Gratitude

Gratitude Jamboards

As part of our emphasis on Gratitude, Empathy, Mindfulness and Kindness, students were asked to submit images of people, activities, or anything else that represented what they are most grateful for. Here is a selection of some class montages! 

8B are grateful for: Meeting up with friends, going for walks, playing games online with a cousin, fresh air, and walking the dog. All wonderful things to take the time to appreciate.

Gratitude Journaling

A month ago, I read  ‘The Resilience Project’  by Hugh Van Cuylenburg and decided to begin a 21-day gratitude journal. According to the research completed by the University of Massachusetts called “The Evidence Behind a Gratitude Journal”, in just 21 days of practising gratitude we begin to rewire our brain to start scanning the world for the positives. In fact, we become three times more likely to notice a positive.

After seven days, I was enjoying it so much I wanted to share the experience with my students.  My Year 10 and 11 English classtried it out and I told them I was happy to buy a $2 journal for any student that was keen on giving the 21 day challenge a go. To my surprise, many students took up my offer. I ran out of notebooks and was thrilled to purchase more the next day. Most have now finished their 21 days. 

Completing the gratitude journal has been a really meaningful experience for me. It’s refreshing to see how often students appear in my highlights and how much joy they provide me. It reminds me of the profound privilege of working with adolescents who make me laugh every day and help me to challenge my world perspective. Their resilience and perseverance throughout the last year has been inspiring. 

Completing the gratitude journal has also helped me connect with my students in a new way, giving us something exciting to chat about. I have loved listening to them expressing gratitude and it is beautiful how often they talk about their parents, guardians and families with deep affection and appreciation. 

We wanted to share our experiences with the hope that more students, staff and families might find this a beneficial thing to try during the next 21 days. So many of us have enjoyed the opportunity, we are going to continue writing ours for now. If you would like to give it a go, check out the steps here. 

Year 11 Student Experiences

The 21 day gratitude journal enabled me to feel a sense of groundedness throughout the ups and downs of lockdown. This experience was definitely worth doing as it allowed me to feel more grateful for the small things and more appreciative of the people who have helped me get through these times. The journal has been prominent in changing my outlook on life to take a more positive approach, and I feel that more people should try this as it shows you that despite the bad days there are positives that you can reflect upon every day. Especially since some of us do not have people to talk to throughout the day, having a journal in which you can express yourself and your emotions can significantly improve your mood as it is a healthy way to release your emotions. Radhika S

I have found the 21 day gratitude journal very beneficial particularly during this time as it is often difficult to find the good things in life when things seem so hard. It is a positive reflection at the end of the day, it allows me to reflect on all of the things in my life that many in the world don’t have. We often take things for granted and I believe that this experience allowed me to reflect just how fortunate I am and that there are always positive things throughout the day even when  many negative things occur. Mia H

I believe that writing what I have been grateful for everyday has made me more open minded regarding the privilege I have. Others in the world have much less than I do and I think by writing down what I have, it opens my eyes to how great my life is in comparison to those in other countries or who are less fortunate. I have enjoyed the gratitude journal because it allows me to reflect on the good things in my life. I use it as a point of comparison when I am having a bad day. Rohan M

I completed the 21 day gratitude journal and I found that it was very beneficial for my mental health. It helped me realise that even on my lowest days there are still so many things that I am grateful for and that make me happy. It was especially helpful for me during lockdown because some days it feels like nothing can make me smile, but then I get to the end of the day and reflect and I see that it wasn’t all bad. I would strongly recommend trying this. Eleanor K

I think that using a gratitude journal in general is a great way to make yourself more positive and open to thinking from new perspectives. Especially during lockdown.It’s been a great space to be able to reflect on how lucky I have been even though it's been really hard. I think having an outlet to express feelings and thoughts is really useful and being able to put down into words what you have been grateful for is really important. Not only has this boosted my mental health during these hard times it's also changed my thought patterns allowing me to be more positive and open minded. I would highly recommend giving it a go even if it is out of your comfort zone and to try something new :) Lola S

This gratitude journal experience has been really nice just to think back on the good things in life and really know what you are grateful for and how lucky you are even though we may not feel like it. Some days in lockdown are really hard but it is nice to try and think on the positive side and write what you are grateful for. I was not sure if I was going to be bothered doing this when Queen Mietta first offered the idea to us but she was so enthusiastic like she always is so I decided to give it a try, and it was actually really nice. I wasn't the most motivated throughout the 21 days so i'm going to continue doing this to makeup for the days i missed out on and also because it is a nice enjoyable thing to do. Merri H

Writing in the gratitude journal helped me open up to myself and appreciate more things in my life. I have realised that writing in the journal every day makes me more grateful towards what I have and what I don’t have. Luke S

The first time I did the gratitude journal I wasn't really motivated to do it. At first, I thought it was just a one off thing that we would do in class and  then Mietta gave me a journal to do it everyday. Now, I have been doing it for over 26 days! The gratitude journal helps me become grateful for the things I have compared to other kids across the world who are less fortunate. It helps me realise that we live in a safe country, we’re lucky to have certain things and sometimes we take things for granted. The journal helps me realise a lot of things and motivates you to be happy especially in lockdown. Merched E

Mietta Robertson