Welcome to The Resilience Project at Tintern Grammar for 2024!
In 2024, Tintern Grammar celebrates its seventh year of implementing The Resilience Project (TRP) since it started in the Middle School in 2018. The program has been gradually integrated in secondary pastoral classes, with special programs created to meet specific needs. This year marks the first time we will see students who have experienced TRP throughout their Tintern educational journey. It is wonderful to know our community prioritises care for each other and fosters resilience through our teachers, students and families embodying TRP’s core values of gratitude, empathy, and mindfulness in their daily lives.
At the end of 2023, the school reviewed student data on learning readiness and wellbeing, which has been monitored since TRP began at Tintern. Despite challenges like the Covid outbreak in 2019, there has been a noticeable improvement in students’ eagerness to learn and participation in extracurricular activities. Although increased engagement boosts confidence and strengthens relationships, more importantly it enhances learning outcomes as each students’ aptitude is expanded within these diverse environments. This has prompted a shift in our pastoral program for 2024 to better serve the evolving needs of our students, moving our focus to the Tintern Compass learner dispositions and traits.
Tintern Grammar secondary pastoral program incorporating TRP
Students in Years 8-12 will begin the year in their 2024 pastoral classes with the foundations of TRP’s strategies helping students to adapt to change and adversity, something we know can affect individual wellbeing at any age. We also know that the first year of secondary schooling is one of the biggest challenges faced by teens as they are presented with a barrage of social, emotional, physical, and intellectual changes typically in an unfamiliar setting. The upside of this otherwise perfect storm is the window of opportunity we have to lay foundations and ideas that become refined and perfected in future years. For this reason, TRP will be delivered as a unit within the Year 7 pastoral program in 2024. Information about the pastoral programs for Years 8-12 will be communicated with secondary families.
How does this help you at home?
We respect that as your child’s primary carer, you have an essential role to play in building positive mental health with your children. To support pastoral program delivery in the classroom, TRP still have a great range of parent/carer resources available through the Tintern Portal to support you when questions come out of the blue. You may like to start by expanding on content covered in earlier years or current pastoral sessions, investigating GEM themes via activities from the TRP@HOME page. Parents of students in Year 7, your child may bring home a worksheet from topics they have discussed in a pastoral class. These can be great discussion points when preparing or enjoying dinner as a family.
For all Tintern families, a great resource at your fingertips could be The IMPERFECTS podcasts – especially if you need help RIGHT NOW! These award-winning (#1 Podcast in Australia at the moment!) allow personal and parenting reflection, as well as discussing approaches where other solutions have failed. Tintern will also offer a range of face-to-face sessions over the year which may be of assistance to you and your friends. Stand-by to hear more about these in the near future.
We look forward to communicating more with you over the coming weeks about how Tintern Grammar will support your child’s development. In the meantime, learn more about TRP by exploring the ideas, activities and resources which bring Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness (GEM) to life through the TRP@HOME portal.
You can also email me at rinfanti@tintern.vic.edu.au if you have any questions about TRP and its integration at Tintern. The first point of contact if you have concerns relating to your child would be your Pastoral Mentor and/or Year Level Coordinator. I wish you a wonderful start to the academic year and a great Term 1 as we dive into all that is on offer.
Rebecca Infanti | The Resilience Project Coordinator
Wellbeing in the Junior School
In recent Junior School staff professional development sessions, we delved into the significance of setting expectations with input from our students. We believe that the emotional atmosphere within a school greatly influences the wellbeing of our learning community and the ability of our students to thrive. ‘The Class Charter’ serves as a collaborative tool to cultivate supportive and enriching learning environments. Crafted by the students themselves, it outlines our shared aspirations for how we interact with one another. Together, we define the kind of atmosphere we wish to foster, the behaviours that nurture that atmosphere, and the guidelines for addressing and resolving conflicts and negative emotions. Through this collaborative effort, we establish common goals and hold ourselves accountable for creating the positive climate we envision.
Another wonderful opportunity to amplify student voices in our Junior School is through our Student Representative Council. This provides a valuable platform for students to share their thoughts and ideas, as well as those of their peers. It’s a space that underscores the importance of active engagement within our community. Moreover, participating in the Student Representative Councils helps cultivate leadership qualities among students. Our sessions are divided into P-2 and 3-6, allowing students to collaborate in a co-ed environment. Representatives hold class meetings the week prior to an SRC meeting to discuss what’s working well and areas for improvement, bringing these insights to the SRC for further discussion. Last year’s SRC witnessed some remarkable achievements, including the implementation of a new bin system, the organisation of special events like the Ninja Warrior competition, and the introduction of the highly anticipated Gaga Pit to our playground.
Within our classrooms, we emphasise the significance of understanding and regulating our emotions. In the GJS’ and BJS’, we employ Marc Brackett’s ‘Mood Meter’ and The Zones of Regulation model, respectively, to enhance the emotional literacy of our students. Brackett’s RULER approach serves as a guiding framework for staff to prioritise the well-being of our students. RULER, which stands for Recognizing, Understanding, Labelling, Expressing, and Regulating, encapsulates the five essential skills of emotional intelligence. This approach aids students in recognising the value of emotions, honing emotional intelligence skills, and fostering a positive school climate.
‘Most of us are unaware of how important vocabulary is to emotion skills. As we’ve seen, using many different words implies valuable distinctions—that we’re not always simply angry but are sometimes annoyed, irritated, frustrated, disgusted, aggravated, and so on. If we can’t discern the difference, it suggests that we can’t understand it either. It’s the difference between a rich emotional life and an impoverished one. Your child will inherit the one you provide’ Marc Brackett, Permission to Feel: Unlocking the Power of Emotions to Help Our Kids, Ourselves, and Our Society Thrive
Miranda Price | Junior School Wellbeing Leader
Will Fogarty | Junior School Wellbeing Leader
Welcome, from the Tintern School Nurses ~ 2024.
Health and wellbeing are of upmost importance at Tintern, and this is provided by our School Nurses Kylie MacDonald and Maree Morphett. We are both Registered Nurses and are based at Middle School / Senior College, and we also provide support to our Junior School community.
We wanted to take this opportunity to share with you some information about our department. We offer all aspects of care to our students and school community from physical, emotional and medical conditions. Across the school year we facilitate different health service and promotional days, the main one being our school immunisation program for Years 7 and 10 students through Maroondah Council. This will be conducted in May on campus – more information will be shared closer to the time.
For camps and excursions, we work closely with organisers to ensure that the health care needs of all students are catered for when they are off campus. We would ask that all students with health care plans; Anaphylaxis, Asthma and allergies and the associated medications are kept up to date. A friendly reminder will be sent home as these documents are due for review, please provide these in a timely manner. It is a great idea to check your child’s medical details on the Tintern Portal occasionally to check all is up to date.
We are fortunate to work closely with our Counsellors, Natalie and Ewa, Year Level Co-ordinators and teachers, in order to provide a holistic approach for all students.
Visit the Tintern First Aid page on the portal. Here you will find details on Anaphylaxis and Asthma, as well as our ‘Nut Awareness’ policy and what you can do help keep our students with allergies and Anaphylaxis safe while at school. https://portal.tintern.vic.edu.au/homepage/13055
If you have any health care concerns or updates for your child this can be done so through the Tintern Portal or by getting in touch with us. We are contactable by phone or email; 9845 7777 or via email at firstaid@tintern.vic.edu.au
Warm Regards,
Kylie & Maree
Kylie MacDonald
Maree Morphett
Tintern Grammar Counselling Team
Student wellbeing is a whole-school priority here at Tintern Grammar. We understand that learning and wellbeing have a correlating relationship. Wellbeing positively influences student learning outcomes, and success in learning increases a student’s sense of wellbeing. Our focus is to create a supportive environment for every student, that enables them to achieve academic success, while also developing resilience, self-confidence and a sense of connection.
To assist with these aims, as part of our broader Wellbeing Team we have a Counselling Team which consists of Natalie Maguire and Ewa Oaten. Natalie is a Psychologist who works with the Junior School students and Years 7, 8 and 9 female students. Natalie works two days a week (Wednesday and Thursdays).
Ewa is a Social Worker and works with the Years 7, 8 and 9 males and all of the Years 10, 11 and 12 students. Ewa works three days a week (Monday, Tuesday and Fridays).
Natalie and Ewa provide a diverse range of activities to support the wellbeing of our School. These include counselling and support, consultation, implementation of prevention programs, and guidance through referral processes. They provide information and psychoeducation to students, school staff, parents and carers. They work in a consultative and supportive manner with parents and carers, teachers, and external health service providers.
Students may be referred to the Counselling Team for counselling by School staff, parents, carers and other professionals (eg family doctor). Students can also refer themselves.
If you have any concerns about your child’s wellbeing that you would like to discuss, please do not hesitate to get in touch with your child’s Pastoral Mentor, Year Level Co-ordinator, or the Counselling Team counselling@tintern.vic.edu.au, nmaguire@tintern.vic.edu.au or eoaten@tintern.vic.edu.au
Ewa Oaten
Natalie Maguire
