Mindfulness In Room 14

This term we have begun looking into what being more mindful in Room 14 might mean.

A quick Google search will tell you that mindfulness is about attention, awareness, focus, presence or vigilance. It is about being in the moment. The opposite of these things being mindlessness, inattention, distractedness and lack of judgement - All of which can negatively affect learning opportunities.

Here we are doing a 5 minute guided relaxation session after lunch one day this week:

Mindful students in Room 14 will…

• Take the time to stop and reflect at various times throughout the school day, asking themselves "How am I doing?"
• Display a personal awareness during guided group sessions with Mr K, showing a focused and attentive approach to our discussions.
• Actively listen to others sharing their books for Readers' Café and ask thoughtful questions, while being conscientious and well-prepared to share their own books.
• Enter our classroom after break times in peace, clearing their thoughts of negative distractions and getting themselves ready for the next learning session.
• Manage their daily planner well, choosing appropriate times to update it and evaluating each week with honesty and a mindset that they can improve.

And the list goes on. These were a few of the statements we have already come up with about Room 14.

Also, now with our 1:1 system in place, we have begun to discuss the importance of balancing digital devices with other areas of our lives. Most adults will certainly be able to relate to this, as the world of social media and 'anytime, any-place' connectedness has become more and more a part of many of our daily routines, sometimes to the detriment of our physical and emotional well-being if we allow ourselves to become too engulfed in it.

A focus on being mindful this term will hopefully give us more of an insight into our own learning and personal interactions, as well as an even happier classroom. Here is a news report on how mindfulness practices are being used in one school.

Although like the school in the video above, we will only be spending 5-10mins a couple of times a week on the guided relaxation aspect of mindfulness practice, it will be interesting to see where we go and what benefits we see in both our learning and our sense of well-being.