Wellness Week

For a number of years now we have run an 'Active Week' before the May half term break; last year we made a change and 'Wellness Week' was born!

We all know it is important that we look at the child (and ourselves) as a whole being - inside and out - and our vision at Fern Hill is centred on developing the whole child. Of course, physical health is very important but we believe in an equal focus on mental health and lifestyle, and finding ways to support and nourish all three areas, to keep us healthy. This was the driver behind Wellness Week.

Wellness Week 2019 

Wellness Week ran from Monday 20th - Friday 24th May 2019. Children and staff focused on engaging in physical activities and sports, learning to understand the importance of healthy eating through workshops and creative classroom sessions, finding ways to develop good ‘mental health habits’ which the children (and the teachers) can continue to use throughout their lives and celebrated ‘Global Outdoor Learning Day’ with academic lessons outside. The week included a whole school sponsored run and ended with our annual Sports Day. 

On the sporting front, Year 6 enjoyed yoga: learning some relaxation techniques ready to take into their next phase of school life. Year 2 also had yoga, giving them the chance to finally relax after their tests as well. Years 2, 3 and 4 got stuck into the introduction to rugby they had and many a child was overheard to say that they wanted to play some more. Years 5 and 6 had some exciting basketball skills sessions and Year 5 got a chance to learn some karate moves. Reception and Year 1 were having fun with multi skills and Year 1 were also lucky to have some ball skills coaching. Not to be outdone, Daisy Class welcomed back their favourite tennis coaches for an additional session. A huge thanks to London Scottish RFC, Let's Play, Pleiades, Spartans Basketball, Jay Gauci, Teddy Tennis and Sarah Tucker for helping make our Wellness Week active and supporting our physical health.

Healthy Eating workshops were held for all year groups, with discussions about sugar swaps and ways to make lunchboxes and snacks healthier for us. Years 2 and 3 then had a go at making healthy snack sandwiches, choosing the ingredients themselves. Year 1 made healthy salads and voted on their favourite root vegetable. Thanks to the parents who came in to lend a hand in these sessions.

Throughout the week, classes have been doing different activities relating to understanding and supporting the mental health of themselves and others around them. Even our Reception children spent time during their assembly to practice a spot of meditation! This is an ongoing initiative, and there will be many more opportunities on this theme in the coming weeks and months. Staying healthy mentally is crucial to being healthy physically and this is something that we will continue to promote to the children.

Global Outdoor Classroom Day was on Thursday 23rd May, and to celebrate this, classes were encouraged to take as much learning and activities outside as they could: Year 6 were seen investigating the pond whilst writing descriptive pieces about nature; lots of classes had reading sessions in the Secret Garden; some took part in maths data handling lessons doing a traffic survey of Richmond Road and Year 3 children ran their own Seed Dispersal Olympics during their science lessons.

Please have a look at our Wellness Week photo gallery for a taste of what the children, and teachers, enjoyed so much.

This year's Wellness Week will be held from Monday 18th - Friday 22nd May 2020 and we can't wait!