NewsletterHealthy Minds Newsletter

Welcome to the first issue of our new pupil wellbeing newsletter, a 'one stop' shop, designed specifically to support your mental health, both inside and outside school.

The newsletter will come out once a half term straight to our website and you will be informed during crew time when it is available.

Mental health includes our emotional, psychological and social wellbeing.  It affects how we think, feel and act.  It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others and make choices.  Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through to adulthood.

Good mental health is when we can say ...

'I care about myself and I look after myself'.

'I am valuable and I don't have to earn the right to exist.  I exist so I have the right'.

'I do not set impossible goals or standards such as 'I have to be perfect in everything I do' then punish yourself.

Every member of staff in the school is here to help and support you.  For each year group we have a super supportive pastoral team.  However, if you are not in school, remember you can always raise an issue (anonymously if you want) via our website.

 

Year 7 - All Crew Leaders, Mrs Evans, Ms Bailey and Mr Stevenson

Year 8 - All Crew Leaders, Mr McGrath, Mrs Rollin and Mr Johnson

Year 9 - All Crew Leaders, Mr Huggard and Ms Brown

Year 10 - All Crew Leaders, Miss Stanley and Mrs Gough

Year 11 - All Crew Leaders, Mrs Rollin,  Mrs Rae and Ms Harrison

NA6 - All Crew Leaders, Mrs Hamilton-Smith and Mrs Brown

Extra Support - Mrs Willis, Mrs Goodman and Mr Elland

Mr Fisher, Mr Athey, Ms Daw

 

 

Making time for yourself is massively important – we feel so many pressures as young people, whether that be in school, homework, home life, pressure from friends, social media and so on. We will explore 11 different ways in which you can help to improve your own mental health in upcoming issues, but to start, have a think about how the following can help you and your own mental health:

• Making time for yourself
• Meditation
• Yoga
• Exercise
• Sleeping
• Creative expressions
• Playing with pets
• Meeting with friends and family
• Appreciating your surroundings and nature
• Turning off gadgets and devices
• Doing something for someone else

You may also have your own ideas – let the wellbeing team know what your thoughts are and we’ll add them into future editions of the Newsletter.

A nice, cheap, easy one to start us off in this section, and you can do this any time!!

Newark Treasure Trail

There's great fun to be had for the whole family on the Newark self-guided treasure hunt themed Treasure Trail.

Can you seek out all the clues along this fascinating adventure? The route takes in the town, castle and riverside - each part contains clues set on existing fascinating features for you to discover as you obtain the answers you seek.

The Trail can be done at any time - clues are set on permanent features. We write our clues with all ages in mind from 11+, meaning that the grown-ups can get just as involved as the kids!

Best of all, you won't realise you've walked 2 miles as you'll be on the lookout for the next clue every step of the way. Follow the clear directions in your own time and at your own pace - allow at least 2 hours but longer if you're planning a lunch stop along the way or just like to take your time exploring.

When you get to the end, head to the website to check your answer and then choose where you'd like to explore next.

Trails are self-guided and can be instantly downloaded from our website. Follow the Trail, solve the clues and see the sights on any day of your choosing. There is no need to phone us for opening details. All Trails are designed to be completed in daylight.

https://www.treasuretrails.co.uk/products/things-to-do-newark-notts

 

So many of you love to cook and bake and whilst it's delicious to taste the dishes we make it's also great for our mental health.  Cooking can help us to boost our serotonin which can help reduce anxiety and depression.

How about trying the following recipes:

Easy blondies (the white chocolate version of brownies) - https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/easy-blondies

Chorizo (meat) and manchego (cheese) scones - https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/chorizo-manchego-scones

Pesto salmon pasta bake - https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/pesto-salmon-pasta-bake

Laughter is great for the soul and the mind! When we laugh you take in more oxygen-rich air, stimulates your heart, lungs, muscles and increases the endorphins that are released by your brain. This helps us to deal with stress, so let’s give this a go…

What’s the best thing about Switzerland?

I don’t know, but the flag is a big plus

 

What do you call a magic dog?

A Labracadabrador

Where do you find a cow with no legs?

Right where you left it

 

What do you call a bagel that can fly?

A plain bagel

 

Why do bees have sticky hair?

Because they use honeycombs

Why don’t eggs tell jokes?

They’d crack each other up

We all spend a lot of time on our phones and gadgets, it’s a way to help us connect to the world and our friends but it can also drain us of our energy and time. Here are some things to do that don’t require a phone and that you can do with friends or family to have a good time.

Meditation fundamentally is breathing, and who doesn’t love to breathe! It can help relax you, connect to inner feelings and help you feel more at ease with uncertain situations.

Try giving this 1-minute guided meditation a go - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1Ndym-IsQg

No, no , no – this game is all about quick thinking and questions

1. You need 2 or more players
2. 1 person needs to ask the other player 10-15 quick questions such as ‘are you wearing blue’, ‘is Donald Trump the President of America’, ‘Is school closed’
3. The aim is to get the person to say the answer no
4. Once they say no you have won that round
5. The person answering the questions need to come up with clever ways to not say no! The quicker you ask them questions the easier is it to get them out!

 

 

 

We all spend a lot of time on our phones and gadgets, particularly on social media – so here is an app that will help us track that better and help us to reduce our time on it!

Social Fever - It is a marvelous Android app that helps users to track and limit their Social media and smartphone usage in a few taps. The application is designed with advanced algorithms to help you manage your time wisely and connect with real life in the best way possible. It’s a fantastic phone tracker, packed with actionable features to combat digital addiction. Get a detailed summary of the phone and application usage.

Can inform you about the phone lock and unlock numbers.

You can set interest to balance your digital & real-life.

Set goals to track app usage and become a Smartphone user.

Get detailed information about your app usage.

Keep a check on your Ear & Eye health by receiving frequent reminders to have a break while listening to music and watching the screen.

Well-designed screen tracker that ensures you use your phone for a limited duration and instead spend your valuable time embracing hobbies.

Water reminders to stay hydrated.

Pros

Doesn’t occupy many phone resources / Works in the background /Doesn’t let you miss out on your real-life goals / Get accurate info on the number of unlocking times / Alerts every time your set app usage duration exceeds.

Some unusual facts to blow your mind and to tell other people and impress them!

1. Fruit flies were the fist living creatures to be sent into space
2. A bee’s wing beat 190 times a second
3. A ladybird might eat more than 5,000 insects in its lifetime!
4. A single honey bee colony can make around 220 jars of honey a year
5. Large groups of fireflies sometimes flash in unison
6. Mosquitos are attracted to smelly feet
7. Grasshoppers existed before dinosaurs

This is always known to be a bit of a stressful time for our students, particularly if you are in Year 11 or 13, however it doesn’t matter what year you are in, the words ‘test’, ‘assessment’ and ‘exam’ are used a lot around school and at home too.

Hopefully these handy tips will help you to try to relax and prepare as best as you can ahead of any exam or assessment that you may take:

Start your revision as early as you can – the earlier you get started, the easier things will be over time.

Have a routine – making notes, flashcards, post it notes, re-writing notes, highlighting key words.

Organise your study time - plan when and what you are going to revise rather than scattering your thoughts everywhere at the same time!

Look after yourself during exams – make sure you eat well (including a good breakfast), get plenty of sleep, and make time to do some good exercise to help keep your mind healthy.

Vary your revision techniques – you may have a favourite, but sometimes chaining things up can help to sharpen your brain and refocus.

Change where you study – studies have shown that if you revise in different places (bedroom, garden, park, library for example) then you will retain more information.

Take regular breaks, and don’t spend too long revising – break down your work into small, manageable chunks – take a 10-15 minute break in every hour you revise.

Turn off your mobiles, ipads, computers – everything! This will help you to focus on the work you need to do – try to find a quiet room and make sure that you are focused on just your revision.

Know your exam – have a look over previous work and past papers so you know what it is you need to do.

Make sure you know your details about your exams – where it is, what subject it is (and what paper it is), when it is (morning / afternoon, exact dates).

My own personal favourite – just treat it as a different type of lesson! You are just showing off what it is you know and how you can do it to someone else.

And following the exam – take time to get your head together, have a drink, take five minutes of quiet time, breathe, celebrate your success, and take some good momentum and good energy in to your next exam.

Best of luck from the well-being team!!