Middle Years 

One of the most enjoyable aspects of my week is working with the myPEC House Captains and Middle Years Prefects. I would like to thank our departing Middle Years Prefects, Jackson Hodgetts and Bel Michelmore, for their enthusiasm and genuine care of our Year 7 and Year 8 students. Their leadership opportunities were curtailed this year due to Covid; however, I am still grateful and impressed with their contributions to our community. 

I would like to warmly welcome our 2021 Middle Years Prefects; Nina Pern, Euan Sutherland, and Lacey Herbertson. Their role will be important in helping next year’s Year 7 students settle into myPEC. They will also be working with the current myPEC House Captains to finish this year off as strongly as possible.

2021 Year Transition 

Last week letters were sent to Year 6 families explaining the 2021 Transition plan. As you are aware the current Covid restrictions have meant that we have needed to be flexible in our planning. Year 6 students from other primary schools are not able to come onto the Senior Campus as this stage; however, we are hoping that restrictions will be lifted towards the end of term. We have set two potential dates for a full Year 7 Orientation day. 

Orientation Day Plan A – Tuesday 8 December (second last day of the year)

Orientation Day Plan B - Wednesday 27 January (day before Term 1 2021 starts)

The current Year 6 students are able to come to the Senior Campus, and start induction, and they will be spending time with me on Thursday 12th November.

We are running several zoom meetings to start the transition process and explain the new Year 7 Engage Curriculum.

Key dates for Year 7 transition 

Session 1: Thursday 5 November 2020 (5pm till 6pm) – Engage Year 7 2021 Information  

                      Session. All families invited to join zoom presentation

Session 2: Tuesday 17 November 2020 (5pm till 5.30pm) – Student Zoom chat 

                      New Year 6 students invited to join zoom chat

Session 3: Either 8 December or 27 January 2021 – Orientation Day 

                      All students invited to come to school for face to face sessions.

Your Best Self 

We all know the benefits of regular exercise, eating well and getting enough sleep. We also focus on the idea of being your best self and regularly discuss this in wellbeing classes. 

We want to help every student become their best. We tend to have many ‘versions’ of ourselves which present at different times. Sometimes we are our “worst selves” and we often give our worst version to the people closest to us, to family who love us unconditionally. 

The question we need to ask is “When are you at your best?”. It may have been when you were doing something you love or being a great friend or making a hard choice. You may have been alone or with others. We tend to clearly remember when we are at our best; this is when we use our personal resources, intellect, emotional competencies, and life experience. We feel good and we rise to the challenge. We all know when we are at our best, and it is something we should strive for. There is no definitive instruction on how to be at our best, but there are a few areas we can focus on:

• Focusing our attention on what is good and what is possible.
• Thinking and writing optimistically about the future.
• Developing an optimistic viewpoint.
• Visualizing who you want to be, and the skills that you want to have. Imaging that you have worked hard and have all that you have hoped for.
• Using your strengths, in activities, relationships and learning. This energizes you and makes you feel most alive and helps you make a meaningful contribution. 
• Foster and focus on positives emotions and feelings. This builds positivity.
• Focus on what you have rather than what you do not have. This is gratitude. 
• Accept that life is hard, but you can always make it better.
• Become your own person, take responsibility for your life and the direction of your life. 

Mrs Julia Winter Cooke

Head of Middle Years