On Tuesday the 7th of June, Year 12 students began their day by participating in The Happiness Advantage workshop during their Pastoral Care lesson. During this extremely busy term, as students are busily preparing for several HSC assessment tasks, Year 12 were given time to consider their own wellbeing and were provided with effective strategies to help manage their anxieties, to reach their full potential. Mrs Vella from Human Connections spoke to students about the role emotions play in learning and performing in order to manage exam and performance anxiety. The presentation was interactive and allowed for students to build wellbeing habits through simple and effective emotion management techniques. Students were taught specifically how to interrupt negative thought patterns. They were introduced to EFT (tapping) and meditation for optimal brain function and finished the session off with a discussion on the importance of gratitude.
Our students were very receptive to this presentation and the presenter was completely impressed by their maturity.
“The boys were great, I was very impressed! For this time of year and all that they are thinking about they demonstrated an openness and willingness to take on the messages and experiences of the session.”
On behalf of the Year 12 Pastoral Team, we would like to wish our students the very best of luck during their upcoming assessments and exams and hope they are able to take some of these very practical strategies with them as they complete this assessment period.
“The Happiness Advantage presentation gave insight into the systems our body uses to influence how we think, feel and act in everyday life, while also telling us how we can prompt these systems to benefit ourselves as students undergoing the HSC. I feel like specific strategies that we were provided with such as the meridian pressure point exercise were a real eye opener into the power that we actually have as individuals to push ourselves forward through times of stress and anxiety rather than what we are told all the time in regards to getting enough sleep and improving our work ethic, which are useful tools as well. We also went through other exercises such as using the online game “wordle” as a tool to relax and take some time away from studying as a break, ultimately symbolising the power of a balanced lifestyle. This balanced lifestyle was further talked about by the presenter when we looked at the different aspects of a healthy lifestyle during the HSC and examples of pursuing this lifestyle e.g. under the physical circle we wrote down in our booklets examples of what we can do to make sure we are not neglecting our physical health when studying. Overall, the presentation was an eye-opener for us busy students heading into the assessment period.” Mason Fanning (Year 12 student)
“The Happiness Advantage presentation delivered to the year 12 cohort was an inclusive experience that challenged my view of the HSC. Through learning different ways of how to achieve my goals, such as imagining what it feels like to have a sense of completing a goal and emotional freedom techniques, I was able to see the connection between wellbeing and academic success so that I can make the most out of my final year of school.” Joshua Happe (Year 12 student)
Mrs Russell
Assistant Year 12 Pastoral Care Coordinator
