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"Mindfulness" and Mindset Growth At Christchurch's Rangi Ruru Girls' School

Thursday 30 July 2015, 9:27AM

By RedPR

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L-R: Macy Neale_Ava Willimann_Julia Stewart_Amelie Spinks_Ella Newberry
L-R: Macy Neale_Ava Willimann_Julia Stewart_Amelie Spinks_Ella Newberry Credit: Rangi Ruru Girls' School

CHRISTCHURCH

Two words Bridgitte Newberry uses to describe the new classes her daughter has experienced over the last two years.

Learning how to manage the ever increasing pace and demands of our modern lives is something all 11 and 12 year olds will include in their daily education at Rangi Ruru Girls' School from next year after the success of a "Wellbeing Programme" specifically for pre-teens, trialled in 2015.

The programme is designed to teach students a 'growth mindset' (the idea that intellectual abilities can be developed), which helps them engage with difficult schoolwork, encouraging them to take on challenges and persist in the face of obstacles. Student wellbeing and academic performance are nurtured by cultivating positive emotions, resilience and positive character strengths.

Bridgitte Newberry says she has noticed that her daughter Ella, (aged 12) is more positive, happier, confident and broadminded as a result of the Rangi Wellbeing Programme.

"I'm a health professional so I know the importance of wellbeing and the fact that these girls are being taught a number of skills through mindfulness, positive psychology, yoga and meditation will stand them in great stead as they grow up,"

These skills give them the ability to deal with any issue immediately as they arise in the classroom through tolerance and appreciation of each other. Imagine if we had been taught about growth mindsets and mindfulness in our day"

Julie Moor says the Wellbeing Programme at Rangi has been well received by both the girls and their parents.

"Before we introduced the trial programme we asked parents in an informal survey what they wanted for their daughters at school? The number one reply was "happiness". Interestingly, when the girls were asked what they wanted at their school, one of the most common answers was "fun".  We know that wellbeing and having life coping skills helps confidence and are keys to that happiness and having fun," she says.

There is extensive evidence that shows positive programmes like this are significantly related to improved student wellbeing, relationships and academic performance.

Stress is known to increase during adolescence and a World Health Organisation (WHO) school-based study from Sweden of some 120,000 students in 28 countries showed a threefold increase from the age of 11 to 15 years of age. When a meditation-based, "mindfulness" technique was taught to the students, the study found that, particularly girls, reported better overall well-being at school including fewer peer problems and reduced stress levels.

In 2010 another Swedish study (Haraldsson et al. 2010) into how stress affects the lives of adolescents, found that it was important for girls to find solutions to problems themselves, which they would then use again when needed; not having to find solutions on the hoof, as it were.

Year 8 teacher Lisa Johnson has returned to Rangi Ruru from the Phuket International Academy and says more schools around the world are integrating wellbeing programmes into their curriculum.

"Our Wellbeing Programme is an extension of Rangi Ruru’s ‘values education’ which is at the heart of the school. ‘Mindful education’ helps enable our girls to become more aware of themselves and others. The ability to focus your attention on the present moment is an essential skill that needs to be practised. The girls have adopted the growth mindset really well. When they say they “cannot” do something, we reply “not yet”. Using those two words creates belief that they will master those skills in the future: it’s a subtle but distinct difference in the way we use our language. Students wellbeing is the underlying foundation for every girl’s academic learning and success,” she says.

ENDS

 

For more information please contact Ali Jones on 0272473112.

 

Additional:

What is Mindfulness?

According to the Oxford Mindfulness Centre in the UK, mindfulness is: the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, with compassion, and openhearted curiosity.

At its root, mindfulness means “to remember” so ultimately, this is what it is about – to remember our core values and our motivations, bringing all of these into our awareness in order to approach situations, whether they be good or bad, in a more constructive and healthy way. It brings us out of automatic pilot and sets us up to approach life with a spirit of inquiry, equanimity and compassion.

 

www.rangiruru.school.nz