For Children’s Mental Health Week, our assembly focused on the wide range of emotions and feelings we all experience, that is, over the course of one day, and even moment to moment. We talked about how all feelings are valid, and how good mental health is not fixed; rather, we aim for a balance where calm, happy feelings form our natural resting point. Year 2 were superb in sharing some of the mindful techniques they use in their classroom to help regulate their emotions. We heard about Pizza Breath, Butterfly Breath and Take Five – wonderfully simple strategies that help bring calm and focus when needed.
We also welcomed several visitors to Pre-Prep this week who helped the children understand the importance of staying safe online. In keeping with this year’s Safer Internet Day theme, “Smart tech, safe choices – exploring the safe and responsible use of AI”, our Digital Ambassadorsfrom Prep led an assembly to highlight both the exciting advantages of these powerful tools and the potential pitfalls we must all be aware of. A big thank you to the Digital Ambassadors and Mr Hitchen-Hoy, the School’s Digital Lead.
On Safer Internet Day itself, we were extremely grateful to Mrs Agarwal and Mr Chitnis, who visited the children to share four important “dos” for staying safe online through one of their engaging stories. They told the children about the 4S Cyber Shield: spot, share, shield and stop, to help protect ourselves online – and they even introduced us to catchy dance!
They have written a wonderful series of stories to teach children the essential precautions needed to stay safe when using devices. Do take a look at their website for information about the books, including an overview of each one, snippets about the characters, and short videos from the Cyber Ved series. You will also find a series of blogs for parents and educators, which are updated regularly.
The site has recently been updated to make downloads and blogs more accessible – please see below.
Downloads and blogs are available here: Our Blog
Hot off the press today is the exciting news that the 4S framework (for children) and EARS framework (which is for parents & teachers), has been officially published and endorsed on Internet Matters: How to talk about online safety with your child | Internet Matters
Safe to say, we were hugely appreciative of Mrs Agarwal’s and Mr Chitnis’ time on Tuesday and for sharing all their thoughtful gifts with us – thank you so much!
This week the Courtesy Cup and Badge went to Alyssa (Reception) for consistently displaying kindness and consideration towards her friends and teachers. Thank you for being a good friend in Reception class.
and Stars of the Week were awarded to:
Year 2: Sebi for helping out a Reception friend in the playground when they were hurt; and for working so enthusiastically in maths.
Year 1: Niam for making kind choices to help a friend in assembly.
Reception: Jin for his outstanding show and tell about the Chinese zodiac animals.
More awards followed the above and so our congratulations to:
Year 1: Very well done to Ivaan for being chosen player of the week at football and to Anish in recognition of his performance and dedication in football.
Wishing you all a wonderful half term break!