Every entry in the 2025 competition receives a copy of the new book ‘Calm the Farm’ written by Sarah O’Sullivan. Sarah was inspired to write Calm the Farm when she completed the Pause Breathe Smile training for educators.
2025 entries open in Term 2, from Monday 28th April, closing Friday 27th June.
The Pause Breathe Smile Classroom Hauora competition exists to celebrate the work educators are doing to support tamariki wellbeing. Held over Term 2 annually, the competition asks educators from Primary and Intermediate schools to share what they are doing in their classrooms to nurture healthy young minds.
Entries will be judged on their originality, creativity and references to wellbeing practices. In 2024, our winning classroom received a staff morning tea with Sir Ashley Bloomfield and a Mindfull Furniture sanctuary from Mindfull Spaces for their classroom.
Throughout the year we share these entries via our social media channels to inspire and acknowledge this important work.
Any primary or intermediate school in New Zealand can enter. One entry per class. Each class can submit one entry and show the whole class approach. If there are submissions from individual students, the teacher selects one that best represents their classroom. Schools can submit multiple entries, as long as they are from different educators and classrooms.
The competition runs throughout Term 2. Judging is done over the Term 2 holidays with winners announced in early Term 3.
Teachers submit an example of their classroom’s mind health initiative and support this example with a video, photos, or document, that explains what it is that their class does. We are looking for originality, creativity and references to wellbeing practices. If the school is a Pause Breathe Smile school, examples of how the class brings elements of the programme to life.
