Compassion

This month's Wellness Spotlight focuses on Compassion and the importance of being kind to others and to ourselves. 

Our students will be learning about Compassion this month including the benefits of random acts of kindness, having empathy for others, and how to practice self-compassion. Our Mental Health Team - Student Advocacy Counsellors and Wellness Coaches - will be sharing resources with students, staff and families, and supporting activities and initiatives in our classrooms.

RESOURCES FOR FAMILIES

Here are some links that our team recommends for families to encourage and promote compassion at home:

• Random Acts of Kindness Idea for Kids (Twinkl Australia)
  Three ideas for kids to spread kindness and positivity. 
  
   
  
  
• Mostly Mindful for Teens and Tweens (Dominique Sullivan of the Zen Librarian)
  This is a podcast with episodes that focus on strategies and concepts to help teens build resiliency.
  
  
• 40 Kindness Activities & Empathy Worksheets for Students and Adults (Positive Psychology) 
  Includes a variety of fun activities, exercises and worksheets to help children and adults develop kindness and empathy.

Watch for the Counsellor's Connections newsletter from your Student Advocacy Counsellor for more information about what is happening with Compassion at your school! For more curated resources, please visit the Compassion section of our Mental Health Resources for Families on our website.

COMPASSION CONTEST

Each month we are offering students, staff and families the opportunity to share their own stories related to our theme on our Engage NLPS website. You can write us a story or poem, make a video, draw or paint a picture, or tell your story in whatever other creative way you can think of. 

For February, here are some things you may want to consider when telling or creating your Compassion story:

• What is one thing that you can do to show compassion to yourself or others?
• What random acts of kindness have you done for others?
• What has some done or said to you that showed great compassion or empathy?

Everyone who shares a story will be entered into a monthly draw for a prize, may have their story featured in our Wellness Showcase in May, and will be eligible for our year-end grand prize. Staff or students who submit stories will also earn entries for their school. At the end of the year, one of our schools will also win a prize for their whole school!

We will be sharing more ways to win on Facebook and Instagram. Like and follow us so you don't miss our posts.