Te Whare Tapa Whā: Building Wellbeing

You need: four-wall self-check sheet · coloured pencils · an envelope to keep it private

1. Draw a simple whare with four walls and the land underneath.
2. For each wall, write two things that build it up and one thing that wears it down for you this week.
3. Shade each wall from 1 (shaky) to 5 (solid) with a coloured pencil.
4. Circle the wall you most want to strengthen and write why in one sentence.
5. Seal it in your envelope. You can open it again in week 4 to compare.

How you'll know: You can name one wall to strengthen and give a real reason from your own life. There are no right or wrong ratings, and your sheet stays private.

Go further: Find one habit that feeds two walls at once (a walk with a friend: tinana and whānau) and add it to your whare.

You need: habit loop card (cue, routine, reward) · sticky notes · a partner

1. Pick an everyday habit you already have, such as checking your phone when you wake up or getting a snack after school.
2. Break it into the loop: the cue (what sets it off), the routine (what you do) and the reward (what you get).
3. Swap with a partner and see if they can spot a different cue you missed.
4. Now design a new habit loop for your trial: a clear cue, a tiny routine and a small reward.
5. Write it as 'After I [cue], I will [routine], then I get [reward]'.

How you'll know: Your new habit has a cue you will actually meet every day, a routine small enough to do on a bad day, and a reward you enjoy.

Go further: Design a way to break an unhelpful loop by changing the cue, such as charging your phone in the kitchen.

You need: sleep diary sheet · a clock

1. For seven nights, write the time you turned the light out and the time you woke.
2. Each morning, rate how awake you feel from 1 to 5 and note anything unusual (late game, noisy house, screens in bed).
3. Work out the hours for each night, then find your median (the middle value when you put them in order).
4. Compare your median with the 9 to 11 hours recommended for your age.
5. Look for a link: are your 'awake' ratings higher after longer nights?

How you'll know: You can describe your own sleep pattern with your own numbers and spot at least one thing that seems to affect it. This diary is private unless you choose to share.

Safety: If you often can't sleep, or feel very tired every day, talk to a trusted adult or your school nurse. That is something to get help with, not something to fix alone.

Go further: Test one change for the next week (such as lights out 20 minutes earlier) and compare the two medians.

You need: open space · cones · timer · warm-up planning card

1. Learn the three parts: a pulse raiser (jogging, skipping), mobility (arm circles, hip circles) and dynamic stretches (lunges with a twist, leg swings).
2. In groups of four, design a five-minute warm-up for a game your class plays, such as touch, netball or ki-o-rahi.
3. Include at least two moves from each part and a move that copies the game's own actions.
4. Lead your warm-up for another group and ask for one thing that worked and one thing to change.
5. Improve it and add it to the class warm-up bank.

How you'll know: Your warm-up has all three parts, builds up gradually and suits the game. Everyone can join in at their own level.

Safety: Start gently and build up. Use dynamic, moving stretches, not bouncing ones. Clear the space of bags and bottles and check for wet or slippery ground.

Go further: Adapt your warm-up for a different sport or for someone using a wheelchair.

You need: habit tracker (paper grid or a simple table) · pencil · the 'After I…, I will…' sentence from week 1

1. Each day, tick the tracker if you did the habit and give yourself a 1–5 'how I feel' rating for your chosen wall.
2. On day 5, look back: how many ticks? Is anything getting in the way?
3. Adjust one thing if you need to, and write down what you changed and when.
4. On day 10, check again and note any pattern, such as weekends being harder.
5. At day 14, count your ticks and compare your feeling ratings from the first week with the second.

How you'll know: You have 14 days of honest data (including missed days) and can say what it shows. A trial that 'didn't work' still gives you real evidence to learn from.

Go further: Graph your feeling ratings over the 14 days and mark the day you made an adjustment. Did anything change after it?

You need: quiet space · timer · strategy cards: box breathing, 5-4-3-2-1 senses, shake-out, name it to tame it

1. Before each strategy, notice your body: shoulders, breathing, heartbeat. Rate how calm you feel from 1 to 5 privately.
2. Try box breathing: breathe in for 4, hold for 4, out for 4, hold for 4, five times.
3. Try 5-4-3-2-1: name five things you can see, four you can hear, three you can touch, two you can smell and one you can taste.
4. Try a 30-second shake-out, then 'name it to tame it' by writing the feeling in one word.
5. Rate your calm again after each and choose the one that suits you best.

How you'll know: You have tried at least three strategies yourself and can say which one works for you and when you might use it.

Go further: Teach your favourite strategy to a younger class or a whānau member and ask how it felt for them.

You need: three interview questions · notebook or voice recorder (with permission)

1. Choose a whānau member, neighbour or coach you trust.
2. Ask: What helped you stay well when you were my age? What habit are you proud of? What do you do when life gets stressful?
3. Listen, and write down one idea you had not thought of.
4. Connect their answers to the four walls: which walls did they talk about most?
5. Thank them and tell them one thing you learned.

How you'll know: You can share one idea from someone else's experience that connects to a wall of Te Whare Tapa Whā.

Go further: Compare answers across the class (anonymously): which wall did grown-ups mention most, and why might that be?