Overcoming challenges. An ever evolving journey. Justin Shaw Student Leadership and Turas Programme Co-ordinator
Middle School for many students, is the start of a new journey, be that the change from a Primary School environment or a transition to a new school altogether. At this stage, a foundation built upon a clear understanding of self and community, along with the skills and strategies to problem-solve are crucial. These understandings underpin the Turas Programme. Semester 1 has largely focused on setting up for success, community values and building positive relationships. Each year level has explored themes such as shared values and growth mindsets in an age appropriate and engaging manner. As the semester has come to a close, the impact of this learning can be read in student report reflections, giving an individual voice to the learning that has taken place during the Turas Programme along with a broader reflection on the start to a new academic year. Reflection and goal setting provides the starting point for our Semester 2 programme. A shift in focus from what was new, to what is now more comfortable and less unknown, aims to build a sense of belonging as well as embracing the positive habits that have underpinned success thus far. In Winter Term we have had the unique opportunity to implement Swinburne University’s Aristotle Emotional Intelligence Programme. This whole school approach to wellbeing sees each year level explore developmentally appropriate and researchbased lessons on the four branches of emotional intelligence. These include: • • • •
Photography task during Turas
Being able to recognise, verbalise and eventually apply strategies explored in this programme not only improves wellbeing but also teaches skills that are transferable to curriculum and collaborative working. Turas is a constantly evolving programme, a dynamic and flexible model designed to explore the skills that foster a sense of achievement, pride, and belonging. It marks the beginning of a journey in Middle School, filled with numerous milestones, with the intention not of reaching an endpoint, but of equipping students with the understanding and abilities to overcome challenges that lie ahead. Guiding our students through this unique phase of their lives is truly a delightful experience. At the close of the first semester, it is a pleasure to be able to share the reflections of some of our Year 7 students on the Turas Programme: “I have enjoyed the mood meter and mindfulness exercises. The mood meter helped me to recognise how I feel and how I would want to feel. It made me feel more relaxed knowing about my own feelings and being able to identify them. I also liked doing the mindfulness activities as they helped me unwind so that I could concentrate on myself and nothing else and it made me feel ready for PSA.” – Dion Sim
“The Turas period is very good for me because in a range of lessons we learnt about FOMO. This has helped me because I’m in a very different area to where I originally came from and I had all my friends there and they were hanging out every weekend, but I could not, because of the schoolwork and workload. I got through it by making new friends and meeting new people who have the same interests as me. That is how Turas helped me overcome my FOMO.” – Harlem Bennell “Something that Turas has helped me with is time management. In one of our Turas lessons, we made a time management planner, and this has helped me ever since. Every night before homework time I get a reminder and it reminds me what homework to do. This helps me manage my time. This is why I believe Turas is a great subject.” – Marcus Goto
Emotional Recognition Understanding Others’ Emotions Emotional Reasoning Emotion Management and Control
Teaching and Learning
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