Junior School Wellbeing

Children learn best when they feel safe, known and connected. Wellbeing in the Junior School is not a separate program bolted on to the school day; it runs through class routines, the way staff talk with students, our Catholic understanding of the dignity of every person and a small number of explicit programs taught every week. Wellbeing is led by Mrs Siobhan Reilly, Deputy Principal – Wellbeing & Mission, with Ms Alana Ford, Junior School Counsellor, and Ms Priya Natarajan, Head of Junior School.

The Shine program

Our whole-Junior-School social and emotional learning program, Shine, is built on three practices that research links to better mental health:

• Gratitude – noticing what is good. Every class keeps a gratitude wall or journal; Years 3–6 write in a Shine journal three mornings a week.
• Empathy – understanding how others feel and acting kindly. Explicit lessons on reading emotions, perspective-taking and being an "upstander".
• Mindfulness – paying attention to the present moment. Short breathing or mindful-listening exercises after lunch each day (the Prep rest time grows into this).

Shine is taught in a 45-minute lesson each week in every class using an age-appropriate curriculum, and reinforced at Friday Assembly through the weekly MacKillop Award for a student who has shown gratitude, empathy or mindfulness. Parents receive a Shine newsletter each term with a home activity – for example, the "three good things" dinner-table conversation.

Respectful Relationships

St Mary's is a Respectful Relationships school. From Prep to Year 6, students learn about emotional literacy, personal strengths, positive coping, problem solving, stress management, help-seeking, and gender and identity, using the Victorian Department of Education Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships materials adapted for a Catholic school. Protective behaviours – body safety, private parts, safe and unsafe secrets, the "five trusted adults" hand – are taught explicitly in every year level in Term 2 and revisited in Term 4. Parents are notified before protective behaviours units and may view the materials on request.

Buddies

Every Prep student is paired with a Year 5 buddy during the first week of school. Buddies:

• meet each fortnight on Tuesday afternoons for reading, games or craft
• sit together at Friday Assembly and at whole-school Mass
• share a picnic lunch on the last Friday of each term
• stay paired for two years, so the Year 6 leaders of 2027 will still be looking out for their Year 1 buddies

Year 5 students complete a short leadership unit before meeting their buddies, and Year 6 students act as lunchtime "playground pals" in the Prep yard on a roster.

Behaviour, restorative practices and anti-bullying

Our classroom expectations are simple and shared across the Junior School: be safe, be respectful, be a learner. When things go wrong we use restorative conversations – what happened, who was affected, how can it be put right – rather than punishment alone. Serious or repeated behaviour, including bullying, is dealt with under the Behaviour and Restorative Practices Policy and the Anti-Bullying Policy, and parents are always contacted. Students can report concerns to any staff member or through the "Worry Box" in each classroom, which is checked daily.

Junior School Counsellor

Ms Alana Ford is a registered psychologist and is in the Junior School Monday to Thursday, 8:30am – 4:00pm, in the Wellbeing Room beside the Junior Office (Room J4). She provides:

• short-term counselling for students (up to six sessions, then review)
• lunchtime social skills and friendship groups
• support with anxiety, grief, family change and school refusal
• referrals to external psychologists, paediatricians and community services
• consultation to teachers and parents

Students can be referred by a teacher, by a parent (email or phone the Junior Office) or can self-refer by asking their teacher. Parental consent is required before ongoing counselling begins for Junior School students. Counselling is confidential except where a child's safety is at risk. Ms Ford also runs a Seasons for Growth grief program each Term 2 and a Year 6 Ready for Secondary group in Term 4.

Attendance and school refusal

Regular attendance is itself a wellbeing issue. If mornings have become a struggle, please contact the classroom teacher or Ms Ford early – there are many practical strategies, and problems are far easier to solve in week one than in week six. See Attendance Policy.

Child safety

St Mary's College is committed to the Victorian Child Safe Standards. All staff, volunteers and contractors hold a Working With Children Check and complete annual child-safety training. Students learn about their right to be safe and how to speak up. Concerns about a child's safety should be raised immediately with any staff member, the Head of Junior School or the Principal. See Child Safety.

Raising a concern

1. Speak with the classroom teacher first – by email or by booking a time through the Junior Office.
2. If the matter is unresolved or involves several students, contact the year-level coordinator.
3. Wellbeing or counselling concerns can go directly to Ms Alana Ford.
4. Serious matters may be escalated to Ms Priya Natarajan or Mrs Siobhan Reilly.

Our Complaints and Grievances page sets out the formal process. Senior School families should see Wellbeing and Counselling.