Junior pupils have had a spring in their step and smiles on their faces after a week of activities to promote and celebrate Wellbeing Week.
The week began with assemblies to introduce the Five Pillars of wellbeing, exploring the different ways the children can maintain positive mental health through social connections, physical activity, learning new skills, helping others and awareness for the moment (mindfulness). The children then enjoyed a week that included many events and activities to bring this to life, with highlights including:
Sing a Song a Day: singing is well known to have a positive effect on our moods and, from learning retention to increased self-esteem and confidence, it also has multiple benefits within the school environment. Each class enjoyed plenty of music throughout the day, both singing songs and listening to relaxing or uplifting music, chosen by pupils alongside their form teacher.
Daily Emotions Check–ins: noticing and labelling our feelings as they are happening is an important part of helping to manage the full spectrum of emotions, strengthening the capacity to deal with big emotions when they arise. Activities included emotional ‘check-ins’ at registration time, as well as a screening for children from Years 2-6 of Inside Out with discussions about identifying and recognising feelings.
Sports Day: always a highlight of the year, this year’s event was planned to fall in the middle of the week, and formed a core part of the ‘be active’ pillar of wellbeing, alongside assemblies promoting the physical and mental health benefits of sport and exercise. A fantastic day was had – with Lynx house emerging as the winning house.
Yoga: a gentle and mindful form of exercise was also enjoyed by pupils in Nursery, Reception and Year 1 at a session of Cosmic Yoga earlier in the week.
Head of Junior School Marie-Clare Gilfedder Bonnar said: “Wellbeing Week was a fantastic and positive way to start off the new half-term. Physical and social activity is absolutely key for maintaining wellbeing at all ages, and the activities we did to explore emotional recognition is so important to help develop resilience. I am very proud of our staff for finding such creative ways to bring these messages to life for children at all ages.”
