psychology, as students are equipped with strategies to help them flourish for the whole of their life. A PWP is an evidence based, positive psychology intervention, centred around Martin Seligman’s PERMAH model (Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, Accomplishment and Health). The idea of these wellbeing practices is not to provide a one-off lesson, but to provide our students with the tools they need in their wellbeing toolkit to help them manage the ups and downs of life.

Each fortnight during 2020, Middle School students have engaged with a PWP within their homeroom classes. Some wellbeing practices that we have looked at to date include:

TOP Goal Setting - Identifying a Target, an obstacle and a Plan;

Positive Emotion – increasing positive emotion to achieve enhanced wellbeing & cognition;

Attitude of Gratitude;

Improved Flow – through goal setting, feedback and appropriate skill level;

Strengths Focus – working the way our brain is already wired to perform at its best

Conscious Acts of Kindness;

Shout Outs – appreciating the qualities a student respects/admires in others;

Active Constructive Responding – listening and reacting in a way that will build relationships;

Growth Mindset - talents and abilities can be developed through hard work

Families are able to support their children with their wellbeing by including PWPs in everyday life. Try creating a new tradition of sharing ‘what are you looking forward to’ in the car on the way to school, or when saying goodnight. At the dinner table, share ‘what you are grateful for’ or ‘one of your favourite memories.’

Interested in learning more? Check it out online: https://www.unleashingpersonalpotential.com.au/upp-team, and maybe even download Luke McKenna’s free eBook, ‘Making Wellbeing Practical.’

Mrs Meredith Phillips
Middle School Wellbeing Advisor