Now and Beyond Mental Health Festival.

St Augustine’s Priory is celebrating Children’s Mental Health Week (1^st – 7^th February) with a programme of activities that everyone can become involved in, with the highlight being Wednesday 3^rd February’s ‘Now and Beyond Mental Health Festival’.

Both Juniors and Seniors have a programme of activities planned with Juniors expressing themselves through Art on Monday, Music on Tuesday and Dance on Thursday.  The activities on Friday invite Juniors to express themselves though their clothes and hair, perhaps by wearing their favourite colour.  Colour can be very personal and mean different things to different people, so this is a wonderful opportunity for self-expression!

With the theme of the week being ‘Express Yourself’, Wednesday will unite Juniors and Seniors in an ‘Inside Out Day’, a dress up day with a difference!  Wearing clothes inside out signifies that we do not always show what is underneath and it is absolutely fine to share our feelings. It encourages us all to always be kind – you never know how someone is feeling on the inside.

 

The Seniors have received a ‘Whole-Being’ Care package which, among other items, includes ‘A Little Book of Teen Kindness’, a Prayer Card for Inner Strength, a Pukka ‘Love’ tea bag (just the thing for relaxing after a day of studying or a session of mindful yoga!), some Fairtrade hot chocolate and a project worksheet.

Also on Wednesday 3^rd February, Seniors will attend some remote workshops, including one delivered by King’s College University London on ‘Coping with Change’ which will look at understanding change and how it affects us.

In the afternoon there will be a choice of interactive workshops for Seniors to attend, culminating in a workshop on ‘Clowning, Play and Improvisation to Improve Wellbeing’ which will focus on building confidence, encouraging creative thinking and techniques to support not just one’s own wellbeing, but also the wellbeing of others.

This promises to be a day of challenges and excitement, something of benefit to us all!