From Tuesday 4th to Friday 7th of February the fifth year students will be organising Mental Health Awareness Week to promote good mental health, spread positivity and to raise awareness of the help and supports that are available for anyone battling depression. The week will hopefully be enjoyed by the staff and students of Beaufort.
The week is based around the five main keys to maintain good mental health which are as follows:
(1)Learn to relax (2) Challenge yourself (3) Practise gratitude (4)Be active & eat healthy(5)Connecting with others
The week will spread over a four day period, with each day promoting one of the key aspects of maintaining a good mental health. Most of the events will be held during lunchtime. Throughout the week various members of the steering committee will do peer-teaching for every class in the school. This peer teaching will consist of a PowerPoint presentation on how to maintain good mental health, videos from ReachOut.com on mental health and an activity where students will write 15 things they are most thankful for on a piece of paper shaped like a hand, and these hands will be collected and made into a display at reception.
Summary of week
Tuesday 4th of March: Learn to relax
Music will be played over the intercom before class every morning to get everyone feeling positive and enthusiastic for the day ahead!!
The seniors 4th to 6th years are welcome to the hall.
Juniors 1st to 3rd welcomed to the auditorium to relax, laugh and watch twenty minutes of a television comedy. There will be a wonderful surprise for all at the end of the day!!
Wednesday 5th of March: Connect
There will be a whole school quiz at lunchtime. Each team is made up 6 people – one member from every year group.
Each class will be asked for two volunteers to participate in the quiz. There will be a small prize to the members of the winning team. Healthy eating will be promoted especially on this day, perfect to mark the Beginning of lent.
Thursday 6th of March: Challenge yourself &practise gratitude
As part of Mental Health Awareness Week, we would like to invite all classes to devote form time to the 30 Things. The concept is simple. Each girl takes out a page and lists 30 things that make her happy and for which she is grateful to have in her life. Listing 30 items may seem like a slightly daunting task but we encourage everyone to give it their best effort. The idea is to really focus on the good things; to break the cycle of negative thinking. Rinse and repeat whenever you need it.
There will be a workshop at lunchtime in the supervision room for all students who are interested. Students will be taught how to make something simple out of paper (e.g. making origami stars out of a slip of paper).
Friday 7th of March: Be active
There will be an exercise/ dancing session in the sports hall at lunchtime mainly for the juniors (but seniors can join if they wish) at 1:10pm. This day is all about enjoying being active and understanding the importance of exercise
Beaufie bear and the sub-committee in charge of organising this day will lead the session along with a PE teacher and Ms Donohue.
The seniors will have a similar session during their PE slot on Wednesday for 6th years and Thursday for 5th years.
Students are encouraged to wear Orange Accessories on the Friday. Why orange? Well as part of Mental Health Awareness Week the fifth years are working towards being awarded the Amber Flag which represents good Mental Health Awareness.
We strongly encourage all students to get involved in all the organised activities in order to enjoy the week!
