After selling tens of thousands of books and resources, we have reprinted some of our key hard-copy books, The Amazing Adventures of Doug Dragster and The Magic Book.

This is an excellent tribute to visionary schools that have seen the need for a wholistic approach to wellbeing. We are always grateful for how you prepare children for a complex future.

Reprinting allowed us to revise and adjust text and add some great material. The new Magic Books have now been divided into two books (Part 1 and 2) to simplify their use over years 4 and 5. Apologies to some schools who have to wait till early next year to receive their new Magic Books.

We have given the reprints a new and dynamic makeover, making them even more engaging. Special thanks to our artist and designer, Jacqui Lynch, for her inspired work.

At the recent Glasser Australia national conference, several Get Happier Schools shared their stories and creative adaptations. Special thanks to Cal Gibbs and Steve Dowlan, pictured below with some of our co-authored products. We were inspired to see and hear what these schools are doing to make a real difference for our children.

We love schools and teachers who adapt the images to use regularly, so the children become friends with the Dragsters and use social media to extend the connection with the whole community. (Thanks to Glendore Public School for regular Facebook images like this one.

Many other schools and individual teachers have begun using sections of the program to teach wellbeing, and in some cases, to support children who have been part of some of the natural disasters that have occurred this year. As Anti Bullying pioneer, Psychologist Evelyn Field writes…

‘Empowering children by giving them the resources to understand themselves, manage their feelings and solve problems is a powerful way to combat bullying. It also helps create an environment which is safe and supportive, and stops the cycle punishment and revenge.

The Doug Dragster Program is a new and fun program which promotes social and emotional learning for children by giving them the tools to problem solve and get the best out of life. The cartoons take the sting out of trauma and enable kids to find their reset button and move on from target to survivor.’

Not only is our program evidence-based, but it is also trauma-informed and provides guidance for staff and students to create a culture of wellbeing and recovery.

Here is a link to a just published article on workplace wellbeing from the US Surgeon General, which is incredibly consistent with our Get Happier/Choice Theory approach.
https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/priorities/workplace-well-being/index.html

Find out more about Bully Blocking at Evelyns website Bully Blocking.

A special welcome this term to Dawson Public School in Sydney, Jesmond Public School in Newcastle and Eight Mile Plains State School in Brisbane.

Many schools visit our Get Happier Schools before they decide to run with the program, so it is great to see our schools sharing their expertise. Thank you 🙂

Let’s keep connected to share the riches in knowledge and practice. I plan to establish a more formal sharing and support network for the Get Happier Schools in 2023.

I was recently boarding a plane to Sydney to introduce one of our new schools to the program when I heard a child’s voice calling to her father: ‘Dad, There’s Doug Dragster!’

I spun around, only to see her pointing at me! A brief chat on the tarmac revealed that she attended one of our Get Happier Schools at Moama. She loved the Dragster story, my school visits, and the card games we played with the Get Happier Toolbox. She loved how the teachers had fun teaching the program and how she and her friends enjoyed learning.

It was an important reminder of the power of these stories, engaging images, fun programming and authentic relationships in learning.