Alongside teaching students explicit skills in reading and writing, teaching students about mental health is also a focus for us each day.  In assembly last week and through our Ruler program we have been discussing with students what to do when they feel big emotions that are difficult to control. These feelings could include one or combination of the following;

• Sad
• Angry
• Frustrated
• Depressed
• Worried
• Anxious

We focus on three steps to handle these big emotions;

1. Recognise and label the feeling
2. Think about the coping strategies that could help you feel better
3. Take action and use the coping strategy 

Sometimes in our lives there are stressful things that can cause emotions to become uncontrolled. These are called triggers, triggers could include:

• Losing a game or activity
• Something embarrassing or unexpected happens
• When you can’t do what you want, for example play, because you have chores/work to do
• Being hungry or tired

We use mood meters at school to help teach the students the names and variety of emotions.  Each classroom has one and students are invited to place themselves on the mood meter a number of times throughout the day. Once the emotion is identified we encourage the following three steps;

• What am I thinking- negative thoughts equals negative feelings
• What do I feel in my body- butterflies, nausea, hot head
• How do I act when I feel this way- hit out, yell, sulk

Coping strategies can be divided into four categories

• Relaxation - giving your mind and body a rest 
• Distraction- skills to make your mind off the emotion
• Movement skills
• Thinking skills- positive thoughts and questions to ask yourself

A range of coping strategies are necessary to deal with the range of emotions so that we can choose the best one for the emotion being felt. Students are encouraged to think of what strategies work best for them. It is best to think and practise coping strategies before a big emotion comes.

It can take courage to use a coping strategy but the more we practise the easier and better we get at using them to help control our emotions.  Sometimes we have to try a  number of strategies before they will work.

All feelings are OK, it is what you do with them that matters.

Happy Everything,

Mrs Teresa McLeod

Term 1: 3rd February - 6th April

Term 2: 26th April - 7th July

Term 3: 25th July - 29th September

Term 4: 17th October - 13th December

Congratulations to the following students who recieved awards in our last assembly.

Sassafras - Paislee Burden & Ruby Bellchambers 

Leatherwood - Levi Becker & Kyson Bradwell

Myrtle - Jack Triffett & Olivia Oats

King Billy - Evan Townsend & Jasmine Cracknell

Principal's Award - Spencer Jones, Chelsea Jones, Zavier Drake & Jaydah Kingston. 

WEST Award - Keely Austbo & Amalie Ward

Careers Day Report

Last week St Joseph’s had a Careers Day. The Tasmanian Police, West Coast Council, Hydro Tasmania, Bluestone Mine and UTAS came in to tell us about their careers, their roles and what they have to do every day. 

Students in  Year 3 to Year 6 joined in with rotations around the school.

Tasmanian Police told us that they needed to do chin ups on a bar and have to be careful when they tackle someone. They also need to check the roads for people speeding and to check if there are any trees down. They also allowed us to try on some of their police gear and try some of it out, like their walkie talkies. They do all of this to keep us safe.

West Coast Council, Joel, told us what he needs to do to make sure the town has what it needs. He said they do jobs like cleaning gutters, mowing, footpaths, cleaning signs and organising events.

Hydro Tasmania taught us how to make  power with water and how to be safe with it. They showed us how turbines work and how big some of them can be. They also taught us that copper and magnets can make a lightbulb light up. They also showed a big map of all the power stations in Tassie. It is so big that you would look like an ant inside some of them. There are thirty power stations in Tasmania so far.

Bluestone Mine taught us all about what they need to do to keep safe in the mine and how they blow stuff up. They showed a map of the mine and showed us how they dig with large machines. We also learned about how they move oxygen around the mine underground and how to keep it cool because it can be over 100 degrees celsius underground. 

UTAS taught us about Geology - it ROCKS!!!

We learnt about the different types of rocks, checking if the waterways are safe, seeing what rocks are okay to touch. We also learnt the types of rocks that might be around us and that there could also be magnetic iron within some rock types. We also looked at rocks under a microscope small enough that you can carry it around in your pocket. We learnt that they also work with the police.  We were lucky enough that he gave us a gift: a rock!

Drones and Technology 

In this group they let us fly drones, drive a robot car and they set up two VR sets for us to try out. Sadly one of their drones crashed and started misbehaving. They showed us what they can do with technology, like look at security cameras and create 3D models so they can keep us safe. It keeps us safe because they can try all the different things that could happen and how they can manage it. They also told us that one day technology will take over the world. 

We would like to thank everyone for coming along and sharing their careers with us.  We would also like to thank the people who helped plan and set up for the day: Mrs McLeod, Miss Bounds, Christine Gray and the SRC.

Report By Chelsea Jones

Chess Tournament

Last week some students from our school went to a chess competition with around 80 students competing. They traveled from Queenstown to Strahan.

The students who went to the competition were Aaliyah, Jasmine, Sydney, Chelsea, Tiffany, Ollie, Henry, Spencer and Cruz .

When we arrived there were chess sets ready for six rounds.  Sheets of paper were put up on the wall for each round to tell you who you were playing against. There was a primary school competition and a High School competition. 

In the competition you had to go to your table number to play against another student from a different school. When the game starts, there is a little clock you have to push after each move. If your clock runs out of time before you finish your move, your opponent wins. 

All the players did well and our school came 4th overall. That means five students will go and compete in the national competition.  

Overall, we had a great day and would like to thank our teachers who made it possible. 

Report by Chelsea Jones