Middle Years 

Middle Year News

Several years ago, I came across a book by Gretchen Rubin called The Happiness Project. Gretchen is a young New York mother and lawyer who decided to take a year off to explore happiness and positive psychology ideas. In one chapter of her book she refers to the “Secrets of Adulthood”,  and here is her advice;

1. Ask for help; its ok to ask for help despite the difficulties of getting started and floundering. Ask your friends, parents and teachers for advice.
2. By doing a little bit each day you can accomplish a lot. Gretchen says that we tend to over estimate how much we can achieve in an hour or a week, and underestimate how much we can do in a month or a year.
3. Enjoy the fun of failure. We have an innate part of us that needs to be stretched and we need to be pushed outside our comfort zone. Gretchen says we need to push ourselves to discover who we are, and that it is fun to fail and its part of being ambitious. She failed regularly in her early career as a writer, but some risks and failures paid off. We need to embrace failure and realise we won’t reach every goal.
4. Work smart to boost efficiency. Work in effective blocks of time, and spend time ‘tidying up’ and getting organised for the next day. Small actions will bring about significant results.
5. Enjoy now. Gretchen reminds us that challenge is to take pleasure in the gradual progress we make towards our goal. Finding enjoyment in what you’re doing is part of the fun.

Gaoyou Middle School Delegation

The staff and students of Gaoyou Middle School departed last Tuesday after a wonderful week at our school. On behalf of the College, I would like to sincerely thank our amazing Year 9 host families who welcomed students into their homes. Families took students to a variety of local rural activities, including sporting events, whale watching and Sheepvention. I appreciate that this is a busy time of the year for families with musical commitments and Sheepvention and this makes the host families’ generosity even more significant.

MYPEC News

Students are encouraged to use the Hockey Field and the Sports Centre during the winter months, as the oval will remain out of bounds. They need to bring clean sneakers to change into to use these facilities.

Please check that your children have the correct blazer and that their blazer is clearly named. A reminder that blazers need to be worn to and from school. School shoes need to be clean and polished.

On Thursday our Year 8 myPEC Leaders participated in the Hamilton Crazy Ideas Day at the Hamilton PAC. Students worked in small groups to develop ideas that would be beneficial for our wider community. They now develop their ideas further then present their ‘pitch’ in September.

Mrs Julia Winter Cooke

Head of Middle Years