Early Years & Primary Weekly Updates (31/10 - 4/11)

Dear parents,

At BVIS, we prioritise happiness: pupil happiness; parent happiness; and staff happiness. We do a lot to try to achieve it.

We are in good company: both Confucius and Socrates argued that well-being and personal growth were a major purpose of life, and a central goal of education.

Recent research shows that in general, higher levels of wellbeing lead to better academic attainment (Gutman and Vorhaus, 2012).

Thomas Jefferson and the founders of the United States of America identified the Pursuit of Happiness as an essential human right, something we can all strive for, both for ourselves and for others. To me, this means the right to make a safe, comfortable, and rewarding life for yourself and your family. It also means the right to play, to laugh, and to have fun.

I have always liked the phrase, Pursuit of Happiness because if you pursue something, you have a greater chance of getting it, but that doesn’t mean you will necessarily get it all the time. I think that this is very pragmatic and accurate.

If we acknowledge that we cannot always be happy, then we need to be able to identify, express and deal with emotions. This is called emotional literacy. At school, we help children to develop emotional literacy during PSHE lessons and throughout the day.

One effective way to help children to develop emotional literacy is by modelling the process of recognising, reflecting on, and managing feelings ourselves. If we pretend not to have feelings, we can offer no help or guidance in this complex field.

Research shows that in general, higher levels of wellbeing lead to better academic attainment (Gutman and Vorhaus, 2012).

We can choose to take part in intentional activities and strategies that boost and maintain happiness (Sheldon and Lyubomirsky, 2007). These activities can be:

- Investing in close relationships
- Expressing gratitude for what they have
- Being helpful and kinds to others
- Optimistic when imagining the future
- Living in the present moment
- Exercising regularly
- Having a clear sense of purpose

As part of our daily form tutor registration time, students take part in a '5 Ways to Wellbeing' activity: https://www.5waystowellbeing.org.au/

Attached is an example of the activities Year 4 have completed.

I wish you happiness this weekend.

Warm regards
Malcolm Wood (Mr.)
Head of Primary