{"id":44453,"date":"2026-03-20T14:55:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T03:55:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/mlc\/?post_type=article&p=44453"},"modified":"2026-03-20T14:55:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T03:55:13","slug":"from-the-deputy-head-of-junior-school-welllbeing","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/mlc\/article\/from-the-deputy-head-of-junior-school-welllbeing\/","title":{"rendered":"From the Deputy Head of Junior School – Welllbeing"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Happiness<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 2026 World Happiness report has just been released.<\/p>\n

The Action for Happiness<\/em> organisation has summarised the findings from the report:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n

\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Nordic\u00a0countries<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0retain the top spots in the world happiness rankings,\u00a0Finland is No.1 (again!)<\/strong>, followed by Iceland then\u00a0Denmark;\u00a0Costa Rica has jumped to 4th place.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Young people\u2019s happiness is falling in English-speaking countries.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>In places like North America and Western Europe, young people are significantly less happy than 15 years ago, unlike most of the world, where youth wellbeing has improved.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Heavy social media use is linked to lower wellbeing.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>On average, those\u00a0who use social media for longer periods\u00a0report\u00a0lower life satisfaction than light users.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Not all screen time is equal.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Activities like messaging, learning, and creating content are linked to\u00a0higher\u00a0wellbeing, while passive scrolling, gaming, and \u201cbrowsing for fun\u201d are linked to\u00a0lower\u00a0wellbeing.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 How social media is designed really matters.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Platforms that encourage connection tend to support happiness, while those driven by algorithms, influencers, and comparison tend to harm it.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Many\u00a0people feel \u2018trapped\u2019 using social media.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>A lot of users say they\u2019d actually prefer social media didn\u2019t exist,\u00a0but they keep using it because everyone else does.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Connection in real life matters far more.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Feeling a sense of belonging (e.g. at school or in community) has a\u00a0much bigger impact on happiness than reducing social media use alone.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The research is clear – we need to prioritise connection and community over scrolling and disconnection.<\/p>\n

It is very timely, then that tonight the Junior School is hosting our biannual Cardboard Challenge. This event is a wonderful way to build school community and House spirit within and between families and the School.<\/p>\n

As a School we very much work to develop a sense of connection and belonging for each student. Year 4 to Year 6 participate in a Trustmapping survey to check the connections our students are making and Year 2 to Year 6 participate in the Social Emotional Wellbeing survey through the Australian Council of Educational research, which is non-identified, grade data that helps to inform our Pastoral Care programs and meet student needs and supports.<\/p>\n

We are grateful for the partnership we share with families in nurturing these connections \u2014 encouraging real conversations, shared experiences and a strong sense of belonging both at school and at home. Together, by prioritising relationships and community, we can support our children to grow not only as learners, but as confident, connected and happy young people.<\/p>\n

– Joanne Sharpe<\/a>
\n<\/strong><\/em>Deputy Head of Junior School – Wellbeing<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Happiness The 2026 World Happiness report has just been released. The Action for Happiness organisation has summarised the findings from the report: \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Nordic\u00a0countries\u00a0retain the top spots in the world happiness rankings,\u00a0Finland is No.1 (again!), followed by Iceland then\u00a0Denmark;\u00a0Costa Rica has jumped to 4th place. \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Young people\u2019s happiness is falling in English-speaking countries.\u00a0In […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":44454,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","article_category":[5],"article_tag":[],"class_list":["post-44453","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_category-junior-school"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/mlc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/44453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/mlc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/mlc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/mlc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44453"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/mlc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/mlc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"article_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/mlc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_category?post=44453"},{"taxonomy":"article_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/mlc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_tag?post=44453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}