A PROGRAM to help build resilient children will hit Beechworth this week.
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The Healthy And Resilient Together project was developed in response to a need identified by primary schools and early childhood services, participating in the Healthy Together Achievement Program.
This project helps foster a greater sense of resilience, and focus on the importance of resilience for positive child development.
Sessions will be at George Kerford Hotel, Beechworth, between 9.30am-11am and 7pm-8.30pm on Tuesday, October 13.
Hugh van Cuylenburg, from The Resilience Project, will lead the sessions.
Mental illness is in crisis in Australia, I try to give some strategies to help those suffering.
- Hugh van Cuylenburg
“I’ve been amazed by the incredible feedback from schools we work with,” Mr van Cuylenburg said.
“Mental illness is in crisis in Australia, I try to give some strategies to help those suffering.
“It’s really focused on trying to help them help themselves.”
The sessions are tailored to the audience, with different strategies used to present the information to primary school children, staff professional development and parent/community sessions.
The project will bring together all the primary schools students in the Beechworth area to hear from Mr van Cuylenburg and learn about gratitude, empathy and mindfulness that all lead to developing resilience.
It will also include bushfire education sessions that will be conducted by CFA to prepare children and families for the bushfire season, a recommendation from the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre research and Bushfire Royal Commission, which support disaster education in the curriculum so children can learn to be prepared and manage disasters such as bushfire.
“I believe it will bring together different groups of students, staff and parents by combining resilience education sessions in a single venue,” St Joseph’s Primary principal Kitty Hancock said.
“It then becomes a community event rather than a one school approach.”
Mr van Cuylenburg was inspired by his work as a primary school teacher and volunteer in India at an under-privileged school to teach others about the importance of resilience.
“I tell a range of different stories from my life and people I know to help people so hopefully they don’t have to go through the pain mentall illness can bring for people and families,” he said.
The Resilience Project delivers resilience training to more than 220 schools around Australia.
The National Rugby League recruited Mr van Cuylenburg to run resilience training programs at clubs.
He also runs resilience training at Hawthorn, Collingwood, Gold Coast Suns, Essendon and Geelong football clubs.