Swimming: Positive Health and so much more!

Positive Health: The Positive Health domain focuses on supporting students and staff to develop sustainable habits for optimal physical and psychological health. With the inextricable link between physical and psychological health, we know that practising mindfulness and resilience techniques will promote greater health outcomes. Mindfulness and resilience are also supported by the quest to help students to develop broader healthy behaviours in terms of exercise, nutrition, and sleep. (Geelong Grammar School)

As we know, physical wellbeing is a huge part of our overall wellbeing, and if we can do things that are good for our bodies and health, we can get closer to flourishing.  One of the ways we focus on our Positive Health this term is through swimming, not only does it improve our physical fitness, but it also tests our bravery, resilience and mindfulness.  

We're a bit scared, can we get in the pool anyway? We're afraid of swimming from one platform to the other and we didn't make it the whole way last time, can we keep trying anyway?  We are in the water, can we savour the feeling we have and be present with our instructors? These are all the things we are talking about before and after swimming.  

Today we did a little bit of talking about 2 things:

*What emotions swimming makes us feel 

*What strengths we have to use when we're swimming

Then we did some writing about it.  Take a look at our fantastic writing (and might I add, that all of the kids implored such impressive growth mindsets around their writing, not giving up and giving their ideas a go!)    

I walked the whole way to the platform in the pool. But it was hot!

I went in the pool!

I was scared because I was under the water in the deep water! Eeek!

I was the fastest swimmer in the pool.  I passed Mackenzie and I was the fastest.

I can swim faster than I used to!

I did not go into the pool because I was sick.

I am swimming!

I was scared for the first time and then I got brave.

I felt happy when I got in the pool.   

I stepped back and I fell in the deep end and I was brave!

I like to do floating in the pool.

I swam all the way in the water.  I was happy.

I am floating on my back in the pool.  It was deep. (Not written here, but discussed that he had to use bravery because the water was so deep.)

So there you have it,  the intersection of positive health, positive emotions, character strengths and literacy.  Our experience of swimming is helping us to grow our positive health and we used those experiences to unpack our emotions, think about what character strengths we need and which we used and that gave us purpose for our writing!