Tag Archive for: Leadership

Following success in the early rounds of the Irish Olympiad of Experimental Science at Dublin City University last month, the College had six pupils qualify for the final selection round at DCU at the end of February. Two of those six have now been selected for the Irish team – Lorne Walsh and Calvin She – and will form part of the six-person Irish team to compete at the final of the European Olympiad of Experiment Science in Riga, Latvia, in April. Congratulations to both pupils on their fantastic achievement and we wish them success in Riga. The boys will spend the next two days at DCU preparing for the EOES.

Grace Koch, Form III, reports on the recent CSPE class visit of Sarah Kearney from DePaul on homelessness.

Sarah Kearney is the Community and Events Manager for DePaul Ireland. Last Friday, she spoke to us about her organisation and the issue of homelessness. Homelessness affects a massive portion of the Irish population, with 11,754 people being registered as seeking emergency accommodation. This figure is expected to exceed 12,000 by the end of the month. 3,400 of these people are children. However, this statistic does not account for people who are not registered, such as people living in hotels or staying with friends. There are many causes of homelessness, such as addiction, the housing crisis, family estrangement, debt, disability, poverty, and eviction. Many homeless people have only a sleeping bag and the clothes on their backs.

DePaul was founded in 1989 in London and came to Dublin in 2002. It is an international organization, with services in many countries such as Ireland, the UK, Croatia, Ukraine, and more. Their goal is to end homelessness and they work toward a world where everyone has a place to call home and a stake in their community. DePaul focuses on five main areas: prevention, families and young people, high-support accommodation, health and rehabilitation, and housing. They have 37 services around Ireland in 20 counties. In 2021, they supported 3,670 people and 822 families. We can help reduce homelessness by spreading awareness, organizing our own events, and interacting with DePaul’s content online. The talk was very informative and engaging, and everyone learned a lot about the issue of homelessness.

Last night we welcomed seventeen Old Columbans and parents to speak with our senior pupils (Forms IV, V & VI) about their careers and career journeys. There was a wide range of career areas represented, from business to law to the arts. The pupils were first introduced to all the speakers in the BSR before participating in a round-robin style series of short intimate talks with the speakers. The pupils could choose five visitors to listen to, rotating around every 15 minutes. At the end of the short talks, the pupils and visitors returned to the BSR for a Q&A sessions where more nuggets of advice were shared.

The Guidance Team, Mr Jones & Mr O’Shaughnessy, would like to thank all the speakers for giving their time to speak with the pupils and sharing their expertise and advice. Thanks also go to the Parents’ Association for their help in organising and running the event.

The speakers last night included:

Philip Conroy – OC – Market Development Representative, Docusign

Adrian Walker – Parent – Director of Grants & Incentives, Deloite

Cormac Murphy – Parent – Management Consultant

Jenny Green – Parent – Hotelier

Sinéad Ovenden – Parent – Partner PWC

Dante Borillo – Parent – IT Infrastructure

Lorcan Maule – OC – Solicitor

Selina Guinness – OC & Parent – Lecturer in Creative Writing, Writer, Farmer

Ben Huskinson – OC & Parent – Environmental Scientist / Engineer

Kirsty Foynes – Parent – Interior Architect

Georgina Walsh – Parent – Business Psychologist

Janette Dwyer – Parent – European Patent Attorney

Yvonne McGuinness – Parent – Artist

Ashley Sherwood – OC – Advanced Nurse Practitioner

Michael Casey – Parent – CEO Retail & Investor

Ed Sherwood Smyeth – OC – Software Development

Gianni Matera – Parent – Investor

During the February midterm break, a group of St. Columba’s College junior and senior rugby players travelled to Naples to play a series of games against Amatori Napoli Rugby Club. The group arrived in Rome on the morning of Friday 17th and then travelled south to Naples by bus, where they were based during their trip, and were straight into action the following day. With a playing squad of 43, they played their first two matches against Amatori Napoli Rugby Club with the Junior team winning 40-29 and the SCT winning 29-19. After the games, Amatori Napoli hosted a spread of Italian food and the boys socialised and watched Ireland’s Six Nations match against France at the clubhouse.

The next day, the group climbed Mt. Vesuvius, had pizza for lunch, and explored historic Pompeii. They also had downtime before dinner at the hotel. On Monday, they had a walking tour of Naples with lunch at a local restaurant before heading back to Amatori Napoli for the second round of matches. They were two more competitive games but the hosts atoned for their losses in the first matches. This time, the Juniors lost narrowly 28-29 and the SCT lost 21-5, but everyone had a good time and friendships were made.

Amatori Napoli was very hospitable and the boys enjoyed the food and gifts they received. On Tuesday morning, the group packed up and travelled back to the airport to return home. Overall, it was a pleasant and memorable experience for the St. Columba’s rugby players. We’d like to thank Mr Cron for his efforts in organising the trip, Mr Havenga for his work on the ground and to all the staff that travelled with the pupils. Below is an album of photos from the trip, courtesy of Rev Owen.

A report on the recent Transition Year Leadership Day, by Aeladh Bradley Brady.

On Tuesday the 29th of November, the whole of the Transition Year pupils were taken out of the college on a trip as a lovely surprise and to celebrate receiving our Junior cycle results. Throughout the day we participated in many fun-filled activities. Firstly, we went up Larch Hill to a scouting centre to participate in team bonding activities, organised by Branch Out. We completed many challenges such as trying to untie ourselves in a pair, herding “sheep” and mathematical challenges. This helped us utilise many skills such as communication skills, leadership skills and cooperation skills. This is extremely important and useful for many real-life situations and jobs. Finally, the last task and most rewarding task was to build a fire as we made hot chocolate and s’mores to heat us all up. We had to collect firewood and organise specific roles and jobs for team members to fulfil. The Larch Hill trip was great fun and truly an amazing experience. The Branch Out leaders were very helpful and kind to us during our time spent there. 

After this, we went to Dundrum to ice-skating and see a Christmas movie. It was so enjoyable going ice-skating with all of Form IV and it was thoroughly entertaining to see people who had never skated in their lives attempt to manoeuvre about the rink. Mr Jones and Mr Clarke took wonderful pictures of many pupils mid-fall, attempting to stop their inevitable collapse to the ground. The movie was a great way to end the day as we could all sit back, relax and rest.

On behalf of Transition Year, I would like to thank Mr Jones and Mr Clarke for accompanying and planning this truly amazing trip. Everyone loved it! See a collection of photos from the day below.

Our Bullying Awareness Week provides an opportunity to reflect on how we build and protect relationships across the College. Our theme this year was a simple one – friendship – the cornerstone of any good anti-bullying strategy. Last week, our pupils took part in a wide range of activities with friendship at the centre of the conversation. There was a poetry competition on friendship, won by Delia Brady in Form III while a gratitude tree stood proudly in Whispering House, inviting submissions from every passerby, friendship-themed movie nights, friendship-building games and even an ice-cream van. Fourth Form painted jam jars while Sixth Form spent an evening in Larch Hill doing some friendship and team-building exercises (photo above, more here).

It wasn’t all fun and games though, with plenty of time for the serious conversations around bullying too, in particular online bullying. We were thankful for a series of excellent targeted presentations from Internet safety expert Pat McKenna on “friends online”, reminding everyone of our need to stay safe when using the Internet. Also, we were delighted to welcome Clinton Wokocha who spoke with our younger pupils about the power of words while our Prefects spoke in chapel every morning about the College values and why they matter in the bullying conversation – we even learned a new song in chapel, written by Form V pupil Cameron McKinley.

Many thanks to everyone who took part in a great series of events, reminding us how to be good friends to each other. A particular thanks to Ms Maybury for coordinating the week’s programme.

It’s been another frenetic term in the life of our Transition Year pupils (and their teachers) as they continued to work extremely hard both inside and outside of the classroom. The final term provides further opportunities to experience new opportunities, explore their strengths and weaknesses but gives the pupils a chance to take stock of their academic and extracurricular achievements over the year.

Some of the highlights of this term include our Environmental Awareness Week, with guest speakers OC Raoul Empey and Arctic explorer Alex Hibbert. Pupils constructed a leaf composter on-site, under the watchful eye of Mr. Ryan, and aided local primary school, Whitechurch National School, lay the foundations for their outdoor classroom. There was fundraising for Irish Oesophageal Cancer Fund, the Hope Foundation and the Peter McVerry Trust, and a day of sailing and kayaking in Dun Laoghaire.

A few weeks ago, six TY pupils took part in the Transition Year Academic Prize – an event which allows pupils share their research into an area of their choice. The winner, adjudged by former teacher and current Fellow of the College Alan Cpx, was Hannah von Bergmann with a brilliant presentation on ‘cultured meat’.

There have been other opportunities recently too, to share and reward the academic achievements of our TY pupils. Last week, the Transition Year Modern Languages evening took place with the Sarah Alyn Stacey Cup presented to Jimena Reques Tovar for her achievements in languages this year. Similarly, the Transition Year English Evening saw nine pupils present their creative work in English to their peers and the TY Art pupils exhibited their work in Whispering House to a large crowd. Last night, the final Transition Year Presentation Evening took place with prizes awarded to the top pupil in all subjects and, significantly, the awarding of the annual Spirit of Transition Year. For details of this event click here for a separate post.

Next week, many of our Transition Year pupils will travel to Achill Island next week, signing off the year with a week of outdoor adventures. Many thanks, once again, to Ms Ann Kilfeather and her team for all their work in organising such an amazing, jam-packed programme throughout the year.

There has been lots of activity in Transition Year since their work experience week and half-term, especially for those involved in the Gaisce President’s Award scheme. Some community service was carried out in and around the school while the pupils were also thanked for their contribution to The Hope Foundation. Recently, they helped raise €860 for the charity which works with street children in Calcutta. We were grateful to Alpana Delaney from The Hope Foundation who visited the College to speak with the pupils about the work they do and present them with certificates recognising their work. The Gaisce pupils also volunteered at a charity auction for The Hope Foundation at the Ballsbridge Hotel, which yielded over €20,000 for the charity.

Some TY pupils took part in the Careers in Screen Day 2022, a joint initiative from the Irish Film Institute and Virgin Media Dublin International Film Festival.  The day started with a showing of The Racer followed by a discussion panel including the film’s Director Kieron J Walsh along with his producers and the Director of Photography. There were talks on Costume Design, Casting, Animation, and the National Talent Academy along with model-making and interviews. It was a terrific day!

Finally, TY pupils from Sustainability and Gaisce modules recently volunteered at our local Whitechurch National School to prepare the foundations for the construction of their outdoor classroom (pictured above). They did fantastic work and we look forward to continuing this work seeing the final product after the Easter break.

Again, many thanks to Ms Kilfeather and all her team for the great work they do with our Transition Yeat pupils.

Our annual Mental Health Awareness Week takes place this week, with a busy programme of activities promoting positive mental health. This year’s theme is based on the ‘Five Ways to Wellbeing’, with a different focus on each of the days. Pupils were encouraged to be active, connect, give, take notice and keep learning, through a variety of activities, both inside and outside the classroom. These include early morning walks, mindfulness moments, movie nights, pottery classes, yoga, judo and much more. Be sure to check out our social media channels for photos of the week’s activities.

It has been yet another busy term so far for Transition Year pupils, with a wide range of activities taking place outside of their normal (and not so normal) classes. There have been visiting speakers, days out and workshops to keep them occupied. Here are a few short pupil reports on some recent events, beginning with a report from Hannah Bergmann on a recent talk from Jackie Fox about the tragic tale of her daughter Coco.

Today we had a talk about a serious and very important topic, which is, unfortunately, becoming more and more common these days. It was very emotional and not only I was very moved by it. It was about the consequences of cyberbullying and physical abuse. To bring us closer to this, Jackie Fox told the story of her daughter Nicole, who took her own life as a young adult after she was abused both mentally and physically. She told us in great detail what happened to Nicole and what went wrong. Especially the sad video at the end of the talk made us all realise what bullying can do to someone and how important it is to do something about it. In the end, I could say that it was probably one of the most emotional talks so far. Although it was very sad, I am thankful that Ms. Fox had the strength to make us understand how important it is to prevent bullying, which I definitely learned from this talk.

We are very grateful to Jackie for taking the time to speak with our pupils about this incredibly important yet difficult topic. It was powerful, with a lingering message. Hugo Laurenceau reports from a recent visit from Patricia Clancy from the Irish Adoption Authority.

Patricia Carey, CEO of the Irish Adoption Authority, came to St Columba’s to talk about The Legalities of Irish Adoption. We were very lucky as a TY group to get this opportunity to listen to someone with so much experience in a field we don’t often talk about. At the beginning, I was expecting that Patricia Carey was going to talk about things I already knew, but the process behind any adoption is so interesting with lots of legal aspects to it. The complex work of getting a child into the right family is so hard and time consuming, but thanks to their work it is possible. I learned so many cool facts about adoption and fostering children that I did not know prior to the talk, but now I and hopefully the rest of TY saw how hard and rewarding it is to place a child with a suitable family. Patricia Carey and her team do tremendous work.

Finally, Catalina Mertes reports on the latest TY activities day which saw our pupils bounce their way around Jump Zone and think their way around GoQuest.

On Tuesday the 1st of February, the whole Transition Year went on a fun trip. We did not know where we were going, because the teachers wanted to keep it a surprise. On the bus ride we were speculating what activities were planned for the day. When we arrived at GoQuest we got split up into groups and had to try to complete as many challenges as possible. Each challenge was in a small room and you had a certain amount of time to complete it. Most of the challenges could only be solved if we worked as a team. I really enjoyed this. After GoQuest we went to JumpZone, a trampoline park. Everyone had a lot of fun there and we tried all of the different games and challenges the park had to offer. I think trampoline dodgeball and the game where you could fight each other with big rolls were the most popular. On our way back to the college everyone was tired but very happy. We had a really great time solving problems in teams and bonding with the whole year.

Aside from these activities, many pupils have also taken part in an architecture project. Next week, all will begin their planned work experience. We are grateful to the many companies and individuals who have provided our pupils with their placements at this unusual time.

Below is the TY photo album, constantly updated and cataloguing photos from throughout the year.

There’s a common misconception that Transition Year (TY) is a “doss-year”, that nothing happens and pupils are bored and rarely challenged. Well, judging from the exceptionally busy programme of events the TY pupils at St. Columba’s have been involved in so far, we can safely say that is not true.

We have a large, diverse, enthusiastic and hard-working Transition Year group this year. While their teachers have been challenging to develop academically, the TY Co-ordinator, Mrs Ann Kilfeather, and her team have been extremely busy providing them with opportunities to develop their interpersonal and extra personal skills.

Earlier in the term, the pupils visited the excellent Causey Farm where they participated in a range of bonding and team-building activities. There was fun and mayhem too with bog jumping, sheep herding and bread-baking. Every year, our TY pupils remark on how much they enjoy that first trip to Causey Farm each year and this year was no exception. We’ve had visiting speakers including former governor of Mountjoy Prison John Lonergan, who remains as engaging as ever, and others from Team Hope (who co-ordinate the excellent Christmas Shoebox Appeal) and the Peter McVeery Trust (more on that to come). They also took part in a motivation and leadership workshop with The Super Generation.

This week is designated the Transition Year Community Week and the pupils had no formal lessons, instead participating in a range of projects aimed at increasing their awareness of cultural, sustainable and equitable community involvement. They all visited Dublin’s Pheonix Park, soaking up the historical, ecological and cultural elements in Europe’s largest urban park. They then visited Dublin Zoo, touring the amazing facilities there before enjoying a presentation on community conservation and sustainability. Two large groups of TY pupils donned their high-visibility vests and travelled to nearby Marlay Park and Sandymount Strand to pick up litter. Continuing that theme, back in the College, some pupils built sustainable bird feeders in an effort to increase biodiversity in the College while others planted vegetables in the new sustainability garden.

There has been a lot of fun this week too. A hike up nearby Kilmashogue Mountain, baking brownies, scones and flapjacks (all delivered and donated to the Rathfarnham Parish Hall), wrapping shoeboxes for the Team Hope appeal and pitching tents for their sleep-out in aid of the Peter McVeery Trust, a wonderful homelessness charity. That sleep out took place last night and luckily the weather stayed dry, although it was very cold. Well done to all who took part, including the staff who supervised.

So, as you can see, it’s been a jam-packed eight weeks for our TY pupils. A “doss-year” I hear you say … I think not. See a selection of photos from the various TY activities below.

 

Transition Year pupils will be taking part in the College’s first ‘Sleep Out’ in aid of the Peter McVerry Trust which works with the homeless population of Ireland. The Sleep Out will take place on the night of Thursday October 21st, 2021. We are appealing for generous donations to the Peter McVeery Trust, with all donations going directly to the charity. If you wish to donate please visit our iDonate page here.

Peter McVerry Trust is a national housing and homeless charity committed to reducing homelessness and the harm caused by substance misuse and social disadvantage.

The charity provides low-threshold entry services, primarily to younger people and vulnerable adults with complex needs, and offers pathways out of homelessness based on the principles of the Housing First model.

We look forward to reporting back on a successful event and fund-raising drive. Stay tuned to the College’s Twitter and Facebook pages.

Transition Year is like no other year in the Irish education system and even a global pandemic couldn’t stop it from delivering. How Ms Kilfeather and her team of minions managed to provide the vast array of meaningful activities for this Transition Year (TY) group, in these extraordinary circumstances, we are not quite sure. Impressively though, the pupils reacted accordingly and engaged fully right throughout the year, be in online or in person.

In this final term, our TY pupils continued their fine efforts in class but remained busy outside the class too. They kicked off the term by attending TYTalks21, a brilliant online conference organised by IBEC featuring talks on future careers, entrepreneurship, inclusion, diversity and much more. They also took two full days away from the classroom, participating in ‘Activities Days’. The first day saw them play hurling, bake brownies and cupcakes, experiment with tie-dye t-shirts, learn to knit and play petong and croquet. The final activities day wrapped up their year. There were speeches, awards, an ice-cream van, a drone video and games (even some “accidental” acrobatics from the staff).

The ‘Spirit of Transition Year’ Award aims to recognise the pupil who truly embraced the opportunities presented during TY and this year Marco Trolese received the trophy with Elys Walker a close second. Marco was due to spend his Transition Year in a school in South Africa but, due to the pandemic, his plans changed and he remained in Ireland. He dived head-first into everything; he leaned to cook, coached club hockey, trained as a lifeguard, lead the F1 in Schools team and earned his Silver Gaisce Award along the way. Congratulations to Marco!

Speaking of Gaisce Awards, congratulations to the fourteen TY pupils who received their medals from the President. Full details  about the Gaisce Awards here.

Congratulations to the fifteen Form V pupils who have been appointed as Prefects for the coming school year, to be installed in September:

Akin Babajide, Iona Chavasse, Mia Deutsch, Rory Flanagan, Jack Hayes, TJ Hopkins, Avi Johnston, Edna Johnston, Nathan Kutner, Lioba Preysing (not pictured), Evie Pringle,  Matteo Tafi, Peter Taylor, Thea Walsh, Jasmine Williams.

Congratulations also to Evie and Akin (pictured below) , who will be Senior and Second Prefects respectively.

Gaisce (meaning “great achievement”), The President’s Award, is a self-development programme for young people aged 15 to 25. There are three categories: Gold (for people aged above 17 years), Silver (16 years) and Bronze (15 years). To achieve a President’s Award, you set a demanding challenge for yourself in four different areas of activity:

  • Community involvement – for example, helping older people or learning first aid or lifesaving skills
  • Personal skill – for example, learning a musical instrument, computer skills or driving
  • Physical recreation – for example, swimming, football or tennis
  • Adventure journey – for example, a cycling, canoeing or hiking group trip

Congratulations to the following pupils who completed the programme during their Transition Year, both in the College and during lockdown, and will later receive their medal in a presentation box, a certificate signed by the President and a lapel pin. Well done to all! Hopefully some will decide to continue with the programme and achieve their gold medal in the coming years. Many thanks to Ms Lynch who coordinates the Gaisce Awards in the College.

Bronze Awards:

Hugh Bevan, Matilda Pringle, Nina O’Flynn and Elys Walker

Silver Awards:

Liam Campbell, Johanne Raitz, Nikolai Foster, Marco Trolese, Caleb Owen, Ellen Bevan, Elena O’Dowd, Kate Higgins, Isabel Warnock and Emily McCarthy.

Effective schools value, encourage and listen to the voice of their pupils. School leadership no longer resides simply in the Headmaster’s office and the role pupils play in creating a values-based culture is equally important to the actions of management and staff. We are extremely lucky at St. Columba’s to have a pupil body who uphold the values of the College everyday and take pride in helping those around them. Later today, the Warden will announce the Prefects for 2021 / 2022 and their role as school leaders is extremely important; however, there are leaders right throughout the school and these annual Leadership Awards aim to recognise and reward pupils who embody Columban values and lead by example in all that they do. All of the winners have been nominated for these awards from either pupils or staff and they each received a certificate in recognition of their award, presented to them during Form assemblies this week.

The winners of the Leadership Awards 2021 are as follows. Congratulations to all.

Form I

Dairbhre Murray

Ryan Ovenden

Felix Jellett

Form II

Alison Wang

Sebastian Dijkstra

Form III

Ryan Murphy

Tomas Dwyer

Cameron McKinley

Form IV

Marco Trolese

Johannes Pabsch

Nikolai Foster

Antonia Ladanyi

Form V

Jurre Chukwueke

Thomas (TJ) Hopkin

Avi Johnston

Enda Johnston

Mika Sacolax

Johanna Harms

Form VI

Ailbhe Matthews

Alannah Hassett

Eva Dillenberger

Tim Otway-Norwood

Angus Peacock

If you were not too distracted by the hysteria surrounding the announcement of the European Super League – thank goodness that plan is off the table – you may have been following the verdict following the trial of the police officer who killed George Floyd. I am sure that the whole world breathed a sigh of relief when the verdict was announced and we all hope and pray that it represents a new era in policing and racial justice in the United States.

I was interested this morning to read another headline on the BBC News website, with more encouraging steps to right some of the wrongs of the past. The British have always looked after the cemeteries of their First World War dead very well and they are very moving to visit. However, it transpires that non-white soldiers fighting for the British were never given their own headstones, but were merely listed on memorials, or in documents, or not at all. The actual graves of most are not known. As shocking as it is to our modern sensibilities, it was thought that ‘the average native…would not understand or appreciate a headstone.’ Thus the contribution of thousands of colonial troops to the British war effort has never been properly recognised.

An inquiry has reported that an estimated 50,000 Asian and African troops, who died in the conflict, were ‘commemorated unequally.’ There are now plans afoot to set this record straight and, although I don’t know the form that this will take, it is surely very positive that authorities are not saying merely, ‘let’s make sure we get this right in the future,’ but ‘let’s put right an historic wrong now, albeit 100 years too late.’

It reminds me very much of a trip I made in my last few months in South Africa in 2016, when I visited the historic battlefields of the Zulu War of 1879 and the Boer War, which pitched the British against the Afrikaaners from 1899-1902. At the time these wars captured the imagination of the British public like no other and tales of derring-do were eagerly reported in the British press. Now we are rather embarrassed by it all, although it is a fascinating period of history. My first visit was to Spion Kop, a major battle of the Boer War, as well as an embarrassing British defeat. On a rocky hilltop hundreds of troops from Liverpool were mown down, but their heroism was commemorated in the naming of a new stand at Anfield, the ground of Liverpool Football Club, which, because it was steep and high, was given the name the Spion Kop. As a Liverpool supporter I felt that I was making a pilgrimage.

However, the point of my story is this. On top of this rugged and distant outcrop soon afterwards the British, ever keen to celebrate their heroes, put up memorials to those who had died from their Liverpool regiments. They are all listed and it is moving. However, what was forgotten and not acknowledged was that these white soldiers were supported by large numbers of Indians acting as stretcher bearers and water carriers. Many of them died, but there was no memorial to them. The honest, tough Liverpool soldiers received a fitting monument, but perhaps it was not considered that these Indians would have ‘understood or appreciated’ such a memorial. Or perhaps worse, it was thought quite simply that the life of an Indian was not worth as much as a white man and that it would have insulted the soldiers to commemorate the Indians in a like manner.

Anyway, whatever the original thinking was, it was fitting that fairly recently (within the last 20 years or so) this wrong was put right and there does now exist a memorial to those Indians who died at Spion Kop and a tribute to the bravery of all the Indians who were involved, including, remarkably, a young stretcher-bearer called Mohandas K. Gandhi. Incidentally Winston Churchill was also there, working as a journalist. It is extraordinary that two of the giants of the 20th century were present at what was, in the bigger scheme of things, a minor skirmish.

It is never too late to right the wrongs of the past. The conviction of a police officer doesn’t change the past, but it does send a message to the future. And the building of memorials, even at a much later date, does also help to address the prejudices of the past and help us to look forward to a better and more just future.

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!