New initiative – We started by putting together a Wellbeing Committee, then each month we had a meeting where all children of the committee had imput on what goes into each pack. a Wellbeing pack for the whole school. These were themed packs consisting of differentiated activities for both seniors and juniors. Within each pack we had mindfulness colouring , an art activity , some exercises about the theme – either matching activity or a challenge for the class to complete, some mindfulness quotes and some guided meditation links or samples to use. At the end of the month the Wellbeing Committee would collect some of the pieces of art and use them for our display wall which is located in a very active part of our school. This Wellbeing Pack is used throughout the school in all classes and reaches every student no matter what their ability is. Promoting positive mental health , teamwork , education about having a healthy body and a healthy mind .
Friendship Week : This year in conjunction with the Special Olympics we ran a friendship week in February , this was a week full of new ideas to promote inclusion and teamwork , also to build on friendships throughout the school and the opportunity to create a new friendship. During the week we held a bake sale to raise funds for the Special Olympics and raised over 800 euro. The whole Wellbeing Committee was very active throughout this week.
New Initiative – On the Friday before the St Patrick’s weekend we held a parade which would be our schools first parade. Both the seniors and the juniors took part and the Wellbeing Committee organised the walk and were there on hand to offer support to all classes who needed aid. It was a great success as some of our children have never been to a parade or been part of a parade. The feedback was amazing and the students showed great interest in both taking part and supporting others.
Through out our school, we have always promoted Wellbeing, relaxation and meditation. For the past few years we have installed more sensory items, we have a sensory room where children can go when needed, most classrooms have a quiet corner / room for their own individual students to use every day or when needed. We have always used mindful/ relaxing music throughout our day in each class to promote time to reset and reflect. This is ongoing in our school and we find this very beneficial for all our students.
Mental Health Awareness week -Each class was given a pack for the week this pack included samples of what we can do each day. Each day the students were asked to do 2 acts of kindness and a friendship game.
On Monday we had 2 acts of kindness and the compliment game,
On Tuesday we had 2 acts of kindness and “ thats me “ game,
On Wednesday we had 2 acts of kindness and to design a friendship newspaper article,
On Thursday we had again the 2 acts of kindness and a friendship flower garden for the display
On Friday we held our bake sale.
We found that the 2 acts of kindness every day was just enough for our students ability , this promoted inclusion and support , kindness and respect for each other . We have planned to carry this out every year as there was great feedback from all students junior and senior.
Fundraiser for Pieta House – We held a Darkness into light walk around our school , the students were asked to wear yellow or any other bright colours, we started as a group in our school gym hall which was darkened and we walked into the light around our astro turf, waving flags and holding some brightly coloured sensory lights , the children will also decorate the display with posters showing the Darkness into Light theme.
