“At Titirangi Primary School we are mentally healthy when we are connecting with ourselves, our community and our environment. Being mentally healthy enables us to thrive, succeed and experience joy.”

This shared understanding of mental health at TPS was the inspiration for this collection of mixed media self portraits expressing the emotion of joy.

As part of our mental health education, Room 10 (Year 2) explored emotions, with a focus on the emotion of joy. They discovered what joy can be, what it looks like and how it feels for themselves and others. They asked the question… how can joy be represented through colour and expression?

Room 10 would like to share their study of joy with their community and ask that as you view their work you ask yourself the question…

What does joy mean to me?

And on Tuesday 9 July, we had the privilege to welcome Claire Achmad from Children and Young People's Commission NZ at our gallery. And the children loved sharing their art and the stories of joy with Claire.