Mental Health and Wellbeing Coordinator

Integrity and Doing the Right Thing

“With integrity, you have nothing to fear, since you have nothing to hide. With integrity, you will do the right thing, so you will have no guilt.” Zig Ziglar.

Dear Families,

Many dictionary definitions of integrity seem to say the same two things. Firstly, it is having the quality of honesty and secondly, having strong moral principles. Another definition I’ve heard is that integrity is simply keeping your word. Some believe it is doing the ‘right’ thing, whatever that is. Oprah Winfrey was quoted as saying ‘real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody's going to know whether you did it or not’. When we have integrity, we may experience feelings of peace and we may feel good within ourselves. Having integrity helps us to stand out above others. 

After coming out of another lockdown, there have been tears, worry, stress and laughter. I’ve seen a range of emotions, and that’s just from staff and parents! This is a really tricky time for many of us, as we have never been here before. At the start of the year, we set aside a date for our SEL Curriculum Day and the date is fast approaching. I wondered if we should go ahead, as this is such an important professional learning opportunity for staff. This is one of the major tasks in my role as the MHaWC, to up-skill staff with Social Emotional Learning and mental health and wellbeing. But, was it the right thing to do to hold a curriculum day so close to the end of another lockdown? What if we rescheduled and then have another lockdown? I am so passionate about this area of education, and when staff are more skilled, it’s our students who gain the most benefit. After all, that’s why we are here – for the kids. After discussing the date with a number of people, we decided to postpone the day until the end of term, giving more time with our kids at school now, which we felt was needed. Was this the right thing to do? I’m not sure. Some people may be happy, others may not. But, we always put the best interests of our children first.

Here are a few ideas to help foster the skill of integrity. Choose the one that best fits your family and try it this week if you like.

• Play a board game or card game and cheat just a little bit so you don’t get caught. How did you feel just before you cheated? What about later on in the game, or at the end of it?
• Have you ever found anything that was not yours and you really wanted to keep it? Did you keep it or try and find the owner? How did you feel if you found the owner? How did you feel if you kept it?
• Play ‘Two Truths and a Lie’ where you say two things that are true about yourself and one thing that is not. The others must guess which the lie is.
• Sometime during the week when you are asked a question, respond with a lie. How did you feel? How long did you take to own up and tell the truth?
• Sneak something from the pantry that you are not normally allowed to eat. What did you notice and how did you feel? Did you eventually own up?

“The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.” Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Thanks for your support,

Andy McNeilly

Mental Health and Wellbeing Coordinator