Students at St Augustine’s Catholic Primary School in Narromine are set to embark on a five-month wellbeing program aimed at building their resilience, with the support of the NSW Government’s Children and Young People Wellbeing Recovery initiative.
Member for the Dubbo electorate Dugald Saunders said the school has received $49,920 for the delivery of the Kalm Kids program for students in year 3, 4, 5 and 6.
“Narromine has been hit hard by COVID disruptions, drought and floods in recent years, and unfortunately our children are not immune from the turbulence and the uncertainty we’ve all experienced,” Mr Saunders said.
“The Kalm Kids program gives children the opportunity to express their feelings and develop strategies like breathing and visualisation to overcome any stress, anxieties or other issues they may be dealing with.
“Projects like this are a great example of how we can help young people recover, build resilience and improve wellbeing by providing them with the tools and resources they need to become the best version of themselves!”
Principal Renee Matheson said the funding would make a big difference to the students at St Augustine’s.
“I was surprised when I found out we’d been successful in securing the funding! I was thrilled and it was very exciting to share the news with the staff,” Mrs Matheson said.
“After COVID, coming back to school has been difficult for some of our little students, but our mission is really to build these skills and this program will affirm the things we’re already doing at our school.
“If we can teach children these strategies now, around resilience and regulating their own emotions, hopefully that will be a lifelong skill and help them to face future challenges they’ll face in their lives.”
The Children and Young People Wellbeing Recovery Initiative is funded through the NSW COVID-19 Economic Recovery Initiative and the co-funded NSW and Australian Governments’ Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.