Ingham parents have been given the tools and strategies they need to help their children continue practising gratitude, empathy and mindfulness outside the classroom as part of a community night for The Resilience Project.
A presentation for parents and school staff at Gilroy Santa Maria College was delivered by Cowboys community program officer and former player Ray Thompson, reinforcing the program pillars that are pare of the curriculum for the entire school cohort of year 7 to 12.
Program facilitator Matt Schrodter, who is in charge of pastoral care at the school, said they first got in touch with the Cowboys when they heard about The Resilience Project and its methodology.
“We just found the kids were lacking in something, we were having a lot of little problems and we just thought they needed to build resilience,” he said.
“The students break off into groups every second week, little groups of 20 to 30, and they’ve got resources focused on their year levels.
“The teachers get them (the resources) prior, and they go through with their pastoral leaders what they’re going to do, how they’re going to present that to the students.”
Students are working through activities from their Resilience Project journals, and with several other Ingham schools rolling out the project it’s a program that’s improving the wellbeing of the whole community.
Staff at Gilroy Santa Maria College are hoping that by completing the Australian resilience survey earlier this year and next year they will be able to see the results of using The Resilience Project through measurable data.
The first step to achieving that goal is getting the whole community on board.
We work with parents a lot through our pastoral care, so if we can get them practising what we do at school at home, it’s getting that message reinforced and hopefully we see an impact from getting parents engaged as well.
Matt Schrodter
“If they can use that language at home and talk to their kids about it and they know what’s going on, everything’s going to help.
“We are lucky, the other schools are doing it and there’s a lot of talk around town about what is happening and using that language.
“Teachers are using it more with us and they obviously use it without realising when they go out into the community.”
The Resilience Project is delivered to Ingham school by the North Queensland Toyota Cowboys with the support of the Queensland Government.
