Last Thursday, we celebrated a beautiful Mass with Fr Bernard Gordon to start our new school year. Thank you to Mrs Arthur-Worsop, the Year 6 teachers and students for preparing and leading such a memorable occasion. Congratulations to all our Year 6 students who were inducted into their leadership roles for 2020.

   

BRAIN BREAKS - WHOLE SCHOOL INITIATIVE

OUR GOAL

To provide a variety of outdoor and indoor equipment and activities so that the students can engage in brain breaks which will assist their motor, sensory, social and cognitive development. By allowing physical movement / brain breaks during learning time students will: 

• Cross the mid-line of their body which helps both sides of the brain engage.
• Increase circulation to improve concentration
• Improve gross motor skills including hand and foot coordination
• Build strength, wellness and stamina
• Develop social skills 
• Engage in risk taking, creative thinking through imaginative play and team work
• Develop greater self-confidence and oral language 

The more students are active throughout the day, the more focused they will be in the learning environment.

WHAT ARE BRAIN BREAKS?

For students to learn at their highest potential, their brains need to send signals efficiently from the sensory receptors (what they hear, see, touch, read, imagine, and experience) to memory storage regions of the brain. The most detrimental disruptions to traffic along these information pathways are stress and overload.

Brain breaks are planned learning activity shifts that mobilise different networks of the brain. These shifts allow those regions that are blocked by stress or high-intensity work to revitalise. Brain breaks, by switching activity to different brain networks, allow the resting pathways to restore their calm focus and foster optimal mood, attention, and memory.

A brain break is a short 2-3 minute break from formal instructional teaching in the classroom. It may incorporate body movements such as bouncing, climbing, dance, stretching, strength and coordination.  Brain breaks may be used to help alert students; wake them up from sluggish behaviour or lack of concentration. Brain breaks may also be used to calm students down when necessary; relax them from over-excitement.