Wellbeing
“Student wellbeing is present when students realise their abilities, take care of their physical wellbeing, can cope with the normal stresses of life, and have a sense of purpose and belonging to a wider community” (NCCA 2017)
Here in Ardscoil na Tríonóide, Wellbeing is very relevant to our mission statement where “emphasis is placed on the moral and spiritual formation of students along with their intellectual, social and physical development.”
We are very proud to be a Health Promoting School. The HPS concept is a whole school approach to all aspects of health and wellbeing. It involves social, emotional, mental, spiritual, cognitive and physical health. Our Health Promotion team consists of teachers, students, parents and community organisations and incorporates a variety of themes through sub groups such as the Active Schools Team and the Amber Flag/Cycle Against Suicide Team. We received both our Amber Flag, for promotion of positive mental health, and our Health Promoting Schools Flag in 2016 and our Active Schools Flag in 2017. We have also received the Cycle Against Suicide Ambassador School Award for the last 3 years.
While we strive to promote Wellbeing throughout the school year, these efforts culminate each year in our annual Wellbeing Week in May. The week provides a huge array of activities and initiatives to promote Wellbeing among the whole school community and is one of the highlights of the school year.
The Framework for Junior Cycle (2015) provides for a new area of learning at junior cycle called Wellbeing. Wellbeing will cross the three years of junior cycle and build on substantial work already taking place in schools in support of students’ wellbeing. This area of learning will make the school’s culture and ethos and commitment to wellbeing visible to students. It will include learning opportunities to enhance the physical, mental, emotional and social wellbeing of students. It will enable students to build life skills and develop a strong sense of connectedness to their school and to their community. The Junior Cycle Wellbeing programme will begin with 300 hours of timetabled engagement in 2017 and build up to 400 hours by 2020 as the new junior cycle is implemented fully in schools. Wellbeing incorporating the subject areas of P.E., S.P.H.E., C.S.P.E. and guidance.
We are delighted that the work, which we have been engaged with on an extra-curricular basis, has now been officially recognized within the Junior Cycle curriculum. We are currently in the process of amalgamating both processes to utilize fully the potential of promoting Wellbeing within our school community.
