Boneo Buzz: 23rd July

Dear Parents and Carers,

Lockdowns and the continual talk of Covid-19 can bring a heightened sense of anxiety. So what can we do about it?
More than ever, we need to find ways to build and enhance our resilience. Research shows that supporting social and emotional wellbeing has significant lifelong benefits for improving self-confidence and learning.

This week, staff looked at the latest research around the impact of the ‘disruption’ caused by COVID-19 and constant lockdowns. The research is clear that disruption destabilises people’s routine, capacity to cope, capacity to grieve, ability to process trauma and function. A strength-based approach is recommended.

Research on how we might be feeling and why

Under these circumstances, it’s normal to feel anxious, overwhelmed, confused, sad or even bored. But these feelings can take their toll, and we all need to take the time to care for ourselves and to look out for our friends, family and colleagues.

What you can do

There are things you can do to take care of your mental health and wellbeing.

Look after your physical health

Exercising and eating well help us stay physically and mentally healthy. Read more about how you can stay physically active while following physical distancing rules, and find tips on eating well at home.

Getting a good night’s sleep is a really important part of staying healthy. If you’re finding it hard to get to sleep, these tips might help.

Stay connected

Maintaining social connections is important to feeling safe and well.

You can still keep in touch with family and friends while you practise physical distancing through:

video chats
phone calls
online groups
chats with neighbours while keeping 1.5 metres apart

Develop new routines

We’re used to having routines to guide our days and give us a sense of achievement. When so much seems out of our control, establishing some structure in our days will help to provide stability and a ‘new normal’.

This is particularly challenging for families adjusting back to home learning. Try to create new routines as a family to help separate ‘work and school time’ and ‘family time’.

Think about the parts of your usual routine you value the most and find ways to make these part of your day — such as having lunch with colleagues via video chat, or finding an online gym class.

Think about your anchors that bring you joy and discuss this with your family. Plan for something to look forward to when lockdown finishes this time round. We recommend visiting the Headspace site: https://www.headspace.com/

In closing this week, we are a united community and by continuing to reach out we will get through this. Did you know that otters fall asleep holding hands so that they do not get separated by the tide. I think this symbolises what our community does so well……..continue to mind each other.

Year 6 – Aladdin Production

Unfortunately, the planned performance date for the Year 6 production of ‘Aladdin’ has been postponed. We will keep you updated once a new date has been approved. If you have already actioned this on Compass, your payment will be transferred to the new event date.

Snapshot of Learning

Year 2 – ‘Time’

The Year 2 students have been busy this week learning to tell the tell. Using their knowledge of telling the time on an analogue clock, they creatively used items from home to make their own clock. Next, they asked a family member to call out different times (e.g. hour, half past, quarter past, quarter to) for them to make on their homemade clock.