Statistics show that Week 6 and 7 each term are the weeks where many students and staff are sick and run down. The teachers dedicate a week during this period each term to promote the importance of looking after our minds as well as our bodies. As adults, it is important for us to model to children ways of nurturing our mental health. Some of the activities we promote during this time include:
- Getting in touch with nature. “Being immersed in nature carries both fascination, in that it draws your attention involuntarily, and vastness, in that it provides sufficient scope and richness to fully occupy your attention. These two qualities of experiencing nature may well produce positivity and openness. They’re also what seem to make your time in nature so healing and restorative” (‘Positivity’ Barbara Fredrickson).
- Staff members will be getting out of the staffroom and enjoying the green grass and fresh air during their break times
- There are no staff meetings of any kind during wellbeing week – more time to focus on exercise and wellbeing
- Each class this week will be taking some time to get out of their classrooms and appreciate nature around them
- There is no homework during wellbeing week.
Students are encouraged to take some time this week to get outside with their family. Take a walk to the park, sit in nature, breathe in some fresh air and take in the sights and sounds around them. It's a time where we can clear our minds from the busyness of life and enjoy the act of simply being present in the moment.
“Be happy in the moment. That’s enough.” Mother Teresa
Walk to School + see, hear, feel activity – join students and staff to walk to school and complete see, hear, feel activities.
Dancing - Get your boogie on at morning assembly! Join the students and staff each morning for the macarena, the nutbush and jump.
Mufti Day – Students are encouraged to dress as a character from a book, movie or real life. The students need to be able to identify one character strength this person or fictional character displays, for example Woody from Toy Story displays the strength of leadership and teamwork. Some students will talk about their character on morning assembly.
Parent Information Meetings – Come along to hear about the Grow Your Mind Program and other initiatives St Joseph's have been implementing to assist your child with emotional management.
Food for the Soul – The staff of St Joseph's invite parents and carers to join them in a shared meal to help build relationships, improve our wellbeing and flourish!
10 000 steps - The staff at St Joseph's embrace the promotion of self-care and wellbeing during the month of September each year. This includes aiming to walk 10,000 steps each day and to complete one activity each day that directly impacts on increasing wellbeing. We encourage students and families to set some wellbeing goals too. In time, hopefully our wellbeing goals will become habits!
There are many reasons we choose these activities for Wellbeing Week.
Did you know?
- Apart from all the physical benefits, exercise "can also improve the way the brain works because exercise spurs the release of soothing neurotransmitters” and increases certain chemicals in the brain. This helps "make new brain cells and establish new connections to help you learn and improve your memory and attention. Regular exercise has also been found to be one of the best ways to ensure you get a good night's sleep, improve your mood and reduce your risk of mental illness” (McQuaid & Kern, 2017).
- Staying playful “allows you to see things in a different way and explore new behaviours, thoughts, strategies, and ways of being that stimulate your brain for learning, growth and creativity”. It can energise you, lift you out of the mundane, ease your burdens” and “renew your optimism” (McQuaid & Kern, 2017).
- “Flourishing is not a solo endeavour. The tie between flourishing and enjoying social relations is so strong and reliable that scientists have called it a necessary condition for flourishing. Simply being with others – whether you know them or not – is an extraordinarily reliable way to increase your positivity” (Barbara Fredrickson, 2017).