This year, we are again running the mental health initiative ‘Mind Your 5’ for our Lower School pupils.
Ms Windsor (Head of Lower School) spoke to all pupils in Years 6, 7 and 8 about the project. She outlined the importance of looking after our mental health and how, by trying five wellbeing activities each day, we can maximise this.
The ‘Mind Your 5’ categories that contribute to a healthy mind and therefore a happy mind are:
- Healthy practice
- Activity
- Positive thinking
- Positive emotions
- Your interactions
In other words, happy!
They discussed examples of each category, such as:
- Healthy practice – eating three balanced meals a day, ensuring you incorporate fruit and vegetables into your diet, sleeping for at least 8 hours each night and cutting down on sugary drinks and non-healthy snacks.
- Activity – taking part in fun activities such as team sports, clubs and societies, yoga or mindfulness, going for a walk, singing, running, baking or drawing.
- Positive thinking – turning negative thoughts into more positive thoughts, considering things you are pleased with or finding alternative solutions to a problem.
- Positive emotions – paying someone a compliment or being a good friend, creating a playlist of songs which make you feel happy, spending time with friends or family, sharing worries or concerns with others.
- Your interactions – catching up with an old friend, joining in a family activity, talk to someone you don’t normally talk to, have face-to-face catch ups with people as opposed to always talking online.
Pupils received their own ‘Mind Your 5’ booklet and make notes of the five things they tried to do each day to maximise their mental well-being and try something new. In doing this, our aim is for all pupils to create their own personalised mental health toolkit which they can make use of throughout the academic year and beyond.
