At Mirniyan Primary, we are dedicated to fostering a nurturing and inclusive environment that prioritises student wellbeing. The school's mission is to develop students' academic, creative, emotional, and social potential, empowering them to become confident and responsible global citizens. This commitment is reflected in the school's core values: Respect, Care, and Growth.

Our classrooms are safe inclusive environments, where we focus on creating positive learning routines and behaviours.

Our Wellbeing Program involves students, parents, school staff and outside support agencies in developing support systems and adjustments that are necessary for individual learning.

Circle time

At Mirniyan Primary we incorporate circle time daily for different purposes. Circle time is an opportunity for each student to be heard and have a voice. This daily practice encourages open communication and expression, enhances social skills, strengthens relationships, promotes confidence and helps to build student confidence.

Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships

The Respectful Relationships program supports schools and early childhood settings to promote and model respect, positive attitudes and behaviours. It teaches our children how to build healthy relationships, resilience and confidence.

Each week, have a dedicated hour devoted to the 4 Rs program.

Children participate in activities that focus on:

• Emotional literacy
• Personal strengths
• Positive coping
• Problem solving
• Stress management
• Help-seeking
• Gender and identity
• Positive gender relations

Lunchtime Activities

The students at Mirniyan Primary School have plenty of choice when it comes to lunchtime activities.

The expansive grounds provide space for those interested in physical pursuits. The oval hosts cricket, football and soccer matches; the hard courts are available for netball or basketball.

Our grounds are covered in beautiful play spaces where students can engage in imaginary play, explore in natural resources as well as engaged in sand and water play. Around every nook there is a new play space to be discovered!

Buddies

All children at Mirniyan Primary are paired with a ‘buddy’ from one of the other classes. Buddies meet officially a couple of times a term when they take part in a number of activities designed to help them get to know each other better. This is a very worthwhile program as it enables the older children to take on a caring leadership role and the younger ones to connect with one of the ‘big kids’. Buddies also meet for picnic lunches, visit one another’s classes when an ‘audience’ is required and support each other in sporting events.

It is lovely to hear those cheerful calls in the playground, “Hello Buddy!”

 
Bullying Prevention

Mirniyan Primary has a number of strategies in place to build a positive and inclusive school culture and relationships to promote wellbeing. We strive to foster a school culture that prevents bullying behaviour by modelling, encouraging and teaching behaviour that demonstrates acceptance, kindness and respect.

Bullying prevention at Mirniyan Primary is proactive and is supported by research that indicates that a whole school, multifaceted approach is the most effect way to prevent and address bullying. At our school:

• We strive to build strong partnerships between the school, families and the broader community that means all members work together to ensure the safety of students.
• We participate in the Respectful Relationships initiative, which aims to embed a culture of respect and equality across our school.
• We celebrate the diverse backgrounds of members of our school community and teach multicultural education, including Aboriginal History, to promote mutual respect and social cohesion.
• Teachers use positive classroom management strategies that discourage bullying and promote positive behaviour.
• A range of year level incursions and programs are planned for each year to raise awareness about bullying and its impacts.
• In the classroom, our social and emotional learning curriculum teaches students what constitutes bullying and how to respond to bullying behaviour assertively. This promotes resilience, assertiveness, conflict resolution and problem solving.
• We promote upstander behaviour as a way of empowering our students to positively and safely take appropriate action when they see or hear of a peer being bullied.
• Students are encouraged to look out for each other and to talk to teachers and older peers about any bullying they have experienced or witnessed.
• We participate in the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence.

Incident Response

Behaviour Support

We have a behaviour support program that is consistent across the whole school. Each classroom and specialist area develops, with the students, their expectations through classroom agreements. We provide students with the opportunity to make better choices and ensure they are equipped with the skills for lifelong learning.

Restorative practices

Our school uses restorative practices to repair relationships. Working restoratively is really all about asking the right questions to students when things go wrong.  This process involves three simple steps in a facilitated discussion:

• What happened?
• How has that made people feel?
• And what action needs to be taken to resolve the issue so that we can move forward?

It’s all about teaching how to take responsibility for your actions and knowing that nobody is going to do it for you.  Our job is to support them do just that … better and better and better.