Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity (WHO). DNS Learning Community’s operational definition is, “Health is a positive education concept emphasizing social and personal resources as well as physical and mental capabilities”. Health can be viewed also as the presence or absence of disease or medically measured risk factors in an individual.
The DNS learning community takes care of its members through the health promotion activities like Dubai Fitness Challenges, Games, Sports, Athletics Competitions, Food Festivals, Cultural Events, Healthy Diet & Eating Habits Awareness, Counseling for Quality Sleep Patterns of Learners, Regular BMI Checkups & Health Education in School Clinics, Stress Management Counseling and Psychological Wellbeing Presentations etc. The learning community strictly adheres to the health and safety related protocols from KHDA, DHA, MOHP, MOE and Dubai Municipality. The learning community implemented guidelines and practices according to the current Health and Safety Policy. In cases of medical health conditions, sicknesses and psychological problems the learning community members are using school’s health insurance facility in the network hospitals, clinics and pharmacies to reduce their economic burdens and recover from their health and wellbeing issues.
Happiness is emotional capital we can spend in the pursuit of other attractive outcomes. Research shows that happy learner live longer, get less sicknesses, develop healthy relationships, commit less mistakes, produce more creative ideas, work harder and smarter on the jobs, make more money and help others in learning community. DNS learning community believes that, “Happiness is the experience of joy, contentment, positive wellbeing combined with a sense that learner’s life is good, meaningful and worthwhile”.
The DNS learning community is celebrating happiness in each and every moment of working day. Learning community celebrates Welcome Back to School Day, Fun Days, Recreational Activities, Entertainment Activities, External Edutainment Trips, Celebrations of Multi-cultural and Multi-nationality Events, Dubai Expo Trips, International Happiness Day Events and Acts of Kindness Days etc. The learning community is supporting each and every member to promote happiness and wellbeing in their lives by sharing their good practices and strategies with others as well.
Wellbeing is a state of happiness & contentment, high life satisfaction, ability to manage stress and overall good physical and mental health, outlook and quality of life. In general wellbeing is the experience of health and happiness which includes mental & physical health, physical & emotional safety, and feeling of belonging, sense of purpose, achievement and success. Wellbeing is a broad concept of positive education and psychology which covers a range of psychological and physical abilities. We believe that there are five major types of wellbeing practiced worldwide and those are:
Wellbeing in our context means to prepare leaners as healthier, happier and satisfied global citizens. The wellbeing areas targeted in our learning community are happiness, optimism, perseverance, connectedness to educators, connectedness to parents, breakfast of learners, quality of sleep patterns, stress & anxiety management, socio-emotional and cognitive engagement of learners etc. The wellbeing activities includes the world mental health day activities, games, sports & athletics activities, curricular lessons based on the areas of health education, happiness and wellbeing, psychological wellbeing webinar for teachers from external trainer, healthy eating habits awareness, promotion of healthy life styles activities, guidance and counseling services, socio-emotional learning sessions, stress & anxiety management sessions and Dubai fitness challenges etc.
DNS Health, Happiness, Wellbeing and Support Programs
1]. Healthy School Program (HSP)
The Healthy School Program (HSP) is an initiative of the DNS for a Healthier Generation from Wellbeing Committee to assist learning community in creating healthy environment that encourage all members to eat healthy and be physically, mentally and socially active. This program guides learning community to identify priorities and provides resources, training and strategies for best practices.
The Healthy School Program (HSP) focal areas are:
1]. Increasing physical activity opportunities for learners to exercise and play
2]. Provide resources for educators and learners to become healthy role models
3]. Set goals and utilize tools and resources to meet those goals
4]. Serve both academic and non-academic needs of learners without negatively impacting
5]. Provide quality health, happiness, and wellbeing education opportunities with physical education programs
6]. To involve counselors and inclusion specialists to provide support for socio-emotional learning and anxiety management of learners
7]. Review and update health & safety guidelines, happiness and wellbeing action plans and policies, and
8]. Create Awareness Campaigns for Learning Community based on selected themes related to Health, Happiness and Wellbeing.
2]. Positive Education & Psychology Curriculum
DNS Learning Community is always exploring ways to boost students’ health, happiness and wellbeing, through resources powered by Global Positive Education Curriculum (GPEC) with US Cubiculum. The introduction of each lesson provides the necessary context for learners to understand the real-world applications of core health, happiness and wellbeing concepts and practices. Physical instructors, learning support teachers, subject teachers including psychology teachers, counselors, inclusion specialists and moral education teachers use this value added resource during their teaching learning classes, LSP sessions, remedial teaching, sensory & speech therapy sessions, guidance & counseling sessions, health & safety awareness campaigns, Happiness & wellbeing talks, presentations and information brochures, and physical education activities etc. Students are given opportunities to participate and implement these resources during the learning week and share their reflections with the learning community.
3]. Student Leadership Program
Learning community strongly believes that student leaders have a very important role to play in the day-to-day organization of the learning community. The positions not only allow students the opportunity to model confident leadership, resilience and responsibility, they also encourage younger students to aspire and learn from peer examples. Leadership is promoted at all levels in the school through explicit extra-curricular programs and curriculum. Student Council Members undergo leadership training that fosters positive interpersonal skills among students and staff while executing various responsibilities. Student leaders develop and sustain a motivated learning community where students experience success on a regular basis.
4]. Socio-emotional Learning Program
The learning community has adopted the program and curriculum from “The Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL)” USA. The socio-emotional learning (SEL) curricula covers five broad competencies: 1).Self-awareness 2). Self-management 3). Social awareness 4). Relationship skills, and 5). Responsible decision making. Learning community has an activity calendar which has lots of ESL supporting activities, events and celebrations. ESL curriculum is delivered on day to day teaching learning practices, sports activities, guidance & counseling services and resource room psycho-educational sessions etc.
Social and emotional learning (SEL) is an integral part of our inclusive education and learners’ development. SEL is the process through which all learners acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions. SEL advances educational equity and excellence through authentic partnerships among learning communities to establish inclusive, caring & supportive learning environments and experiences that feature trusting and collaborative relationships, rigorous and meaningful curriculum and instruction, and ongoing evaluation. SEL can help also in empowering learners to create a thriving learning community which can contribute to health, safety, security, happiness and wellbeing promotion.
5]. Physical Education and Sports
The DNS learning community believes that everyday physical activities inside or outside classrooms improves the positive behavior, students’ academic engagement, confidence, motivation to learning, attendance, attainment and attitudes of learners. Learning community observed that learners using physical activities on a daily basis or as per schedule have a positive impact on their health, happiness, life satisfaction and wellbeing. Physical education and sports is one of the major strengths of our learning community and it is continuously innovative practices related to it and design our curriculum based on learners needs. Learning community has several champion teams for volleyball, football, basketball and athletics. These teams have won inter school competitions, national and regional championships and trophies for the learning community.
6]. Other Health, Happiness and Wellbeing Related Activities of Learning Community
