Wellbeing Week at King’s in Macclesfield
King’s Infant and Junior Division pupils enriched the parts normal lessons cannot reach with a week devoted to a ‘Healthy Mind, Body and Spirit’ at the top Macclesfield school.
The enrichment week was organised by a team of King’s teachers Erica Merriman, Frances Riley and Gemma Brunker with the Principal of King’s Infant & Junior Division Caroline Hulme-McKibbin saying: “Modern life isn’t just increasingly pressurised for parents but sadly for children as well and we want to make sure from as young an age as possible that our boys and girls are equipped to handle all the challenges ahead so they can develop into strong, resilient and caring individuals who respect themselves and value others.”
The week-long programme offered a range of activities for children from Preschool through to Year 6. Learning to phone for help was one of the key practical lessons for the youngest pupils as Kath Rose from Mini First Aid showed King’s youngest boys and girls how to call the emergency services if ever an emergency arises.
Kath said: “It’s essential that children as young as three years-old know how to stop bleeding, put people in the recovery position and phone for an ambulance. To that end teachers and parents should make sure even toddlers can remember the first line of their address, the emergency numbers and how to call for help.”
Organiser and King’s Year 1 teacher Erica Merriman, said: ”We take our responsibility to nurture the whole child very seriously. This week has been an opportunity for the staff and children to participate in a variety of activities linked to RE and PSHE. Children have taken part in sessions based on meditation, yoga, learning about different faiths and we have asked parents to write in letters of love for their children which were then read out in class.”
There was also a guest speaker, Dean Sibson from Progressive Sports who outlined the value of fair play and good sportsmanship. He discussed examples of famous people who demonstrated both good and bad sportsmanship qualities and thought about how the children might follow the better examples.
Another key aspect was a focus on the benefits of drinking plenty of water and how good hydration improves mental and physical well being. Hydration Stations were established in all the classrooms and children learned about the importance of hydration to a healthy, working brain. Other activities involved spending time with nature in the school’s woodland and meadow, extra ‘Wake Up, Shake Up!’ exercise sessions first thing each morning and a talk on the role of Amnesty International.
