News

Each week brings opportunities that we can celebrate, and challenges that we may sometimes find difficult to overcome. Helping and supporting students to develop resilience can equip them with the tools to reduce the impact that challenging situations may bring.

When we help young people cultivate an approach to life that views challenges and obstacles as a critical part of success, we help them develop resilience, which is more than just coping. When you are resilient, you are more prepared to seek new ways to overcome challenges and achieve goals.

In Week 5 the Year 10 cohort participated in an interactive resilience workshop run by Urban Youth, focusing on how students can develop skills that allow them to increase knowledge of and identify stress, manage challenging situations, develop coping skills and encourage positive self-talk. Students were able to identify their strengths and the skills used in situations where they felt successful and identify how these can be transferred to situations they find challenging.

Resilience is a skill that can be developed and built on when we develop attitudes that focus on self-respect, social and organisational skills, and positive thinking habits. We cannot always avoid challenging times, but we can support adolescents to develop the skills to bounce forward when faced with adversity.

Students who are resilient display the following skills, all of which can be learnt and developed:

• Emotional awareness and the ability to regulate their own emotions and recognise others' emotions
• Control over their impulses
• Have optimistic and flexible thinking
• Display empathy to others
• Believe that they can be successful
• Are willing to seek help when needed

Resilience is like a muscle, the more we use and develop these skills, the better and stronger we will be. It is derived from the ways that we learn to think and act when we are faced with obstacles. Resilience enables us to emerge from challenging experiences with a positive sense of ourselves and our futures.

Students can continue to develop their skills of resilience by:

• Making connections with others who care about them
• Practising positive thinking when faced with challenging situations
• Developing realistic goals that they can move towards in small and regular steps
• Taking decisive actions rather than detaching from challenging situations
• Looking for opportunities for self-discovery and identify strengths used in situations of success
• Developing and nurturing a positive self-view
• Keeping things in perspective and maintain a hopeful outlook
• Taking care of themselves by engaging in activities that they enjoy and find relaxing

Resilience is essential for human thriving and is an ability necessary for the development of healthy, adaptable young people. When adolescents are resilient, they have the ability to adapt to difficult circumstances and continue to thrive and learn from challenging situations.

Emma Ward
Senior Years Coordinator