Wellbeing - Middle School

Wellbeing and Academic Success

Last Friday, we shared our first Middle School Assembly for the year together. The common theme was setting the stage for the year ahead and launching “Shining the St Patrick’s Way”. Here are some extracts from my address to the students, in which I challenged them to rise to their own and our expectations here at the College:

“Shining the St Patrick’s Way. This is a framework for excellence and in place to foster a safe and respectful learning environment for every student. This will be visible everywhere. When you feel safe, supported, and confident, you’re more likely to thrive in your studies. And this is all built around routine, rigour and relational trust - we have an unrelenting focus on those factors. When you’re well emotionally, you are more engaged, focused, and able to overcome challenges. You will make mistakes along the way, but don’t let those mistakes define you. What defines you is how you learn, how you grow, and how you move forward. Learn to think before you act. Think about how your words and actions affect those around you. Recognise that your choices have power and use that power wisely. 

We’ve also listened to you in the various surveys we conduct. You’ve told us that setting personal goals and keeping progress is an area of improvement. This year, we are formalising the process, and you will be doing your academic goals online. You will set goals for each subject and a specific strategy, and your parents will acknowledge on parent lounge. You’ve told us that we don’t know your home background well enough, so we will work through a survey to be able to identify barriers and support you through your academic success. You also felt that at time asking for help then you need it, was a factor we need to consider. Therefore, under the guidance of your HRT’s you will work through wellbeing surveys multiple times across the year to enable us to target specific strategies to ensure you have every opportunity to succeed. 

Finally, I will leave you with one message. We are A grade in our standards. Every action, every decision, creates consequences. Some consequences are immediate, like the way someone might feel. Some may take longer to unfold, like the way trust is built or lost over time. But no matter the consequence, one thing is clear—our actions matter.

The relationship between wellbeing and ultimately our core business, academic success is paramount to all that we do.

Alexandros Sinadinos

Director of Middle School