A research-backed whole-school wellbeing curriculum for Trinity Grammar School, Kew

Meet ‘Huggtopus’ – a cheerful, round, purple octopus with bright green spots on her tentacles and a big heart to match. She’s one of the Kimochis – a playful cast of characters designed to help young children recognise, understand and talk about their feelings in a safe and engaging way.

At Trinity’s Early Learning Centre, Huggtopus supports students to build important social-emotional skills, like setting healthy boundaries, staying focused and practising patience and empathy. Her favourite colour is pink, and her lucky number is eight – but her most important job is helping children feel seen, heard and supported.

Huggtopus is just one part of Personal BEST – Trinity’s newly-launched wellbeing curriculum that spans from ELC through to Year 12. Grounded in sport and performance psychology, and shaped by the school’s core values, Personal BEST empowers students to grow through the pillars of Belong, Engage, Strive and Thrive.

This whole-school approach is designed to give students practical, age-appropriate tools to support emotional regulation, build healthy relationships, manage stress, navigate social media and embrace learning with confidence.

Naomi Wright, Director of the Murray Verso Centre for Early Childhood Learning, says emotional wellbeing is the foundation for growth across every area of a child’s life.

“By helping young children name their feelings and understand how their actions affect others, we’re laying the groundwork for the deeper skills they’ll continue to develop as they move into primary school and beyond,” Naomi said.

The Personal BEST curriculum was officially launched in June at a sold-out event, headlined by special guest Craig ‘McFly’ McRae, Head Coach of the Collingwood Football Club. Craig shared powerful messages on mindset, connection and the value of lifting others up – inspiring students to aim for their personal best, not only in sport, but in every aspect of life.

From a hug-loving octopus to high-performance psychology, Personal BEST is helping Trinity students grow with heart, courage and a strong sense of self – one step at a time.