Wellbeing

Earlier this week, the Sydney Morning Herald posted an article about the importance of our ‘third space’ to our Wellbeing. Our ‘third space’ is said to be somewhere we like to regularly go to feel part of a community and a connection to others. For some, it is a ritual that reminds them of the important parts of life, for others, welcome relief from work, and for many, an opportunity to forget about today’s stresses and to live in the moment. It may be Church on a Sunday, Saturday morning sport, your local coffee shop, or a quiet spot in the local park. Whatever your own ‘happy place’, it is highly likely that the NSW lockdown has somewhat impacted it.

For me, I love our leisurely Saturday morning stroll as a family down to Hawke’s General Store in Orange (our ‘third space’), where we are always met with a friendly welcome from Zoula. Indeed, it will be something we will really miss about Orange. However, confinement to our own home has made us a little more creative and we thoroughly enjoyed creating a new ‘third space’ over the fence with our neighbours on the weekend.

For our boarding families, many students may well have returned to their cherished ‘third space’ at home, but for those who have not, I encourage you to take time this week to find a spot in your home that provides relief from work. Our wonderful Counselling Team produced the infographic below for our Senior Years this week, and I would encourage all students (and parents) to schedule regular breaks into their working day. Please take that moment to get away from your screens and to connect with those and that which is important to you in your new-found ‘third space’.