Our pupils have enjoyed a special Q-Mind week of thought-provoking activities woven into the curriculum which enabled them to see things from many different perspectives.
It is an important and sometimes difficult skill for children to be able to reflect on their life and the lives of others. Some of the techniques they learnt this week showed a few ways this could be made easier as we focused our attention on ways to improve our health, happiness and well-being.
The Pop Project, a healthy mind, body and spirit workshop visited school on Monday. The group uses music, games, quizzes and an interactive show to develop children's well-being and resilience. The workshop touched on bullying, self confidence with the underlying theme that mutual respect should be the cornerstone of all human interaction.
Year 3 had fun with bubbles on Wednesday. They imagined that each one of them had a bubble round them and thought about the importance of respecting other’s bubbles and not invading their space. The girls also wrote poems in which they tried to capture the magic of bubbles.
The girls in Year 1 have been making friendship pots and writing thoughtful messages for friends to make them smile and mindfulness and maths combined in Year 6 on Valentine's Day, as they used straight lines to create beautiful cardioids.
On Thursday, we met Than Ki, a Buddhist monk from the Wat Phra Temple in Runcorn. We learnt how to greet and show respect to a monk and how to meditate. The girls also had the opportunity to ask questions and we presented Than Ki with fruit, vegetables and flowers.
Year 6 (girls and teachers) have also begun creating Mindfulness Journals. The handmade books started life as very old infant exercise books but have been transformed by the addition of handmade papers, tapes and ribbons into personal journals of self expression and self reflection. The girls have recorded their likes and dislikes, aspirations and ambitions in a wide range of ways; some have written letters to their future selves to be opened on particular dates.
Girls across the whole school also enjoyed learning yoga. Key stage Two learned the principles of Hatha Yoga and our Infants learned a specially invented form of Cosmic Yoga from Mrs Stafford!
What a fantastic frame of mind with which to start our half term holiday!
