From the Leader of Wellbeing

As we conclude Term 3, there is no question that staff, students and parents have faced challenges over the course of the term.

You may have noticed in particular, that your child and other family members are experiencing higher levels of tiredness or a deep weariness. Some psychologists refer to this as ‘COVID fatigue’. This tiredness generates a certain level of negativity. In fact, staying positive has been more challenging for us now, than during the initial crisis this time last year.

To help overcome this mindset, we as staff and parents need to ensure that we create an environment where we stay positive and energised in what we hope are the last stages of lockdown. Whilst we may not be able to change the outer world just yet, there are certainly things that we can do to help boost our collective mindset.

Practicing Gratitude

Focusing on gratitude is part of positive psychology, which is the field of science that forms the foundations of our Wellbeing Programs here at the College. Many studies show how positive psychology can help us get through times when things aren’t going right, and the COVID-19 crisis is that kind of time. According to a global study, the onset of the COVID-19 crisis correlated to a sharp rise in gratitude. In fact, gratitude has coexisted alongside grief, alleviating distress and helping us maintain personal connections.

Keeping your focus on the positives, even during a pandemic, is said to boost your emotional stamina. Gratitude can help you maintain hope, remain as happy as possible under the circumstances and keep your perspective clear.

How to Maintain Psychological Wellbeing Through Gratitude

Things that we can be appreciative of are all around us, in the good times and the bad. When life gets stressful and overwhelmingly challenging, our perspective can become skewed as we start seeing things through a negative lens.

Gratitude is about bringing your perspective back into balance. When we know how to see the good in our lives, it helps put the negatives into perspective – during the pandemic and non-pandemic times. It might not be easy to feel gratitude, but it can become a lifelong source of inner strength for our young people, if they can develop this life skill during this specific period in their lives.

The R U OK? campaign was launched this week by our Student Leaders and will continue well into next term, as we move into October which is also recognised as the Mental Health Month in the calendar. Our MSCW community recognises the importance of continuing to keep the conversation alive and prevalent throughout all points of the year. Given that our Seniors were invested in their Preliminary Examinations over the course of the last fortnight, we are committed to ensuring that we continue to focus on how best to look out for ourselves and that of others next term.

To support the initiative, as a whole staff we connected for remote morning tea in Zoom break out rooms, as a way of staying connected, checking-in with one another and sharing a few laughs! Stay tuned for more activities next term.

Research suggests that raising the awareness of such an initiative contributes to increased statistics of those seeking help by two to three times, compared to those who were not exposed to the campaign. Did you know that campaign participants were six times more likely to reach out to someone who might be experiencing personal difficulties?

Wellbeing Wednesdays at MSCW

This was another successful initiative that supported the wellbeing of our staff and students, with the opportunity to step away from hourly Zooms to ‘recharge, reflect and relax’. Thank you for your positive feedback in supporting our young people to exercise greater self-awareness by recognising their needs according to their body clues and triggers. The purpose of our wellbeing days is to exercise self-compassion by giving back to ourselves. Without these opportunities to focus on wellbeing, people are more at risk of burnout and increased absenteeism, as well as being more likely to experience higher levels of anxiety and avoidance.

Year 12 Community Time and Connection

With Term 3 sadly concluding for our Year 12 cohort, and with many of their events postponed until next term, our hope this week has been to provide our students with a variety of opportunities to stay connected and be in each other’s company. The Wellbeing Team designed a range of activities that we each led at various points throughout the week. It was wonderful to see so many of the girls join in, contribute and engage in moments of laughter and fun, with plenty of friendly banter!

We look forward to Term 4 and reconnecting amongst all the Year Groups in Community Time.

This article on College life meets The Archbishop’s Charter for Catholic Schools – Charter #6 & #8