How do you relax and unwind when you have spare time outside of work? Do you like to listen to music, read novels, sew, paint, or perhaps watch a movie? These are just a few examples of engaging in the arts, and research shows this engagement has a positive impact on our mental wellbeing.

We know that participating in sport and physical activity benefits health and wellbeing. New research has found it also has a small positive effect on students’ academic performance, particularly in mathematics and science.

‘I am still an advocate of moving for wellbeing, but the way that I do that movement has been adjusted. My biggest take away, so far, has been that changing how you move is okay, just as long as you do move.’ Teacher Aimee Blazek shares how she adjusted her exercise regime while pregnant so she could still move her body.

Phillippa Adgemis is Principal at Coldstream Primary School – one of the six schools highlighted in a recent Australian study exploring the common features of exemplary school playgroups. In this article, she shares more about how the playgroup is run, and the effect it has had on the school.

It’s safe to say we’ve all been grappling with uncertainties around how our work and personal lives will be affected by the unpredictable nature of the pandemic for longer than we thought. Here, Mary Spillane, Clinical Psychologist and Headspace App Mental Health Expert for Australia, joins Wellbeing by Teacher to share some strategies for coping with uncertainty and change in life.

‘In my experience, gratitude is not just something that will happen. Sometimes it requires a genuine effort on our behalf, particularly when life presents inevitable challenges.’ Liam Casson, Director of The Wynne Centre for Boys’ Health and Wellbeing at Christ Church Grammar School reflects on having gratitude.

Poor bone health and the chronic disease it can lead to, osteoporosis, can greatly reduce our overall mobility, and therefore have a significant impact on our overall health and wellbeing. Here, academics from La Trobe University share the research they are conducting which looks at the impact of probiotics on our bone health.

Sandro Biscaro, a Health and PE teacher and Daily Organiser at Epping Secondary College in Victoria, shares insights into how he cares for his own mental health and wellbeing.

Coping with stress, mental health, and school and study problems were the top three concerns of young people last year, according to the most recent findings from a large study. In this Q&A, two of the report’s co-authors explain how educators can support their students in these areas.

‘Considerable momentum is building around the belief that education will increasingly benefit from teachers becoming more ‘research-engaged”…’ Our latest reader submission discusses the phenomenon of Research-Invested Schools and shares examples of what’s happening in Australia.