Recently the pupils and staff of the College have adopted 5 principles that best sum up the ethos and values for which Columbans should strive: Kindness, Compassion, Inclusion, Responsibility, Determination (see the Warden’s explanation here). This was a fantastic opportunity for Transition Year to explore Value as a theme, especially in these times of isolation and distant learning. It allowed the pupils to reflect and regain awareness of their own self values. The pupils were led step by step to create a series of visual art exploring the thematic of Value through the process of visual research, contextualized studies, and experimenting with a range of drawings and multimedia techniques to create tone using shading techniques; hatching and cross-hatching.

Many thanks to Ms Byrne for co-ordinating this project.

Made with Padlet

The Chaplain is still recording short daily services in Chapel every morning, despite lockdown, giving short but much needed blessings for the extended school community. During Mental Health Awareness Week, Rev Owen will provided moments to consider from the Lord’s teachings which some may find helps build resilience, reduce stress improve mental wellbeing.

The College’s Mental Health Awareness Week kicks off tomorrow, Monday February 8th, and despite our community being dispersed across the globe we hope everyone can come together and promote the message of positive mental health. Obviously, Mental Health Awareness Week will be a lot different this year with most of the activities taking place online, although there are a few activities for those currently on campus. There are daily morning walks, daily opportunities to CONNECT, baking challenges, TikTok challenges, online Zumba & mindfulness sessions, webinars, a “bring your pet to class” day and much more.

The full programme of events can be found on our dedicated FireFly page here (you will need to log into your FireFly account to access), which also includes loads of recommended videos, movies, music playlists, podcasts, weblink and more (including the first ‘Mind Your Mind’ videos collated from your submissions to your SPHE teachers.

The week’s events are based around a number of key principles of good mental health: connect with friends, engage with hobbies, eat well, be mindful, journalling for good mental health, exercise and sleep well. There are also a number of daily themes. We hope all members of the College community can get involved, including parents and siblings, and we want you to share your photos and videos through the FireFly page also.

We look forward to connecting with you throughout the week! Safe safe and mind your minds!