Scoil an Athar Tadhg
Carraig na bhFear
Well-being
Health Promotion Team
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At Scoil an Athar Tadhg we have a very active Health Promotion committee of dedicated staff and parents who strive to make our school a friendly and inviting place. This committee meets regularly to discuss initiatives happening at each class and whole school level. At our most recent meeting we discussed and agreed to implement the following initiatives:
-‘Well-Being Wednesday’
-The Weaving well-being programme from 2nd-6th class
-Trialing a ‘buddy system’ between 2nd and 6th class
Daily Mile
At Scoil an Athar Tadhg we are currently running a programme called ‘The Daily Mile’ with a number of classes. This is implemented by our resident athlete, Claire O’Brien. This will be extended to all senior classes as the year progresses. It gives the pupils an opportunity to exercise in a non competitive, non threatening environment as a means to build up a base fitness. This is part of the Active Schools Programme.
Super Troopers
Last year your child had a booklet classed ‘Supertroopers’ which encouraged daily exercise by giving them a 5 minute exercise task a day for the week with an explanation of how to do it at the back door. This year we intend to give every child in the school this booklet again but we are going to monitor and assesss its implementation in a formal manner. So as we consider physical exercise a vital part of education, we will include it in the homework and ask that you sign maybe once a week that it is being done. We will in turn show the children how to do the simple exercises either once a week or on a daily basis depending on what suits the class and their teacher but we would encourage you to help us in this regard. In the second term we will review its success. Click here to visit Super Troopers website.
Yoga
Yoga began as a spiritual practice, but it has become popular as a way of promoting physical and mental well-being. Although classical yoga also includes other elements, yoga as practiced in our school typically emphasizes physical postures (asanas), breathing techniques (pranayama), and meditation (dyana). This will being extended to all classes this year.
Weekly Assembly
Each Friday morning we hold two assembly’s, one for Junior Infant -2nd classes and another for 3rd-6th classes. The focus of the assembly is to give teachers the opportunity to acknowledge pupils who deserve special praise for the previous week. Teachers may acknowledge any positive behavior they deem worthy.Special achievements and Birthdays are also celebrated!
Weaving Well Being
Weaving Well-Being is the first Irish designed positive mental health programme of its kind which aims to enhance well-being in children aged from 8-12 years. This affordable Positive Education programme consists of 10 lessons for each class level and is grounded in evidence-based interventions from the rapidly expanding field of Positive Psychology. Positive Psychology is the science of well-being. It is underpinned by the concept that a state of well-being is not simply the absence of the negative, but the presence of the positive.
In first class, Zippy Friends is implemented. This is aimed at five to seven year olds of all abilities, teaches young children how to develop skills to cope with problems that may occur in adolescence and adulthood. It teaches them how to cope with everyday difficulties, to identify and talk about their feelings and to explore ways of dealing with them.
Gratitude Notebook
Specific classes keep gratitude journals to promote positive thinking.
1. Be as specific as possible—specificity is key to fostering gratitude. “I’m grateful that my co-workers brought me soup when I was sick on Tuesday” will be more effective than “I’m grateful for my co-workers.”
2. Go for depth over breadth. Elaborating in detail about a particular person or thing for which you’re grateful carries more benefits than a superficial list of many things.
3. Get personal. Focusing on people to whom you are grateful has more of an impact than focusing on things for which you are grateful.
4. Write regularly. Whether you write every other day or once a week, commit to a regular time to journal, then honor that commitment. But…