12 Maroondah schools sign up for mindfulness program

The Maroondah Positive Education Network has connected 12 schools to the Smiling Mind School Program and is hopeful even more schools in Maroondah will sign on.

Edwina Ricci, Project Manager at the Maroondah Positive Education Network, says the opportunity that the partnership is providing aligns well with work the network is doing with schools.

“Our organisation looks at ways that Positive Education can increase the wellbeing and educational outcomes of students in Maroondah, especially through targeted wellbeing initiatives such as mindfulness,” Ms Ricci says.

“What we love about the Smiling Mind School Program is that it has the potential to reach every teacher and every child. Through the support of Frasers Property, twelve local schools have been able to access the program for free, which is a great outcome for everyone.

“Our role has been to raise awareness of the opportunity with schools in our network and to encourage them to get on board. Thanks to Smiling Mind’s excellent reputation, schools have been really quick to take up the evidence-based program. We are really grateful that our schools have this opportunity.”

As part of the program, each school was given free access to Smiling Mind’s professional development training for all teachers as well as a set of its Mindfulness Curriculums; a framework and resource that equips teachers with the skills they need to practically teach social and emotional learning capabilities in the classroom.

Dr Addie Wootten, Chief Executive Officer at Smiling Mind said, “Mindfulness tools are extremely important in helping people cope with challenges and are even more important when facing extremely difficult circumstances such as a global pandemic.”

“Now, more than ever, teachers, students and parents are the ones who need access to tools that will support them through these challenging times and help them build awareness and resilience around mental health."

Free access to the program has been made possible through a three-year charitable partnership between Smiling Mind and Frasers Property Australia a diversified property group. Now in its third year, the partnership has reached a total of 72 schools 2,600 teachers and 55,800 students around Australia.

Ranna Alkadamani, General Manager People & Culture, Frasers Property says, “This is a good example of how important community networks are and it's fantastic that our support has been able to reach so many schools in Maroondah.

“Our work is about building resilient communities from the ground up and schools are a huge part of well- connected communities, so this is one way we have been able to bring long-term benefits to children.”

The 12 Maroondah schools to sign up for the Smiling Mind program to date are:

• Bayswater North Primary School
• Bayswater West Primary School
• Bayswater South Primary School
• Croydon Hills Primary School
• Great Ryrie Primary School
• Heathmont College
• Kalinda Primary School
• Marlborough Primary School
• Mullum Primary School
• Ringwood Heights Primary School
• Tinternvale Primary School
• Warranwood Primary School

To find out more about how schools can register, visit: https://www.frasersproperty.com.au/smilingmind/about.

For more information on Smiling Mind, visit www.smilingmind.com.au and for more information on Frasers Property Australia’s developments nationally, visit www.frasersproperty.com.au.