Dear Parents and Guardians,
We are excited to share that DBIS will be holding its Mental Health Week from 25th to 29th of September. This year’s theme is “Find your Brave,” focusing on the development of confidence and self-esteem in our young people. Bravery is not about coping alone, but about finding ways to overcome difficult physical or emotional challenges.
Our discussions and approach as adults are crucial ingredients in the development of confidence and capacity in children. It is through our relationships with them that we lay the foundations for good mental health and resilience. By engaging in meaningful conversations and providing support, we can help children build their confidence, develop a positive mindset and navigate challenges with resilience.
We can all learn to support children to “find their brave” by:
- Accepting challenges and difficult feelings as a normal part of life;
- Finding opportunities to listen, use empathy, and reflect back feelings;
Helping children (and ourselves) to find ways to self-regulate, to monitor and manage how they express difficult feelings and calm themselves when challenged or stressed; - Taking a problem-solving approach, encouraging children to find their own solutions with our support;
- Demonstrating healthy ways to look after our own needs and helping children to find ways to look after theirs too.
Our Primary and EYFS students will engage in an in-depth exploration of the theme on Friday 27th September, when they will work through a variety of lessons exploring bravery and resilience. Our Secondary students will focus their exploration of the theme during tutor time and in specific lessons throughout the week.
Children across the school will have access to additional activities, such as mindful moments, meditation breaks and movement breaks, throughout the week.
We are very excited to be exploring what bravery and resilience mean with your children this week, and we very much look forward to sharing some of our growth, learning and ideas with you over the week.
Kind regards,
The Wellbeing Team