Active Listening in Year 1

As part of the whole school social skills initiative, we have been learning about and practicing Active Listening. The children are learning that we use our whole bodies to listen effectively. They have participated in discussions and activities that highlight the importance of listening to others. Together we created a ‘Y’ chart that displays what it looks, feels and sounds like to be an 'Active Listener'. In Year 1, we call them our magic words because the effect that the words 'Active Listening' have are truly amazing!

Mrs Emma McHardie (Year 1 Teacher)

Social Skills Learning continues at Sacred Heart in 2016....

With the success of our whole-school social skills program in 2015, the Sacred Heart staff are committed to ensuring that our students are supported in the acquirement of social skills again in 2016.

This year we have committed to the teaching and reinforcement of 3 focus social skills per term across the school. In Term 1, the school's focus social skills were:

• Active Listening
• Showing Respect and;
• Being Organised

We recognise the importance of parent involvement and the wider community when it comes to reinforcing social skills introduced and taught at school. We continue to encourage parent support and participation by keeping parents informed of the social skills that we teach via our newsletter and class blogs, and by offering suggestions on how to reinforce the focus social skills at home,

We look forward to sharing our journey with you, as we continue to post about our social skills learning to this blog this year. We welcome any feedback or comments regarding this blog. These can be emailed to: perlini.carolyn@cathednet.wa.edu.au



Carolyn Perlini
Assistant Principal

The Importance of Personal Space

Last week, Year 3 and 4 students joined together to complete an engaging and important Health lesson. We were focusing on the idea of ‘personal space’ and what it looks, feels and sounds like. Mrs Hill read us the story ‘Personal Space Camp’ and Miss Allen taught us how to use Padlet to display the answers from our partner discussions. We used collaboration, manners, teamwork and communication skills to complete this lesson. The Year Fours were fabulous leaders and the Year Threes became Mac whizzes!

Conflict resolution role-plays in Year 1

“Peace is not the absence of conflict but the presence of creative alternatives for responding to conflict.” ~ Dorothy Thompson. 

As part of the Whole School Social Skills program, in Year One we have been learning about and exploring Resolving Conflicts. We identified that conflict is when two or more people cannot agree on something. As a class, we discussed some examples of conflict we face in day-to-day life, and some ‘fair’ ways of resolving them. We agreed upon and recorded on a poster tips for ‘Resolving Conflicts’ quickly and fairly. The children then role played some scenarios that involved conflict and how to identify and manage them effectively. They did a great job and are keen to practice the new skills they are acquiring.

Emma McHardie
Year 1 Teacher

Resolving Conflicts: learning using Padlet

In Year 5, we have spent our Term 3 Health lessons discussing conflict resolution and what techniques we can use to “bounce back” from difficult situations and live resilient lives. As a class, we decided that this is one area that we could provide a positive example for the whole school, in order to make our environment as peaceful and encouraging as possible. We discussed the characteristics of calmly resolving a conflict and what behaviours we may be able to see, hear and feel during this process. The students then individually completed a Padlet wall, where they wrote their own descriptions of resolving a conflict. They then included a photo demonstrating conflict resolution. They have worked so well on this topic for the entire term and it is so wonderful to see such harmony within the class. Feel free to have a look at our class Padlet wall using the following link http://padlet.com/wall/9w267qnxo4hx

Claire Cooper
Year 5 Teacher

"Resolving Conflicts" Answer Garden

This week we began a new whole-school social skill focus with our Sacred Heart students, which is: Resolving Conflicts. We feel this skill is very important for our students to master, especially in the playground. This week the Year 6 Class used “Answer Garden” to share words which you could use when resolving conflicts at school. Great work, Year 6!

Renee Byrne-King
Year 6 Teacher and Assistant Principal

'Praise of the Week' in Year 4

Our current whole-school social skill focus for Term 3 is 'Encouraging Others'. It has been very pleasing to see students put into action what they have been learning. Here is
what the Year 4 class have been focussing on: We have been implementing a variety of ways to encourage others in Year Four. After discussing how important it is to be positive and celebrate the achievements of others we introduced a 'Praise of the Week'. Our favourite so far has been 'Excellent, Excellent', which we say whilst doing a big X with our arms. These short and simple praises have allowed us to motivate our peers quickly and effectively. Excellent, excellent!

Charlotte Allen
Year 4 Teacher