Our Lady of Lourdes is a caring school community, where the wellbeing of the children in our care is nurtured. Our school environment is a positive and supportive one, where the children feel safe, seen, heard, valued and secure. The promotion of wellbeing is central to our mission to enable our children to reach their full potential. According to the World Health Organisation, wellbeing is present when a person realises their potential, is resilient dealing with normal stresses of their life, takes care of their physical wellbeing and has a sense of purpose, connection, belonging to a wider community. It is a fluid way of being, and needs nurturing throughout life. To this end, we have chosen to focus on wellbeing in our School Improvement Plan 2021 – 2023. Already we have put in place:
- Meet and Greet in the mornings
- Weekly School Assemblies
- Wellbeing Wednesday
- Acknowledging birthdays as a whole school
- Mindfulness
- Wow Wall
- Wellbeing Noticeboard
- Golden Time
We have created a positive school culture in Our Lady of Lourdes, where we strive to give the following message to our pupils:
You matter here
You belong here
You can succeed here
This year, we have taken on the Weaving Wellbeing Programme, right across the school from Junior Infants to Sixth Class. This programme gives the children the opportunity to weave positivity into their daily lives. There is overwhelming evidence that children learn more effectively if they are happy in their work, believe in themselves and feel supported. Embedding the Weaving Wellbeing Programme into our school culture can provide enhanced opportunities to nurture children’s wellbeing. In this programme, they learn Character Strengths, Positive Emotions, Resilience Tools, How to Cultivate Positive Relationships, and the whole idea of Empowering Beliefs like Growth Mindset, Self-talk, Self-Acceptance and that we can all make a difference. The programme also shows the children that they have power over their own emotions and can make a big difference in the lives of others. Our weekly school assemblies help us to promote wellbeing in our school, keeping us all connected and giving us a sense of belonging.
