How Student Wellbeing Can Change the World
We have long been a supporter of Dr Tom Nehmy who has presented for our staff and parents in the past. His research and ideas around building psychological skills for mental health, wellbeing and resilience in young people very much align with our own Montessori philosophies.
Last week Montessori Schools and Centres Australia (MSCA) held a national Montessori online conference for Montessori leaders and educators to come together. Thirty four of our teaching, assistant and admin staff attended the webinar. It was a fantastic opportunity to unite with colleagues across Australia for a live webinar hosted by Tom entitled 'How student wellbeing can change the world', which looked at the ‘grassroots’ ingredients to solve mental health challenges of current and new generations of young people.
Tom talked in detail about:
- The leading myths and misconceptions about healthy child development and what good mental health looks like
- The 3 Golden Keys to doing student wellbeing well
- How to cut through buzzwords like ‘resilience’ to understand what it really means and how to achieve it
- The #1 indicator of robust psychology in kids
- Why the ‘Great Mistake’ in modern parenting must be challenged
- Underlying principles of how to turn anxiety into confidence
- The defining characteristic of a school’s culture that predicts wellbeing outcomes
- How proactive schools can lead the way for powerful, intergenerational change
Leaders and educators continued the conversation with each other following the webinar, in one-hour facilitated discussion groups throughout the week, about how to best support and foster the wellbeing of the children and young people we work with. Staff took away many nuggets of wisdom from both the webinar and the opportunity to share and learn from other Montessori educators.
It was terrific to be able to access this high quality professional development opportunity so that staff can discuss and refine their skills and knowledge which in turn has positive benefits for student learning outcomes.
Cathy France
Principal
