The beginning of Mount Anville’s Minding My Mind week, which commenced on the 16th of October, really blew people away. Quite literally.
And while the Amber Flag reps were disappointed we weren’t able to do all the activities we had planned due to the shortened week; we also knew that Ophelia had given students a much needed break.
This year Amber Flag wanted to try something bigger, more communal and create something that would last longer than one week, because positive mental health is something we must work on all year round. When the school was reopened on Wednesday lollypops were given out at assemblies and at the start of the first class a short mindfulness mediation was put on. That day as well, most students were given smile cards where they could write down things that made them smile. After mid-term these will be placed up on the school walls.
Thursday was Walk in My Shoes Day. That day everyone brought in €2 and wore shoes completely different to anything they’d normally wear on their feet. The creativity and effort was amazing to see and well done for both students and staff alike getting involved.
During this week as well, there were many Just Dance session, where all students pulled out some great moves to ‘Cotton Eye Joe’ and ‘Hey Ya’.
Before Friday students were asked to send a compliment about someone in their year to the special email given to each year ahead. On ‘Compliment Friday’ these were read out at assemblies. This is something that Amber Flag plans to continue throughout the year, and it was an initiative that was first set up by some fifth years.
A Mental Health Slide Show was also made for this week and will be shown in SPHE classes in the Senior Cycle.
Megan O'Rourke