St Colman's School enriched with resilience

St Colman’s School, nestled among the picturesque cane fields of Home Hill, has joined the North Queensland Toyota Cowboys’ team of schools enriching their community with GEM (gratitude, empathy and mindfulness) through The Resilience Project (TRP).

Cowboys community engagement programs officer Ray Thompson made the hour-long trip south on the Bruce Highway to deliver a bumper day of immersive presentations, the first stage of the digital program, ahead of the curriculum rollout in 2023, with the support of the Northern Queensland Primary Health Network (NQPHN).

Having seen the impact The Resilience Project is having on schools across the Burdekin and driven by the school’s P&C committee, St Colman’s began their resilience journey with students from P-6 familiarising themselves with GEM, before tailored sessions for staff and the wider community taught parents and teachers how they can improve their own wellbeing, while supporting students through the program.

The digital program includes a series of videos and digital lessons for the classroom, staff room and at home so students can continue to learn and engage with the program outside school, paired with face-to-face presentations from the Cowboys.

St Colman's School Home Hill principal Karen Keys said following the introduction, it was inspiring to hear students talk about their desire to build a positive self and school.

"I am very confident that The Resilience Project will be an extremely important and valued part of the St Colman's School curriculum," she said.

"Our aim is to help develop students who go out into the community to be the very best person they can be and improve our community and ultimately the world.

“Staff have seen a need for our students to increase their emotional literacy and health for a while, especially after Covid, but have been struggling to find the answer.

“We are now confident and excited that The Resilience Project will fill this gap.”

Ray Thompson said the program, part of the Cowboys’ commitment to building resilient communities, is already being delivered to schools in Home Hill, Gumlu and Merinda and is important in building young people's capacity to deal with adversity.

"The core purpose of The Resilience Project is to tackle those statistics that show young people today are facing an uphill battle when it comes to their own mental wellbeing," he said.

"This program is about giving them the tools and strategies they need to address these issues, and through program delivery for staff and the wider community, we're enabling adults to help support their students with their learnings but also to improve their own mental wellbeing.

"It's fantastic to come to Home Hill and engage directly with the St Colman's school community who are taking part for the first time, and we're really looking forward to seeing their progress throughout term 4 and 2023."