We are well and truly racing into 2019!
Every New Year brings new hopes and aspirations, new students and their families, and our community of children and their families have brought a renewed energy and enthusiasm to 2019, that is wonderfully contagious. Thank God for our students, for our School would be terribly boring without them!
Holiday periods are essential for good health and wellbeing. By the end of a busy demanding term, we are all in need of rest and time to refresh. Parents need time to reconnect with family and friends and have the luxury of having some choice in how you will spend your time.
The problem comes when you have enjoyed a great break and it is time to gear up again for the new year. The body is willing, but the mind can still be in holiday mode.
Unfortunately, when we have been in this state of being some might say some ‘brain fog’ might have set in. Students especially can forget much of what was taught the previous year. The forgetfulness, slow thinking, those ‘it’s on the tip of my tongue’ moments, and difficulty concentrating can all be difficult at the start of the school year. Most significantly too, our students have forgotten routines that were established from the previous year.
However, the positive news is that action can be taken to rid the mind of the vague feeling and bring greater clarity back into your life again. This is good news for me and I am sure for some of our staff and students who may be feeling the residual effects of a lengthy holiday.
Sleep plays a critical role in maintaining a sharp, nibble brain. This is particularly important for children. A tired brain is one where learning will be limited. Children need adequate sleep periods for their age and regular sleep patterns. For children between the ages of 8 to 12, medical experts suggest 10 hours a day of sleep is an average requirement. More hours are recommended for those who are younger. Now that the school term is back in session, it is important that families get the children back into routines that ensure they get enough regular sleep.
Exercise keeps you sharp-minded. It increases blood and oxygen flow to the brain, improves sleep, and lowers the risk of health issues that can cloud thinking. A regular exercise routine as part of the weekly program will improve health and assist in wiping out the foggy brain.
Keeping bodies well hydrated throughout the day is another important factor that will help brain clarity.
As a father and educator, I feel that certain screen activities can have an impact on children’s attention at school. It certainly affects meaningful conversation in the home. At the start of a new year, it is my recommendation to families to establish clear, consistent boundaries in the home around screen time and ensure that these agreements are enforced. Children respond well to routine and where possible a regular, predictable routine will limit the conflict that can occur within a home as the patterns becomes established.
The Colour Run is on again this year in the Primary School. This is on the Friday 29th March from 1.30pm. We are very excited, as this is a wonderful community event where students, parents and staff can all get involved in the afternoon and have fun together. I have included a concept plan of a climbing structure based on a 5m x 25m envelope. Depending on how much we can fundraise will depend on how much of the structure we can have created for us. It should be noted that we could keep adding to this over the years.
Click here to view the climbing structure plan.
We have been receiving lots of positive feedback at the front office…
Over the course of the last few weeks, a considerable number of parents have commented on how they did not know how much our staff did in their roles. Many parents are enjoying coming in to help, but find the one hour is quite enough! It is lovely to have recognised that our staff are very special people who do all that they do every day for all the precious charges in their care.
Another parent has this morning expressed how interesting it has been to help in classrooms, where students have flexible options as to where to do their work. He acknowledged that he was sceptical, but has been fascinated to watch how the children are all on task and working to a high standard and wouldn’t have believed it if he had not seen it.
I encourage families to employ some of the strategies to maintain good mental fitness and less ‘brain fog’ so that we can all get the best out of every day.
Welcome to the excitement of 2019!
Roderick Wood
Associate Principal Primary School