Meet Jolene Barilla - Gotcha4Life Mentally Fit Primary Schools Lead

Jolene Barilla

Gotcha4Life Mentally Fit Primary Schools Lead

When Jolene Barilla listens to teachers open up about the pressures of the job in workshops, every word rings true. She lived it for 23 years. Here she shares how Gotcha4Life is making mental fitness matter one connection at a time across whole primary school communities.

The Journey Begins

Over my 23 years working in primary schools, before I joined Gotcha4Life, one thing was more important to me than anything else. The rapport with my students. 

The longer you teach, the more you realise what students need above anything else to get results is connection, and social and emotional wellbeing. That is so important in helping little people become successful learners, and successful adults out in the big, wide world. 

I’ve always had a passion for wellbeing. Early in my career, I did a Masters in Education specialising in Physical and Health Education. So when the opportunity came along to join Gotcha4Life and build the Mentally Fit Primary Schools program, I took it.

Because a program that teaches the importance of connection, emotional adaptability and help seeking in primary schools is so valuable.

You can push all you like as a teacher in the classroom, or as a parent at home, but if a school doesn’t have that emotional wellbeing balance, or there’s a culture of pressure without connection, a child is not going to achieve their best.

Getting that balance is so important, especially today when people are less connected and the rise in technology and anxiety is making it really hard for kids to build those habits.

We need to make it a priority and teach those things so kids know how to do it. It’s about building skills from an early age so they have something to fall back on without ending up in crisis as teens or adults. Because life is going to throw them curveballs.

Do as I do

Students won’t learn how to build their mental fitness if their teacher doesn’t value it – or doesn’t have time for it. That’s why we need to build teachers’ capacity first.

Our program starts by strengthening teachers’ mental fitness and giving them the tools, structure and resources to weave it into the daily timetable. It’s designed to make mental fitness feel like a natural part of the school day – not another thing to squeeze in.

What I want for primary school kids is simple. I want them to know how to talk about their emotions, how to ask for help and how to look out for the people in their village. I want them to understand that mental fitness is something we practise daily, just like physical fitness.

The resources we’ve created for children and teachers help build these skills. They’re designed to show kids they’re not worrying alone - that everyone has worries. And more importantly, they help kids ask: ‘What can I do with my worries? What can I control? What can’t I?’ Then they learn to focus on what matters – their words, their actions – and know exactly who they can turn to for help.

If they understand that, they’ll go into their high school years a little more self-confident with some strategies under their belt. So if they feel emotions rising, they can say, ‘I’ve got some tools that I know work for me’.

Making mental fitness matter

I’ve seen the impact our program’s having in schools, like Thirroul, south of Sydney. 

Even before we arrived for our first session, they were already using the resources. They had posters printed out and a wellbeing week scheduled across the whole school. They made toasties for the staff lunch and called them Mental Fitness Melts. Year 5 kids became mental fitness advocates and were so proud of the projects they created to build mental fitness in their school environment. 

At Nicholson Street primary school in Balmain, the kids turned an old cubby house into a dedicated quiet space for mental fitness.

I see the impact as our amazing facilitators deliver to the staff and you can see those ‘aha’ moments where you know, ‘yep, they get it’.

I see it in the sharing when staff show vulnerability when they talk about the pressures and the stresses of teaching. I totally get it, because I’ve lived it too.

Those little moments are a window to the big difference this program will make in schools and lives.

You can help equip more people to live

Every donation powers Gotcha4Life to keep developing and delivering life-changing programs and initiatives to equip more people with the mental fitness skills to live.