Mental Health Week
Mental Health Week took place from 8th – 12th October at the academy, involving an exciting programme of activities and events.
The week started with a yoga meditation session in the library during Monday lunchtime with both Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 5 students managing to find ‘Zen’ in the middle of a busy day – a vital skill to build on at university and later on in employment. Tuesday saw the releasing of some positive energy in the dance studio with a dance exercise session – a fun way to switch off, release some stress and get fit at the same time! The tempo slowed right down again on Wednesday with a lovely mixed gender group of students of all ages finding the means to explore their emotions through poetry. The group discussed how poor self-image or negative thoughts were harmful when allowed to fester in the mind – much better to get them out on paper! Equally, playing with positive words and images encourage us to think more positively about ourselves and our lives. Thursday’s art session had everyone moving closer to a sense of mindfulness by focussing on the present and busily colouring in to a backdrop of soothing music. This is a great therapeutic strategy for students which they can easily take with them to university and the stressful working environment beyond. The music of the final day was a lot more rousing, with a large group of Year 7s belting out ‘Isn’t she lovely’, led by our choir. Smiley stickers were given out enthusiastically by staff throughout the day as rewards for politeness and a smile – and the smiles got broader and more frequent as the day wore on!
Throughout the week, students were encouraged to consciously identify what lifts them up by pinning leaves or flowers on our Tree of Life. Equally they were asked to think about what pulls them down so they could write it on a piece of paper and throw it into a bin – a first step in the process of dealing with negative emotions. There were a large selection of pamphlets and activities to encourage an awareness of a variety of mental illnesses, but also ways to improve mental health by developing a growth mindset and higher emotional intelligence.
Through the above activities, two tutor times and year group assemblies, the message the academy was determined to project is that we ALL have mental health, but we are not ALL mentally healthy. We ALL need to realize that there are lots of things we can do to keep ourselves mentally healthy and we ALL need to work together to reduce the stigma attached to mental illness. It was a great beginning and there will be more work in this area to follow.
