I was lucky enough to be invited to a presentation on a new initiative that St John has started to launch as part of their school programme. Whātuia te Waiora—Weaving Wellbeing—is a wellbeing and resilience programme for year 7 to 8 students. They recognise this is the age where a lot of our young ones are struggling the most. This programme gives children the opportunity to weave positivity into their daily lives. The one thing that stood out for me was their concept that a state of wellbeing is not simply the absence of the negative, but the presence of the positive. Students will learn what character strength is and how these are different from values and skills. Students will discover how to use their strengths and identify opportunities in which they can grow. Students will learn how to call on their strengths in times of challenge and build their resilience. Students will develop awareness around positive and negative emotions, and ways to boost those positive emotions. Students will discover kindness to themselves in learning how to be their own best friends. Students discover the idea of community wellbeing and explore where there is a call to action that they can be involved in. I am proud that I was part of that organisation for many years, and I am proud of the initiatives that they are coming up with. 