MindMatters State News Queensland Term 2 has been another busy term for MindMatters within QLD.162 participants have attended 13 events. Some schools are preparing to be recognised as MindMatters schools. In upcoming newsletters it will be great to be able to share the work of these schools and how they have evolved and built MindMatters across their schools.
Below is a summary of each of the MindMatters workshops that were run during this term and what participants are saying.
Level One Introductory Workshop - May 11 & 12 - New Farm, Brisbane
Twenty seven educators representing fourteen organisations from the Metropolitan, South East, North Coast & Darling Downs education regions of Queensland attended the Level One Introductory workshop at New Farm in Brisbane. This workshop explained the MindMatters approach to developing mental health and wellbeing in schools and classrooms. Comments from participants included:
- "Presenter very passionate about the areas which made the training so interesting - Lots of great activities to meet varied learning styles"
- "I am pre-service, but this information would be very useful for pre-service in 2nd, 3rd, 4th years"
- "Great networking opportunity"
Leadership - May 18 - Cairns
Educators from four organisations in the Cairns region attended the Leadership Module at the Rydges Tradewinds. This module focused on personal leadership aspects and a system approach to enable mental promotion, prevention and early intervention. Feedback included:
- "The presenter brought wonderful positive energy that made me feel this is going to be ?do-able' in our school and build on what's in place"
- "A very well developed & useful program"
- "Informative - met my needs"
Transitions - May 19 - Cairns
The Rydges Tradewinds was again the venue for the Transitions Focus Module that examined the broad concept of transitions within a school setting, including both personal and professional perspectives. Comments included:
- "Great relevancy to cultural issues"
- "Informative - gave the tools to achieve some of the school goals"
Whole Student Approach - May 25 - Brisbane
Participants from schools & departmental offices throughout the Brisbane Metropolitan area attended the Whole Student Approach Focus Module at the Novotel in Brisbane. This professional development course looked at how schools work with students as individuals and provide successful experiences by recognising what they bring with them to the school setting.
Comments included:
- "Good to be self reflective; session led to an openness of sharing amongst participants. Forced us to look deeper within ourselves which will help us relate & connect with our students"
- "Social & emotional skills, spirituality, connecting with high needs students"
- "A reminder that culture plays an important role in learning"
Teaching & Learning for Engagement - June 7 & 8 - Toowoomba
Eight educational organisations participated in the Teaching & Learning for Engagement Focus Module held at the Downs Club in Toowoomba on June 7 & 8. This two day workshop reflected on the needs of young people, the importance and nature of pedagogies that engage them and the educational and mental health connections. Feedback included:
- "Wonderful, insightful, refreshing, thank you, one of the best PD's I've been to."
- "This was a confirmation of my beliefs about Teaching & Learning. This has armed me with "data" and a toolkit"
- "Very valuable - can take it away in a realistic senses with the ability to achieve."
If you have any questions about MindMatters within QLD, please contact jane on jane.taylor@pa.edu.au or 0412 304497.
Upcoming Professional Development
Queensland
MindMatters Level One Introductory Workshop
This practical hands-on workshop provides background information and classroom ideas around the following topics: Bullying and Harassment, Resilience, Understanding Mental Health, CommunityMatters, Change: Loss and Grief, and Teaching and Learning. Individuals and teams are invited to register online.
MindMatters Level Two Planning Workshop Level Two Planning Workshops are directed at school core teams with experience of MindMatters. The core team develops a school action plan with a view to measuring progress in mental health and wellbeing. These workshops are available to school community core teams of four or more people - including a member of executive leadership. Preferably some of the team have attended Level One, the school is familiar with MindMatters and uses the resource. The workshop topics include: leadership, student diversity, staff mental health and wellbeing, protective and risk factors, curriculum mapping, staff professional development, and communication. The Level Two process is based on a whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing with schools using the MindMatters Implementation Model, the MindMatters Planning Cycle and other planning tools. Schools that use the process and can demonstrate positive change will be offered recognition as a MindMatters school. Topics introduced in the Level Two Planning Workshop are extended through a range of Focus Modules.
Leadership (1 day) - for school leaders and aspiring leaders Consider your leadership of mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention within the school through both a personal and a systems approach.
Staff Matters (2 days) - for all school staff A two-day module about supporting staff wellbeingwithin schools using social and emotional learning and engaging staff in mentalhealth promotion, prevention and early intervention for students.
Student Empowerment (1 day) - for staff and students An overview about maximising the role of studentsin leading a whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing (this also connectswith a series of student-led youth empowerment sessions).
Communities do Matter (1 day) - as a part of a series ofseminars/workshops An overview of the positive connections schools canmake with culture and community using the MindMatters community partnershipprocess. Follow-up workshops and seminars are available for community members.
Students Experiencing High Support Needs in Mental Health (2 days) - for school counsellors, school support staff and health workers A two-day session recognising the pivotal role of school support staff in leading, managing and working with others for school wide mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention for students with high support needs and how this can be supported.
The Whole Student Approach (1day) - for all school staff including year/house leaders The module develops our understanding of how schools can work with students as individuals and provide successful experiences by recognising the richness they bring with them to a school setting.
Teaching and Learning for Engagement (1 or 2 days) - for all school staff A one or two-day modulereflecting on the needs of young people, the importance and nature of the pedagogies that engage them and the educational and mental health connections.
Measuring our Progress (1 day) - for school staff managing data The session aims to expand our understanding of howto collect and analyse school mental health and wellbeing data to measure the effectiveness of a whole school approach.
Transitions (1 day) - for school staff managingtransitions The session examines the broad concept of transition within a school setting from a personal and professional perspective and explores the strategies that support students (and staff) through change.
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