Feeling S.A.D. by Jack Michellod, MYP5

This year I chose to do my Personal Project on SAD - Seasonal Affective Disorder. Mental health is a very important aspect of your life and you could be suffering from SAD without even knowing it.  SAD affects one in twenty people, causing them to be in a more depressive state in certain seasons, usually at the same time every year. Even though not everyone suffers from it, many people feel that their mood is negatively affected by winter. Here at La Garenne, 57.8% of people admit to feeling more sad in winter than in summer. This means that most people do see a notable difference in mood between the seasons. 

 

Causes

The main causes of SAD that I found were:

• Lack of vitamin D
• Lack of fresh air and outside activity
• Problems with body cycles

Because of the extra clothing that we have to wear in winter and the fact that we also go outside less because of the cold, we have a lack of sunlight to skin contact. Lack of vitamin D has been proved to be associated with mood disorders such as depression and anxiety. This means that in Switzerland, where we are at high altitude in the northern hemisphere like Switzerland  andwhere day/night cycles and temperatures are heavily affected, we have a higher chance of being affected by seasonal depression.

Being outside less in winter because of the cold means that you are going to get less fresh air and less physical activity. Outdoor activity and mental health are closely linked so forgetting to get your fresh air and daily exercise it puts you at higher risk of feeling low. Shorter days and less sunlight lead to prominent changes in our food and sleep schedule, known as our circadian rhythm. Our body has a hard time adjusting to knowing when to eat and to sleep.

These two things are massive factors in our mental health and when they are out of balance, research has shown it can lead to anxiety and depression. Our circadian rhythm controls how and when we release hormones, as well as supporting our metabolism so without it being stable it is much harder to eat and sleep.

Solutions

For some who seek professional medical attention for SAD, you can attend light therapy sessions. Of course these cost money and are quite boring. Not only that, but they also don't guarantee that you will get rid of your seasonal depression. Here is my take on what you could do:

• Firstly, exercise more. The people I interviewed all told me that exercise helped them with mental health, not only that but reduced outdoor activity is one of the causes of SAD.
• Secondly, go outside, get some fresh air, it will get you to move a bit, and it gives you the vitamin D that you need. It is not asking for two hours of intense hiking, but maybe a trip into town and back every day, all this helps.
• Finally, establish a routine. A routine can help you stabilise your circadian rhythm and make it much easier to wake up, go to sleep, eat and all the rest.

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Preparing for the Summer Exams

The whole school wishes our DP2 students all the best in their exams! Here are some tips to help you prepare. You could try lowering stress levels by:

• Finding a study group. If there isn't one at school, try starting one with friends or people in your class.
• Making a revision timetable. This helps organise your revision and your breaks.
• Working in the best way for you. Be creative or active if it helps, like drawing diagrams or making up songs. Try being open to different types of studying and revision.
• Revising in the best place for you. You might prefer the quiet or being around others. If you don't have a space to study at home, you could try the library, a cafe, or a family member or friend's house. Once back at school, find the best place for you to study.

On the day of your exam, you could:

• Prepare your items the night before. Get everything you need ready to take with you.
• Start your day the best you can. Try to eat breakfast and make sure you have enough time to arrive at your exam without rushing.
• Try to ground yourself with a breathing exercise. If you feel overwhelmed in the exam, try to breathe in through your nose for 4 counts, hold it for 2 counts, and breathe out through your mouth for 7 counts. If you repeat this, it can slow your breath and help keep you calm.
• Take your time. Read the questions carefully and plan what you need to do before answering.
• Remind yourself that it'll be over soon. You've done your best and that's all you can do.

After your exam:

• Try not to compare your answers to others. If possible, avoid talking to other people about the questions, comparing answers or looking up answers online.
Reward yourself. Think of something to do afterwards that you enjoy. You could go out with your friends, play video games, or eat your favourite food. Focus on next steps. Plan what you'll do next, like doing something fun, then revising for the next exam. Think ahead in a positive way – if you have another exam, focus on the time and date that it'll be over. Relax before your next exam. The stress from doing an exam can leave you feeling exhausted. You might find it hard to revise again before you take a break.

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Getting the Balance Right

For students, teachers and parents, it is more than important to ensure that we have a correct balance between our working life and our home life/free time. Overworking can lead to burnout as well as lack of creativity and motivation towards our study or our job. As a student, sometimes it is good to take a break and go outside or just talk to our friends. It will re-energise us and allow us to look at our work in a different way. We should all take the time to reflect on our work life balance over the holidays and find a way to balance our lives so that everyone benefits from these changes.

Go from this > to a more positive outlook

• Missing dinner - I have to get through these emails > I will make time to sit down and nourish myself. My work will be there tomorrow.
• I am too busy to go outside today > I will schedule a walking meeting today so I can get some fresh air. I will take my class out today to be taught.
• I am burnt out but if I just push through this week, things will get better > I deserve to rest. When I prioritise my wellbeing, I show up as my best self. 

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Easter Egg Cookies

Why not have some quality time in the family this Easter and bake some Easter egg cookies? Here is a recipe for you to try with your family and friends.

Ingredients

125g unsalted butter

225g caster sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

225g plain flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon caster sugar

For the icing

2 egg whites

1 teaspoon lemon juice

500g icing sugar

Food colouring

Sugar decorations

Method
1. In a food processor, add the butter and sugar and process until combined.
2. Add the egg and vanilla and process until combined.
3. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt and stir to combine.
4. Add the flour mix to the food processor gradually until it is all mixed and a dough ball forms.
5. Shape this into a disk and refrigerate for 1 hour.
6. Preheat the oven to 160°C. Cover a baking sheet with baking paper and set aside.
7. Roll out the disk on a flour dusted surface using a rolling pin and roll it to a 5mm thickness.
8. Dip your cutter into some flour and cut your shapes out, placing them on the tray. Sprinkle it with caster sugar.
9. Bake for 25-30 minutes until slightly golden. Leave to cool for 5 minutes on the tray and cool and then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

To make the icing
Using a hand mixer, mix the egg whites until frothy, add the lemon juice and gradually add the sifted icing sugar until fully combined.
Pour the icing mixture into four bowls and colour each one with a touch of food colouring. Using a knife, spread half the icing over the biscuits.
Pour the remaining icing into ziplock bags to use as piping bags and snip the tip off and decorate the iced biscuits. Add sugared decorations.

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Useful Links

Anapana Meditation
Yoga to release tension
Tai-Chi / Qigong
Meditation
Tabata workout
African dance lesson
Breathing exercises
Yoga for kids
Mindfulnessbreathing exercises
Breathing for Kids
Breathing Exercises by GoZen
What Makes Me?
Growth Mindset
Wellbeing apps for different ages

La Garenne's Counselling Service

We would like to introduce our school counsellor Maya Suter to our new parents. Maya offers a supportive space where students can explore their thoughts and feelings in a confidential and non-judgmental environment.

Maya is here to help students navigate life's challenges, gain insight into their concerns, and work towards positive change. Whether they are facing personal, relationship, or academic issues, we are committed to assisting our students on their journey towards greater well-being and emotional balance.

You can contact Maya on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you have any questions or need more information about the counselling service.

Responsible Decision Making

As students in our secondary school prepare for life after La Garenne, it is important that they are able to make informed decisions about their future. This could be choosing their next school or university, which subjects to take in the DP years or what to study at University. Decision making is all about making choices, finding solutions and selecting the best option.

Some choices are easy, such as what to eat for breakfast or should you buy those new jeans or not. Other choices need a more considered approach. Sometimes bigger decisions are more difficult as there might be both positives and negatives for each option. There might also be some pressure from friends and family to make a certain decision.

The older you get, the more complex your choices might be and ultimately more is at stake. The more informed you are about topics such as drugs, alcohol and smoking, the easier it will be for you to make responsible choices that affect your health, safety and wellbeing.

Remember that if you struggle to make a decision, you have your teachers and parents available to support you and to help you make positive, informed and responsible choices.

• Understand how to deal with peer pressure so you can make independent choices
• Practise decision-making skills and strategies to build your confidence
• Make informed, responsible decisions around alcohol, smoking and other drugs
• Find help that will support you to make responsible decisions

 

Screen Time

Online safety is an important part of our school curriculum and we work extensively to help safeguard pupils from potential dangers or unsuitable material. E-Safety is taught to all pupils explaining and demonstrating how to stay safe and behave appropriately online, both at school and at home.

As a school we can only be successful in keeping our students safe online if we work collaboratively with you, their parents / carers, in ensuring that the message of online safety is consistent.

We teach our students the following Golden Rules:

• Use a nickname and not your real name when you are online.
• Keep personal information safe, share only with people you know.
• Use websites that are suitable for your age and remember that you are still talking to strangers.
• Be nice to others online, in the way you would expect other people to be nice to you.
• Tell an adult if you hear or see something that is not right.

What can you as parents do to support us and your child?

Location: Think about placing your computer in a supervised family area. Always supervise your child when they use webcams and applications that allow voice or video chats.
Legal age: The widespread availability and use of social networking applications allow us to communicate with audiences in a new way. It is important that you remember that not all applications are suitable for your child's age and that there is a minimum age requirement. The following link can be used as a guide: Internetmatters.org
Dialogue:

• Talk to your child and ask them to show or even teach you how they use the internet.
• Learn which websites or tools they like to use and why. Learning together can often open opportunities to discuss safe behaviour with your child.
• Always ensure your child knows how to block or report people online who send nasty or inappropriate messages or content.
• Encourage your child not to retaliate or reply.
• Make sure your child knows to tell an adult they trust if they see something online that makes them scared, worried or uncomfortable.
• It is essential to be realistic – banning the internet or technology will not work and it often makes a child less likely to report a problem.

Websites for more information

Thinkuknow.co.uk
Childnet.com
Getsafeonline.org
bbc.co.uk/onlinesafety

 

Mindfulness

Mindfulness can be defined as the mental state achieved by focusing on the present moment whilst also accepting our feelings, thoughts and bodily sensations. By integrating mindfulness into the day, we can equip our children with lifelong skills that support their current and future mental health and wellbeing.

1. Breathe! Deep breathing is nature's way of relaxing the brain and the body. You can 'trick' the brain with controlled deep breathing. Get your children to inhale for the count of five. Hold the breath for a second, and then slowly exhale for a count of eight. Repeat ten times, or until calm.

2. Mindful doodling: It relaxes the mind, and allows the learning to make connections in the brain. It will also help if you play relaxing meditation music in the background.

3. Mindful gratitude: Throughout the day, get your child to stop what they are doing and take three mindful breaths, and silently write down one thing they are thankful for, on a special 'Gratitude List'. By the end of the day, the list will be long and filled with happy thoughts.

4. Worry Stones: This is a 'focus object' that can allow children to release their worries and connect with their inner mindfulness of calm and peace. Have a collection of smooth stones to hand. When the child starts to become anxious, have them rub the stone, while focusing on the feel of the stone, and taking deep belly breaths.

5. STOP! This is a ten second mindfulness idea. When a child is getting frustrated, wriggly or overwhelmed, use the acronym STOP to resettle them. 
S = Stop what you are doing 
T = Take a deep breath 
O = Observe what is happening around you 
P = Proceed

And one more bonus tip... Develop your own mindfulness! Children who have access to calm, mindful adults are more likely to be calm, mindful children. When they have good role models who are using mindfulness strategies day in, day out, they will follow your lead. 

Positivity breeds positivity and mindfulness will become part and parcel of life. Remember that stress is a part of life. It will not disappear. But we can control how we react to stress.

Creative Wellbeing Activities

Wellbeing jars

This activity can be a gift from you and your child to another member of your family or a friend. Your child can choose what kind of a jar they would like to create and they will write messages of love to that person on different pieces of paper. You can support them with ideas if necessary. 
You will need:

• Two or three clean jars
• Coloured card or paper
• String 
• Pen / marker

 

Happy Thoughts Memory Bracelet

This activity is all about creating a bracelet that your child can wear to school and be reminded of all the great moments that they have had with you. This can help them feel closer to you whilst they are with us at school.

You will need: 

• String
• Coloured beads

For this activity, you will need to define with your child some key memories that they would like to remember on their memory bracelet. Choose colours to represent these memories / activities / feelings. Why not also make one for yourself to create a lovely bond with your son or daughter? 

Useful Links

Yoga office / screen break
Yoga to release tension
Tai-Chi / Qigong
Meditation
Fitness with Madfit
Tabata workout
African dance lesson
Breathing exercises
The power of crying
Yoga for kids
Wellbeing books for Primary students
Mindfulnessbreathing exercises
Wellbeing apps for different ages

Books to read: If you would like to learn more about different wellbeing and mental health issues for your age, visit Reading Well. Please ask the school librarian or Eurgain if you would like to order one of the books.

Wellbeing Newsletter

INTRODUCING OUR NEW HEAD PREFECT

My name is Myriam and I have the honour to be the Head Prefect of La Garenne International School. I am 17 years old and I am currently studying for the IB diploma. I have been at La Garenne for 2 years and it has been greatly valuable for me. I am very pleased to receive a lot of support from the staff and teachers on a daily basis. Besides that, I love spending time with my friends, going out for activities or doing sports. However, I have to admit that it can be quite challenging to manage my studies and my hobbies. That is why I am doing plenty of things to take care of my mental health in order to manage all of it at the same time. For instance, I like to go out for a walk to get some fresh air, going to the gym, going out to a restaurant, planning my days, tidying my room, reading books and also, taking naps. I believe that our mental health should be our priority and we must take care of it.

MANAGING EXAM STRESS

Just Breathe
"You are strong enough to handle your challenges,
Wise enough to find a solution to your problems, and
Capable enough to do what needs to be done.”
Lori Deschene

For the first time in the history of La Garenne International School, the first cohort of DP2 students is embarking on their IB exams. This is a very exciting but also challenging time for everyone. It is normal to feel overwhelmed when preparing for and writing an exam, but looking after our mental health and our wellbeing during revision and exam time is very important. Here are a few tips that were shared with our DP2 students to help them navigate the upcoming stress:
Step2: High levels of stress tells you that you need to take a break from the stressful sitaution. Here's what you can do:

Laugh with friends
• Eat healthy snacks
• Learn to say no
• Listen to music
• Tidy your study space
• Stretch your body
• Drink water
• Take deep breaths
• Sleep more
• Go for a walk
• Reduce screen time
• Do something creative
• Read a book
• Write a diary

Step 3: Talk to someone for additional support: your boarding houseparents, your health and counselling team, your teachers and school mentors. The whole school would like to wish our DP2 students all the best in their upcoming exams.

WELLBEING IN THE PRIMARY SCHOOL

It is well known that bringing pets to the classroom has a positive effect on the education of our students: not only do they provide an alternative way for children to learn, but it is also linked to supporting emotional wellbeing. For children who do not have a pet at home, they have the opportunity to see, feel and touch an animal, enriching their curiosity and creativity. The primary section was extremely lucky last week to welcome Sausage the rabbit into their Art class.

EARTH DAY

Since 1970, Earth day has been celebrated annually on 22nd April to raise awareness and to show support for protecting the environment. The first Earth Day started with Senator Gaylord Nelson, an American politician and environmentalist who wanted to raise awareness about environmental issues.
The theme for this year’s Earth Day was Invest in our Planet. This reminds us of our responsibility to give our time, energy and resources to help solve different environmental issues. How can we as individuals help to invest in the future of our planet?

• Reduce plastic consumption
• Join an organisation to plant trees to offset our carbon footprint
• Commit to sustainable fashion
• Use public transport as much as possible
• Turn off the lights when you leave the classroom

La Garenne also plays a role in protecting the environment with our sustainability initiatives. This school year, La Garenne has invested in green energy by installing our own solar energy plant outside Beau Site, as well as investing in two electric minibuses to reduce our carbon footprint and contribute to cleaner air in the community. Every small action can have a big impact when it comes to protecting our planet.

MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK

The theme of this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week is Anxiety, which is one of the most common mental health problems affecting people today. Anxiety is a feeling of unease, such as worry and fear that can affect a person in a variety of ways.
Anxiety is a normal reaction that can, in some situations, be beneficial to us in that it can make us more aware and alert. A healthy level of worry or stress can help us in preparing for an exam or an important presentation. However, when this worry becomes too big and takes over our thoughts and feelings, it ceases to be helpful and turns into a disadvantage.

What can we do to cope with feelings of anxiety?

• Focus on your breathing - use a breathing technique that works for you, for example the 4-7-8 system
• Keep a diary of your emotions - this can help you see what triggers your anxiety
• Take time outside in nature - it can help us feel calmer and less stressed
• Exercise on a regular basis during the week. This does not have to be too strenuous. A walk outside with friends can do wonders to our wellbeing

During Wellbeing Week, the students will take part in numerous activities linked to looking after their wellbeing and in particular reducing stress and anxiety levels on a day to day basis. Some of the lunchtime activities that will be run by staff and prefects will be:

• Making your own calm jars
• Make your own stress balls
• Fun and creative workshop linked to anxiety
• Board games and bingo
• Mandala colouring session

FIVE DAILY REMINDERS

I am amazing
I have the power to do anything I put my mind to
I choose to be positive
I will not give up
I will let go of the negative energy surrounding me

MENTAL HEALTH LINKS

Yoga office / screen break
Yoga to release tension
Tai-Chi / Qigong
Meditation
Fitness with Madfit
Tabata workout
African dance lesson
You are not your thoughts
Mindfulness revision

Useful Wellbeing Websites

As usual we bring you a variety of web links that you and your parents can have a look at. Remember, if you find a site that you would like to share with others, please let the Wellbeing Team know.

Secondary School Students

• Anapana meditation
• Yoga to release tension
• Tai-Chi / Qigong
• Meditation
• Tabata workout
• African dance lesson
• Breathing exercises
• Exam stress guide

Primary School Students

• Yoga for kids
• Mindfulness breathing exercise
• Breathing for kids
• Breathing exercises by GoZen
• What makes me?
• Growth Mindset

Links for parents

• Wellbeing apps for different ages

Keeping an Eye on Your Screentime

The Smart Social website gives excellent advice to parents and carers on the different apps available for young people and which ones are most suitable for our young people. They are divided into the following categories:

What are healthy ways to allow my child safe screen time?

Giving your child some screen time is not always unhealthy, especially if it is done with guidance from a parent or guardian. Here are some tips for parents to keep in mind:

• Watch alongside your child (especially if they are primary age) and talk to them about what they are viewing.
• Select high quality, educational and interactive content.
• Ensure that what they are watching is age appropriate.
• Set limits for phone or screen use, such as no screens during meal times.
• Teach them internet safety from an early age.
• Be a positive screen time role model to your children.