First and foremost, let me say – How are you?
How is your family and those you care about? We hope that you are travelling well in what are trying times. We hope your children our managing this time in the best way possible and seeking to continue to learn and grow during this time.
We find ourselves again in somewhat familiar territory, don’t we! It was only a year ago that our community was bunkered down in lockdown, restrictions here and there and everywhere and the ‘stay at home’ mantra was the message of the day. This time though, it has perhaps hit even harder in our community of the Southwest.
I am both challenged and encouraged by the words of our Principal and our Chaplain in recent days, who have shared with staff, messages of hope, faith and trust in our Lord Jesus and that we do very well to remember in these times the anchors we have in our lives. It was only Wednesday that Denis Oliver (College Chaplain) encouraged the staff about the importance of maintaining Connection. That we are indeed created for connection (Genesis 2:18 ) and it is not good for us to be alone! Furthermore, he challenged us to make sure that we proactively connect with others, and of course that we are in connection and relationship with God through Jesus Christ, our Saviour. What the scripture has taught us for generations is affirmed in the modern study of human behaviour and the science of wellbeing – we need to be in relationships and connect with others…a building block of positive and healthy wellbeing!
Building from this, I would like to suggest to you 5 key principles that we can encourage and foster positive and healthy wellbeing for you and your children at this time. These 5 principles really encourage us to build some daily habits, to intentionally be proactive in these areas. They are:
Connect – Connect with people every day. In your home, on the phone, through group chats and zoom. Ring or message someone else to check in on them, to just say hello. Make it a daily habit to connect with at least one other person, apart from those in your home and have a conversation.
Be Active – At least once a day, head out for some physical activity. Try to do this for at least 30-40 minutes. Walk the dog, go for a walk or jog, jump on the bike, do some dancing – it doesn’t really matter which one you go for, but we need to get moving! The benefits of physical activity are well known, but importantly it can help improve our mood and enhance our mental health.
Take Notice & Be Grateful – Make it a daily habit to stop and be mindful about who and what you have in your life. Be intentional about reflecting on the positive elements around you and focus in on them. There are many simple ways to do this, one way that we know works very well is to write these down in a simple ‘What Went Well’ journal and read back over them regularly.
Keep Learning – We need to embrace the challenges around us and keep learning and growing. We should try and focus our thoughts on what we can do at the moment, and not all that we can’t’ do. Learning and growing doesn’t stop during this period, it’s just different. Indeed, we discover new ways to learn and new things to learn!
Give to & Serve Others – Focusing our efforts and energy on giving to and serving others is a very important foundation of healthy and positive wellbeing. Fixing our hearts and minds on the needs of others and serving them can be a daily habit that we all build more proactively. This is especially important for our children to learn and appreciate. Yes, their needs are important – but we want to constantly challenge them to also look to the needs of others!
Please reflect on these ideas and consider how you might introduce them into the daily habits of your home, indeed the daily habits of your teenager. I have included an infographic that summarises these, please use this as a helpful reminder.
As always, if you are concerned about the wellbeing of your child, we’d very much appreciate hearing from you. Please reach and make contact via your child’s Year Advisor, or if more urgent there is contact information on the Blended Learning page on the College website for connecting with the College Counselling Team.
Mr Stuart McCormack
Director of Student Wellbeing - Senior School
