Tuesday 21st April
Good day everyone. Today many of our beautiful families have reduced me (and several other members of staff) to tears. Our children have been busy creating videos of their dance moves, I must say you have better moves than the school staff - but don’t worry, we are working on it! Watching the video had me in bits, I needed lots of tissues. It was wonderful to see you all having fun at this difficult time, I loved seeing the smiles on your faces. It also made me feel a bit sad, because I miss you so much and cannot wait for us to be back together again.
Remaining happy at this difficult time is super important. Our top priority for the children of Olive Hill is for them to be happy, whether that be at home or in school. But why is happiness so important? We create our own sense of joy in life, but our brain chemistry has a big part to play as our brains are designed to support these efforts by releasing chemicals into our brain and body that make us feel good. When was the last time you felt wildly happy? When was the last time you woke up feeling energetic, joyful and grateful for all that you had? Our happiness depends on many things and your state of happiness changes depending on how you react to changes in your life. We are often more in control of our happiness than we may think. As human beings we desire to feel happy, we will seek experiences that make us happy. Happiness can also be due in part to giving back to the people and community around you, adopting a growth mindset (attitude is everything) during challenging times and making progress in life. This is why it feels so good when we learn something new.
Happiness and positivity can make a huge difference to your wellbeing and achievement. We can all feel sad at different times, and that is okay, but we need to think about how we can steady that emotion so it doesn’t overtake our human desire to be happy. We are all facing difficult circumstances at the moment - not being able to attend work or school, not being able to see our friends and family - these things can make us a little bit miserable. But we can turn that frown upside down! We do this by thinking about the positives and taking positive action. For example, I am really upset that our school is closed - it is a job that I absolutely adore, I wake up every morning excited for the day ahead and looking forward to hearing and seeing all the progress the wonderful children of Olive Hill are making. For the moment, I am not able to gain happiness in this way but I am thankful that our school will come back together again and I am using the time away from you to look at how we can make things even better.
There are lots of things that we can do to keep us happy, whether we are an adult or child. What do you do to stay and think happy? Do you know what your family and friends do to stay and think happy? When I am in my house I love to put on my music and dance around. Miss Best likes to bake and listen to music; Mrs White enjoys colouring; Miss Walters likes to make social contact with others; Mrs Stonehouse likes to dance in the kitchen to reggae music; Mrs Hamblett enjoys listening to music and singing; Miss Macaskill likes watching Disney films and listening to music; Mrs Copson also dances around the kitchen with her husband and children, singing as loudly as they can; Miss Richardson likes to decorate things; Miss Thacker likes to sit outside and read a book (she is on book number seven since lockdown, that means she has read a staggering 2487 pages - keep going Miss T); Miss Clarke enjoys listening to the sounds of nature; Mrs Shinner likes to snuggle up with her family and watch a Disney film - wearing a uniform of pyjamas; Miss Raphael likes to go for a walk, especially if the sun is shinning; Mrs Dudley likes to be with family, as does Mrs Birch; Mrs Aziz likes to cook for her family; Mrs Waldron finds happiness with her family especially when they are in the garden or out walking; Miss Fawke feels happy when she is on long countryside walks with her husband and dogs; Miss Sheasby is also a fan of Disney films to raise her levels of happiness; Miss Grice likes a walk; Mr Holder finds happiness in his garden; for Mrs Parker it is a walk after tea; Miss Homer (Y6) likes to be in the garden with her music blasting (poor neighbours); Mrs Mariott sent a huge list that covers everything the other staff have said; Miss Cooper enjoys reading and walks in the sun; Mrs Higgins is finding happiness in TikTok dances (we are looking forward to a video Mrs Higgins!); Mrs Waters loves to paint and Miss Wajid likes to draw. What a bunch of happy staff we have!
There are lots of things that you can do to keep happy:
Think about the things you are grateful for, you could even keep a journal or a gratitude jar. It helps you to focus on the positives rather than negatives. To make a gratitude jar you will need an empty jar, some paper and a pen. At the end of each day write down all of things you are grateful for (the sun shining, food to eat, the love of your family) and at the end of week look back at all the things you have put in the jar. Maybe you could create a gratitude jar for the whole family.
Laughing. Laughing is really important and you should do it often. What makes you laugh? Mr Holder told me a funny story yesterday and that made me laugh. Perhaps you could perform silly shows as a family, read a joke book or watch a funny film.
Performing acts of kindness. Being kind to others makes us happy. You could make someone a drink, help with the washing up or share your toys with your siblings - all without being asked.
Exercising. There is a strong link between physical activity and mental wellbeing, so going for a walk, playing football in the garden and dancing around the house all help you to stay happy.
Celebrate your strengths. Focus on the things you are good at. Prepare a presentation for the rest of your family about your strengths and don’t forget to tell others what they are good at too.
Reading together. Share a story with your family and don’t forget to put on the voices for each character!
Being sociable. Smile at everyone, make eye contact and say hello.
Hugging. Give your family members a hug - according to the research to get the maximum love-surge you need the hug to last seven seconds or longer. A hug is an easy way to make someone feel special.
We would be delighted to hear about how you have been keeping happy during this difficult time. Email us at: children@olive.dudley.sch.uk. Remember your emails make us happy!
I love the poster below - it shares lots of different things that we can do to keep happy. I have an idea, you could make a poster for your family sharing with them ways to stay happy. Don’t forget to email us a copy. You can always contact us if you need cheering up or help with something that is making you feel sad. We are here for you.
Stay happy and stay safe.
