Simon Marks Mindfulness 3rd year

Aim

We are raising money for the a third year of Mindfulness teaching at our school.

We are now in the third year of teaching Mindfulness at Simon Marks. Some of you may know about Zac Newman  of HaMakom who comes to teach Mindfulness to Years 3-6.  Zac is a meditation teacher who has been teaching mindfulness in schools since 2013. It seems pupils had a lot of psychological and emotional benefit from this.  We need to raise £2000 for him to be able to return and continue this teaching throughout the coming school year.   Here's what Zac has said about his experience teaching in Simon Marks this past year.  

"It was a great pleasure to share mindfulness with years 3-6 at Simon Marks. After the first few of our 12 sessions together we felt it necessary to extend the length of each one, because we were so pleasantly surprised by the degree of pupil engagement. In particular, we found that we didn't initially have as much time as was needed in order to hear all the examples pupils wanted to share of how, in between each session, they had been using the mindfulness tools we learnt. It was here that the learning came alive for me most: there were countless examples of young people intentionally, skilfully and independently using a range of practices, Finger Breathing  to Petal Practice and many more. Feeling challenged by a piece of work, before a performance or during a football match, during a test, in order to avoid an argument in the playground or with a sibling, when feeling worried or sad or unwell...I felt convinced by the pupils' testimony that they absorbed strategies of lasting value. It is essential that these are regularly revisited and refreshed in order to keep them alive in students' hearts and minds, so that they know them well enough to be able to turn to them effectively when they need them most.

 Here's what Ms Metin said about the first round of mindfulness teaching:

"HaMakom has had tremendous impact on the emotional wellbeing of our pupils. They are more aware of their surroundings and more able to talk about mindfulness strategies. It's great to observe young people undergoing mindful choices and vocalising their feelings more readily."

Here's what some pupils have said about their experience of mindfulness teaching:

Ben Dinay says 'I think mindfulness really helps with tough situations. It calms me down. I have really enjoyed the sessions'.

Hannah Jackson says 'I found the sessions really comforting. Sometimes when I think about school i think about mindfulness'.

 What is Mindfulness?

• A Practice of Stopping and Noticing

Being able to step back from the busy-ness of habitual activity and the relentless chatter of the mind offers greater space and clarity to make choices that support well-being in many ways.

• A Training in Attention and Awareness

Mindfulness trains us to direct our attention to whatever is happening in the present moment: our breathing, other physical sensations, thoughts, emotions, or even everyday activities like walking and eating. This awareness means we can respond more skilfully to whatever the present moment throws at us.

This project successfully funded on 7th August 2023