Have you ever heard of the saying ‘You can’t pour from an empty cup’? Essentially, it means that in order to effectively take care of others, we must first take care of ourselves.

As a daughter, wife, mother, teacher, and friend, the pull of others can be immense. To find time to refill our cup may take discipline, grit, and a strong weekly schedule – things that can often feel emotionally and physically burdensome in themselves. It may seem counterproductive to take a stricter approach to what already seems like too much, and for many, the solution to wellbeing doesn’t include a perfectly highlighted fridge whiteboard. 

Teachers at SCA pour their emotional selves out from their cup every day to help all students experiencing problems with behavioural issues, confidence, self-regulation, and friendships. The cup continues to pour, using their intellectual selves to wholly commit to teaching and learning - nourishing a comprehensive education for your children.

Over the past 18 months the staff have engaged with a Health and Wellbeing consultant, Adrienne Hornby, to upskill us in strategies to improve wellbeing across the school.

For staff, having professional development by the lake, enjoying Family Week without meetings, and the annual St Patrick’s potato lunch has been one of many ways we have been able to laugh, engage with our spirituality, and grow as a team.

It’s not just the teachers that have benefited from the consultation on health and wellbeing. The students have been encouraged to recognise their support networks around them so they can continue to flourish both inside and outside of school hours. At SCA we have recognised the necessity of wellbeing, and strive to create an environment that breeds positivity, self-regulation, and socio-emotional development.

Wellbeing is interwoven throughout the daily curriculum through means such as daily class exercise, brain breaks, inter-house sports, Harmony Day, class liturgies and masses, water fun day, and lunch time clubs for knitting, walking, netball, and music.

As parents, we often see our children happiest when they are playing. Whether it is through organised team sports, out in the backyard, or cross legged with a controller in hand, our children innately seek out fun – the increase of wellbeing just happens to be a brilliant side effect of this. We can learn a lot from our children as they are, without all the external stresses of work and commitments, the purest example of what it means to be human. What it means to enjoy being human.

This year, SCA encourages parents to reinvite the concept of wellbeing into their lives. This does not mean that you have to immediately jump onto Amazon and fill your cart with pseudo therapy books, or spend all your savings on a trip you can’t afford. While wellbeing encompasses physical, spiritual, emotional, and social aspects, we can start this journey simply. Using joy as a priority may include reconnecting with your inner child and whipping out the tarp for a backyard slip n slide, sitting with your child as they teach you how to play online games, or hiding in the pantry to let yourself have those nice chocolates or biscuits you’ve been saving for when you have company over. The need for wellbeing transcends age.

The best time to start prioritising your wellbeing was years ago, the second best time is today.

So, what does filling your cup look like?

Have a happy week, we look forward to seeing you at Parent Teacher Interviews!

Jo Reed

Assistant Principal (Acting)