Wellbeing
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This half-term Mental Health Awareness Week was celebrated from Monday 13th May until Sunday 19th May. The main aims of this week are to increase understanding of Mental Health and also how mental health problems can be prevented.
This year the theme was 'Moving more for our Mental Health' and to be able to create moments for movement. Movement is one of the most important things we can do for our mental health. Looking after ourselves physically helps us prevent problems with our mental health. However, many of us struggle to get enough exercise for different reasons, so the idea was to help people find moments for movement in their daily routines.
During this week, pupils gained knowledge about a sedentary lifestyle and how this impacts our health, the importance of movement and sleep and how to get more movement into our day-to-day lives.
To also celebrate this week, pupils and staff participated in a Step Challenge. This challenge involved documenting their daily step count and also movement throughout the week. There was a winner in every year group of the pupils who could complete the most steps throughout the week. The prize was a Nike water bottle and an Amazon Gift Card.
Well done to the following pupils who topped the leaderboard for their year group.
Year 7- O.P (106,656)
Year 8- E. H (196,280)- An average of 28,040 steps a day for a week.
Year 9- J. L-K (119,216)
Year 10- S. K (34,240)
Well done also to Mr Wheeler, who won the staff step challenge competition with 112,000 steps for the week.
To continue having moments for movement over the summer holidays, Havering Active has many activities for pupils to get involved with during the summer break. Please see the link below for more information.
https://haveringactive.co.uk/index.php/holidayactivities
Preparing for the Summer holidays
For lots of us, the summer holidays provide relaxing days, a chance to catch up with friends and fun activities. But some pupils may be nervous about school breaking up for summer and the lack of routine this provides.
Have a look below at the following ideas to help with planning for the school holidays.
- Explore the local community. Explore the local leisure centres, youth clubs and recreation grounds. Are there any activities going on? What about ‘free swim’ days or other fun days put on by the local council?
- Find a research library which libraries are open and when. Is there free access to computers? Are there any clubs running over the summer?
- Volunteer Find out about local youth groups where you can volunteer – this is a good way of making new friends www.iwill.org.uk/get-involved/young-people
- Become an author. Write and illustrate a book or zine using just some paper and pens/pencils. Research some themes and inspiration.
- Take on a challenge - Here are some ideas for activities that will take time and practice to accomplish: - Learning to ride a bike - Learning to swim - Learning to roller-skate or skateboard
- Learning a new language (there’s no need to join a class or buy any books, local libraries may have books, CDs or apps)
- Keep in touch-Explore how to keep in touch with friends and classmates over the holiday – arrange meetings once a week at the local park or shopping centre.
- Watch a film. Find out about local cinemas which may show some films for free or reduced prices for children and young adults.
- Learn something new. Visit local museums and/or galleries. Research which ones are nearby and free to visit.
Finally, an online magazine called 'Family First' is supporting the NHS to help improve the physical and mental wellbeing of families living in England.
If you are interested in reading, the latest issue has just been released.