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WELL-BEING @ DAIS

“PSHE and the Pursuit of Well-being”
Wellbeing is defined as 'a state of being happy and healthy'. Wellbeing cannot be taught; even in a school it
is embedded into one's being and is a feeling. The DAIS Curriculum Model has Student Wellbeing at the
center and a multitude of planned activities ensure that students have a variety of opportunities to
experience, explore and feel empowered to develop an understanding of what wellbeing means to them.
N
D
A S
H O M E COMMUNITIES The pandemic compelled schools all over the world to look at well-being from a nuanced perspective.
Despite being online for such a prolonged time, schools had the continued responsibility of ensuring safe
S C HOOL spaces. Here, students could socially connect when their homes became schools and schools entered their
homes, blurring how these spaces had been previously viewed.
C L A S S ROOMS As the world spiraled into 2nd and 3rd waves, well-being experts maintained that following a routine would
help to reassure ourselves of some areas that stayed within our realm of control. The school seamlessly
continued its efforts to be mindful of and develop a sense of wellbeing through its Personal Social Health
SELF Education (PSHE) program. The program was aimed at continuing to build resilience and adaptability as
AWARENESS schools gradually opened, in addition to focusing on social connectivity online. Students were supported to
develop strategies to cope with continuing online school, moving into hybrid and then a full reopening.
In Primary school, well-being was blended through circle time, Read Aloud projects, social stories and
weekly PSHE topics. Additionally, reducing screentime by shortening virtual school hours, planning brain
breaks within lesson plans and providing flexible access to homeroom teachers through the online platform
supported student well-being in primary school. Thriving for success and accepting mistakes even through
the virtual platform was done through activities in Art and Crafts as early as grade 1.
As the new school year started, middle and senior students were asked to share snapshots of how they had
SOCIAL AWARENESS SOCIAL MANAGEMENT spent their holidays and in groups they came up with innovative ways. Managing time as a secondary
student has often presented itself as a challenge and students participated in a poster making competition
where they had to provide strategies to their peers to prevent procrastination. A blend of creativity and
SELF-
AND
tech resulted in posters that were judged by Heads and winners and were acknowledged on the DAIS
October is observed as World Mental Health Awareness Month (WHO) and the theme for 2021 was 'Mental
EMOTIONAL social media sites.
Health in an Unequal World'. Students from Grades 5-11 discussed the theme, myths and stereotypes
around mental health and looked for ways to support their own as well as peer mental health and
LEARNING wellbeing. Throughout the pandemic, middle school students identified sleep disturbances as one of the
challenges to their wellbeing. Sessions on importance of recommended sleep hours, tips to enhance the
quality of sleep and obstacles to healthy sleep routine were explored with students.
PSHE curriculum also includes a trans-disciplinary approach with subjects like Global Perspective (GP).
RESPONSIBLE
Grade 10 students are required to put together presentations to educate and benefit their peers for their GP
DECISION MAKING Group Projects and many included well-being in their topics such as 'Mind Matters' (mental health), 'The
Color Project' (color-based discrimination), 'Team Menstrual' (menstrual awareness). Secondary students
were also asked to research the 5 Social Emotional Learning Core Competencies and their connection to
well-being through posters and presentations created by them.
SKILLS
RELATIONSHIP
When school reopened offline, transitioning into a physical space required taking care of health and safety
but students rejoiced in being able to socialize, play sports on the field and learn together.
Well-being & DAIS adapted from CASEL 2017 workshops to help them build strategies for online classroom management which had its own set of
Teachers, our frontline mascots, were an integral part of this exercise as they participated in a series of
challenges online. SEL Integration in the Classroom, the use of Affective and Positive Language as a
differentiation technique, exploring and developing Self-Identity and Well-being were some of the topics
covered. In addition, the Student Care department, led by the Primary Curriculum Coordinator collaborated
in a book study group 'Contextual Well-being' to look at how well-being can continue to be built on at
DAIS.
When the pandemic started, the mantra was, 'this too shall pass' and conversations revolved around what
we would do when covid had retreated. While we still tread with caution, sanitise our hands and wear
a mask, now that the school has reopened the most reassuring aspect is the sound of students in the
corridors.
Ms. Vasundhara Sanghai, Head, Student Care

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