Townsville school communities are embracing The Resilience Project to build positive mental health and wellbeing, as 12 local schools, over 5,500 students, teachers and parents and the North Queensland Toyota Cowboys come together this week for the program.
The Resilience Project (TRP), delivered in North Queensland schools in conjunction with the Cowboys, is an emotionally engaging program providing students, parents and teachers with skills and tools to help them feel happier and improve their overall wellbeing.
This week’s activities involve presentations across 10 sessions, with participating students ranging in age from Prep through to Year 12.
Our TRP network is growing!
The Cowboys and TRP are currently partnering with four schools, with an additional eight Townsville schools and nine schools from Cairns and the Tablelands joining for the new school year, signalling 21 schools and approx. 15,500 students participating from the start of 2020.
- Townsville schools currently completing their first year of TRP: Cranbrook State School, Wulguru State School, Townsville Central State School and Kirwan State High School (approx. 4,000 students).
- Townsville schools commencing TRP in 2020: Oonoonba State Primary, Heatley State Primary, Heatley State High, Townsville High, William Ross SHS, Kirwan State Primary, Ryan Catholic College (approx. 4,500 students).
- Cairns & Tablelands schools commencing TRP in 2020: Woree State School, Woree State High School, Balaclava State School, Whitfield State School, Cairns West State School, Bentley Park College (Primary & Secondary), Herberton State School (approx. 7,000 students).
Exciting milestone
Cowboys program manager Gayle De La Cruz said that this week was an exciting milestone for the joint initiative.
“We’ve been planning what we call our Immersion Week for many months – it’s the first chance for the new schools coming in to experience The Resilience Project, and for our existing partner schools to refresh and reinforce their course delivery,” Ms De La Cruz said.
“Our feedback from program schools throughout our first year has been very positive, and we’re delighted with their level of adoption, commitment and enthusiasm for offering this within their curriculum.
“We’re very grateful for the support from our schools, The Resilience Project and our funding partner, Northern Queensland Primary Health Network, who all share our vision for positive mental health and resilience for our young people and community.”
How TRP works
TRP program focuses on four pillars – gratitude, empathy, mindfulness and emotional literacy – and empowers teachers with program resources, activities and knowledge to help inspire their students.
Parents and caregivers are also given practical ideas on how best to support their children in building resilience.
Tools to support individuals include a 21-day wellbeing journal, The Resilience Project app and ‘Gratitude Tree’ poster, available through Cowboys HQ.
Why we do it:
- 1 in 5 boys and 1 in 3 girls suffer from an anxiety disorder
- 1 in 7 primary school children have a mental illness
- 1 in 4 adolescents have a mental illness
- 65% of adolescents do not seek help for mental illness
For more information, visit theresilienceproject.com.au
