Form 5CM have really enjoyed exploring mental health awareness this week. On Tuesday, we decided to take the idea of embracing nature for the benefit of our mental health literally and we ventured onto the top lawn (between rainstorms!) to take part in various activities. These included walking around barefoot to feel more connected to the Earth, lying down to meditate and listen to the soundscape of birdsong and rustling leaves and even hugging trees!
We all agreed that just taking some time out of our normal routine and getting outside worked wonders for our equilibrium. We also wrote some poems based upon our own feelings surrounding mental health; we recognised the importance of sharing our feelings and worries and learnt that writing things down can be very therapeutic.
Mrs Marlow
Form III Feelings
For Mental Health Week, we have been discussing the difference between small and big feelings. We discussed how sometimes our feelings can get too big for us to manage on
our own and the impact this can have on our mental health. We spoke about how people may act who are struggling with big feelings and
what we can do to help. We also discussed who you could turn to for support, if you were the one struggling.
Form III all contributed thoughtfully to this discussion and they understand the importance of looking after our mental health as well as our physical health. They wrote all about big feelings on a tulip, which is the symbol of mental health week 2021.
Mrs Moore
I have been super impressed with the maturity and understanding Form VRF have shown during Mental Health week. We have had some fabulous discussions including, what is mental health? what are emotions? and what can we do to support our own mental health?
The children felt that it was important to remember that it is ok not to be ok and we can’t be happy all of the time. Some of the ideas they came up with for supporting their own mental health were: going out for a walk; read a favourite book; play a computer game; hug a tree; play a sport; cuddle their pet; or most importantly talk to an adult, friend or family member.
We went on to write poems relating to any aspect of mental health. Some children chose to write an acrostic, some chose rhyme and some chose to relate emotions to the five senses. Excellent work Form VRF.
Mrs Fountain
