Bayside Corps helping local families to Bounce Back!
Bayside Corps helping local families to Bounce Back!
22 August 2018
Children from the local school and community feel a sense of belonging at the corps and now attend the new kids club there.
The Salvation Army’s Bayside Community Church in Brisbane is helping children at a local primary school focus on social and emotional health through an award-winning positive education initiative.
The program, Bounce Back!, provides children to Year 6 with practical strategies to improve wellbeing and resilience so they can cope with the complexities, frustrations, feelings, and challenges of everyday life.
The Bayside Corps, 25km east of Brisbane city, initially used a grant from the Amanda Flynn Foundation – an organisation which provides grants to charitable organisations who help young people with anxiety and depression – to develop the program in the local Vienna Woods State School. The school is located in a low socio-economic community with students and families experiencing complex life situations and challenges.
The Salvation Army continued to fund the program after the initial grant concluded.
Sharon Krueger, a member of the corps, the Salvos Supporting Schools Coordinator and a teacher with expertise in special education, worked over a two-year period to align Bounce Back! to the Australian Curriculum Expectations for each year level and to support teachers with professional development and resources.
“The program is a great way to teach children about emotional regulation and control, self-awareness and what’s happening in their bodies,” explained Sharon.
Jacqueline Fiedler, school principal, agrees.
“Education Queensland has a strong focus on student wellbeing as per their Wellbeing Framework and Policy,” she said. “I feel we are at the forefront of providing explicit programs to develop this.
“Our goal is to build a strong school community in which we are supporting our students to achieve their very best at all times. Naturally their social and emotional wellbeing impacts significantly on their ability to achieve and be successful at school.
“We are incredibly pleased that The Salvation Army has developed a wellbeing program in partnership with our school, which has been very successful in integrating the Bounce Back! program into our classroom practice.”
Program engagement
The Bayside Corps has already spent a number of years building relationships with families in the school.
Scott and Natalie Frame.
“Vienna Woods has a high percentage of students with special needs and some really troubled and traumatised kids,” explained Natalie Frame, Bayside Corps Leader, together with Scott Frame.
“When the funding ran out, we were only halfway through this incredible journey, with some great success stories from teachers and parents. The school was in disbelief to see how things were changing.”
Felicity Norton, class teacher, explained how the engagement of the kids as a result of the wellbeing initiatives being implemented has increased dramatically.
“I teach a year composite class and many students in that group had started to completely turn off the idea of health and were having serious self-regulation and control issues,” she said.
“Since implementing the program, I have begun to notice many changes within the class. Students initially reluctant to participate in the mindfulness and self-reflection activities have begun to understand the importance for their own wellbeing and the importance of controlling their emotions.
“The staff professional development has also increased our capabilities to implement this unit effectively.”
Excellence award
Through the work of The Salvation Army, Vienna Woods State School recently received Special Commendation Runner-up Award in the Remserv Showcase Award for Excellence in Community Engagement (Regional Commendation) at the Education Queensland Showcase 2018 Award for Excellence in Schools.
“Whilst we did not receive first place, we were humbled by the special commendation and just delighted to see the goal of the program realised – increasing the social and emotional wellbeing of the students and their families,” said Natalie. “We hope this program can continue both here, and in other places, in the future.”
Corps Connection
The corps has intentionally built relationships with the school for almost three years through the mentoring program (where corps mentors spend an hour per week with children in need of encouragement and affirmation), pamper days, Mother’s and Father’s Day events, an annual Christmas carols event, and Bounce Back!
Children connecting to the corps through kids club.
Through these events and activities, as well as Salvos Connect at the corps, a number of children now come to Sunday School and attend the corps with their families.
The corps has also recently launched a Friday afternoon Kids Club for primary school aged children. The club incorporates games, a Bible message, small group time, indoor and outdoor time, and dinner.
“We’ve been dreaming and planning for about two years for this, and have had it confirmed so clearly that God is at work in the lives of the children and their families in this area,” said Natalie. “We had 10 children attend our first week, and then 18 kids arrived for our second session.”
Scott says that the close relationship with the wider school is also contributing to more organic connections, where families from the school come to see Bayside Salvos as both a community of care and a place to belong.
“Families from the school have become closely connected to our church’s community life, and would now attest to a true sense of 'belonging' with us,” he said.
“Some have joined our faith community, while others visit our centre regularly to simply ‘connect’ and receive encouragement.
The possibilities for Bayside to develop ongoing connection with and support of even more folk from the school community are almost endless, and we are very grateful for the opportunities our authentic and open relationship with the school brings us in caring for those families who are struggling or ‘searching’ in our community.”
Grandad’s garden
Sharon has also worked with the school chaplain and a team of corps volunteers to create “Grandad’s Garden” at the school – based on the book by Brisbane Pastor, Brian Andrew I Grow in Grandad’s Garden, that all classes throughout the school are reading.
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Men's ministry and volunteers helped build Grandad's Garden.
The calm and quiet garden features the “thankfulness seat” where children can sit and think about what they’re grateful for; the “let go log” where children can let go of their problems, forgive and move on; “crossover corner” where they can talk about big changes that are coming up or that they’re afraid of; and the “dream table” where they can dream about the future and all that is possible.
“This fits into the social and emotional work we have been doing through Bounce Back!, and gives the children a peaceful place to go to relax and reflect on their emotions,” said Sharon. “The four spaces teach children about positive values and aim to cultivate healthy habits such as gratitude, forgiveness, courage and dreaming.
Wayne Krueger, who runs men’s ministry at the corps, spoke to the group about building the garden and they were all keen to be involved.
“They designed the four stations and, together with other volunteers, donated their time and energy to build them, around a small existing pathway in bushland. The school will now add to the garden with plants or flowers, and signs to explain what each station is about.”
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