New "Mindfulness" Classes At Rangi Ruru Girls' School

Media Release 30 July 2015

New "Mindfulness" Classes At Christchurch's Rangi Ruru Girls' School

"Impressive" and "positive".

Two words Bridgitte Newberry uses to describe the new classes her daughter has experienced over the last two years.

Learning how to manage the ever increasing pace and demands of our modern lives is something all 11 and 12 year olds will include in their daily education at Rangi Ruru Girls' School from next year after the success of a "Wellbeing Programme" specifically for pre-teens, trialled in 2015.

The programme is designed to teach students a 'growth mindset' (the idea that intellectual abilities can be developed) which helps them engage with school, invigorating them to take on challenges and persist in the face of obstacles. Student wellbeing and academic performance are nurtured by cultivating positive emotions, resilience and positive character strengths.

Bridgitte Newberry says she has noticed that her daughter Ella, (aged 12) is more positive, happier, confident and broadminded as a result of the Rangi Wellbeing Programme.

"I'm a health professional so I know the importance of wellbeing and the fact that these girls are being taught a number of skills through mindfulness, positive psychology, yoga and meditation will stand them in great stead as they grow up,"

These skills give them the ability to deal with any issue immediately as they arise in the classroom through tolerance and appreciation of each other. Imagine if we had been taught yoga and mindfulness in our day"

Julie Moor says the Wellbeing Programme at Rangi has been well received by both the girls and their parents.

"Before we introduced the trial programme, we asked parents in an informal survey what they wanted for their daughters at school? The number one reply was "happiness". Interestingly when the girls were asked what they wanted at their school, one of the most common answers was "fun". We know that wellbeing and having life coping skills helps confidence and are keys to that happiness and having fun," she says.

There is extensive evidence that shows positive programmes like this are significantly related to improved student wellbeing, relationships and academic performance.

Stress is known to increase during adolescence and a World Health Organisation (WHO) school-based study in Sweden of some 120,000 students in 28 countries showed a threefold increase from the age of 11 to 15 years of age. When a meditation-based, "mindfulness" technique was taught to the students, the study found that particularly girls, reported better overall well-being at school including fewer peer problems and reduced stress levels.

In 2010 another Swedish study (Haraldsson et al. 2010) into how stress affects the lives of normal adolescents, found that it was important for girls to find solutions to problems themselves, which they would then use again when needed; not having to find solutions on the hoof, as it were.

Year 8 teacher Lisa Johnson has returned to Rangi Ruru from the Phuket International Academy and says more schools around the world are integrating wellbeing programmes into their curriculum.

"Our Wellbeing Programme is an extension of Rangi Ruru’s ‘values education’ which is at the heart of the school. ‘Mindful education’ helps enable our girls to become more aware of themselves and others. The ability to focus your attention on the present moment is an essential skill that needs to be practised. Students wellbeing is the underlying foundation for every girl’s academic learning and success” she says.

ENDS

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