Student Wellbeing at Girls’ Schools – Global Cohort
Headways™ 2024-2025 Cohort Offering
Cohort Region: Global
Open To: All members of ICGS schools working in Counseling, Wellness, and Student Life roles, and others who are interested in these topics
Facilitator: Liz Joyce, School Counselor, Nashoba Brooks School (US)
Discussion Topics
October 16, 2024, 3-4 p.m. ET / 7-8 p.m. GMT via Zoom
Nurturing the Student-Educator Relationship to Promote Well-Being
Nurturing positive and productive relationships is the key educational practice that will improve student wellbeing and achievement. This means educators need to build relationships with students designed to foster their development. This session will dive into this concept along with a discussion about proven strategies for building the educator-student relationship.
November 13, 2024, 3-4 p.m. ET / 7-8 p.m. GMT via Zoom
Connection Between Belonging, Purpose, & Student Mental Health
What helps all learners feel a meaningful sense of belonging, inclusion, and acceptance? How can schools foster an environment where all students flourish and thrive? How can we ensure that every child, regardless of gender, sexuality, faith, background, race, learning profile, or circumstance feels valued and accepted? This session will explore equity, diversity, and inclusion; code switching; and the challenges of being one’s authentic self in school.
January 15, 2025, 3-4 p.m. ET / 7-8 p.m. GMT via Zoom
Teaching & Learning with Mental Health in Mind
Stress and anxiety are common mental health issues encountered in girls’ schools. While there are several contributing factors, there are many intentional and proactive shifts educators can make to help reduce student stress. This session will cover practical ways for students to reach desired outcomes while intentionally decreasing stress and anxiety. Connected subtopics include perfectionism, nurturing a growth mindset, and helping students understand negative self-talk.
February 12, 2025, 3-4 p.m. ET / 7-8 p.m. GMT via Zoom
Connection Between Student & Staff Wellbeing
Recent research demonstrates the wellbeing of both students and educators go hand-in-hand. Increased educator wellbeing leads to more supportive teacher-student relationships. However, many educators find that poor work-life balance, as well as pandemic related stress, are affecting their ability to support students. This session will explore research-based ways to support educator wellbeing.
March 26, 2025, 3-4 p.m. ET / 7-8 p.m. GMT via Zoom
Moving Beyond the “Binder” Towards Integrated & Sustainable Approaches to Mental Health & Well-Being in K-12 Education
While stand-alone programs provide useful content for educators in addressing mental health and wellbeing, it is increasingly recognized that more embedded and sustainable solutions are required to address these issues over the long-term. This session will be a discussion about how to evolve one-off interventions, programs, and professional development towards an approach where mental health and wellbeing is integrated into teaching, learning, and coaching.
