Parent Corner

Year 11 Pastoral Guardian

I hope you and your family are keeping well and safe during lockdown.  As your young adult’s Pastoral Guardian, I thought I would share my approach to lockdown.  My Parent Corner article this week has achievable, simple messages for you and your family.  I am including a link about Positive Psychology - a philosophical approach to life and wellbeing that makes sense and turns negatives into positives and gratitude in these challenging times. 

 

What are my approaches to lockdown that keep me afloat and positive?

 

I am really enjoying viewing the Olympics this week at night.  Last month I enjoyed my absolute favourite viewing of the whole year - Tour d France cycling.  I just love it!  I am amazed by the skill and dedication of the athletes in both events.  I’m certainly not a competitive cyclist, gymnast, or triathlete, but these events have inspired me to don my walking boots and, until government guidelines today about not leaving home, go walking through the lovely forests and over the hills close to my house with my family, where we have been able to in COIVD times.  Bushwalking is one of my pastimes, so this has been my local version.  Along the way on my daily treks, I have loved seeing parents and children riding bikes, walking, and seeing happy people in the dog park with their special pooches.  

 

People seem to have been relishing going out close to home when they can exercise, and connecting safely with their home-based families to find new approaches to daily routines.  It means being adaptable and considering what we are grateful for, and where we can exercise some control in COVID times.  When I ask my Home Room what they are grateful for, the overwhelming answers are family, good health, and education.

 

I also appreciate the Community Zone at Mount Alvernia College, especially Olympics from Home.  This link has some creative in-house activities for those who cannot leave the home gate to go walking (with masks).  I’m going to try some of these creative activities- dice and cards for myself.  You could regard this as a special time for your child to enjoy spending time with family -parents and siblings - doing activities for which we never make time.  Appreciate slowing down and treating this lockdown as a catch-up time.  There are also Olympic hints for training from home - At Home with Team Aus.  Great reading and motivation.

 

At home on the weekend, I tried some new recipes, planted some herbs, and cultivated the vegetables in my garden.  It seems as if spring has arrived so, in between classes and breaks, I love going out to my piazza to have tea, watching the bees buzz around the plants that are flowering.  I am a bit of a nature child!  Being at home has motivated me to think about my skills and strengths and, after a day of school online, take the time to sketch, organise my family photographs, read novels from the I-Centre that have beckoned me for so long, and maybe discipline myself to start learning languages online and just enjoying BEING.

I must say that, in my school week in lockdown, after only two days I was very aware of how much more time I have spent at the computer without the walk up and down stairs in A and L Blocks, and now I have a sore neck and shoulders - so my goal is to take disciplined timed breaks, walk around, have some fresh air and sunshine, clear my desk, and have a mental break as often as I can.

 

Hints for you, me, and your young adults:

  • Have a pleasant, organised workspace that is ventilated, well-lit, and quiet
  • Have a comfortable chair for working longer hours at the computer
  • Clear desk after every lesson
  • Take breaks between classes
  • Hydrate with water, not sugary drinks
  • Eat healthy snacks regularly
  • Move away from technology in downtime if you can
  • Listen to music or sketch (artistic activities)
  • Do some exercise (yoga, weights, Zumba to YouTube)
  • Walk the dog or walk around the garden
  • Sit with family and chat
  • Cook meals together
  • Try healthy mindfulness activities
  • Watch Netflix movies together
  • Treasure your family time and enjoy

Our wellbeing is so important for achieving our goals, so talk about it, work on it together, and make it a part of your daily routine.  Share together as a family with your young adult what you are all grateful for, how to control or manage what you cannot control and, most importantly, keep positive and connected in any way that you can.

 

I have been very impressed this week with my Year 11 students’ readiness for classes and interaction online.  I enjoy their cheerful voices, questions that are posed, and kind offers to help one another in learning.  The students know how to use the technology after our Learning from Home last year and continued use of the Teams communication platform. They know how and where to ask for help if problems arise., so it gives us hope that independent and resilient young people are developing.

 

I am sharing some photos in this Parent Corner of your wonderful young adults in their Senior years journey from Athletics Carnival, Reflection Days, and Cross Country.  These are special memories that may override the times when we are called to face challenges, but through these we grow.

I am here to support your young adults in these days of lockdown, so please contact me if you need so I can support you.

 

Please take care and keep healthy.

Karen Farrow