Exercise and Exams
An Unlikely Alliance?
For many 5th year students, if you asked them, “Do you do sport during exams?”, many would think you were crazy. Lots of students in 5th year don’t do exercise anyway, even without exams looming over them. I personally do a lot of sport. I’ve been brought up in a sport loving family, so I suppose I’m biased when I say that sport is one of the best ways to escape exam stress.
However, it has been proven that if you exercise when studying, your Brian will retain more of what you have just learned. Therefore, sport is not just a way of escaping exams, it’s a way of learning without studying. One personal example that I have was when I was studying for my French speaking exam. I would learn some of it and then take a break for around 5-10 minutes and do some circuits such as sit ups and planks. When I went back to studying again I found that I had remembered a lot more of my French than if I had just sat on my phone or talked to my family. I was also less likely to be distracted during my break and over extend it.
It is also a good way to maintain a good mental health. Mental health can be a major issue in teenagers these days due to the pressures put on them during their exams. Exercise helps to release endorphins into your brain which makes you feel good. The same way chocolate does. Even a short but brisk walk can help you learn more than just studying all the time. After a while it doesn’t go in. Exercise helps to clear your mind and therefore pave the way to exam success.
By Emma, 5D
SHELF HELP AT BOCLAIR ACADEMY MARCH 2018
Posted 14th of March 2018
Shelf-Help is a project set up by East Dunbartonshire School Librarians to promote teen mental health and wellbeing. It does this by:
- Showing pupils, through shared reading and writing that they are not alone
- By creating a book shelf dedicated to mental health and wellbeing topics
- By making online reading lists available through GLOW
All books in the Boclair Academy library will be identifiable by the “shelf help logo” and included both fiction and non-fiction titles.
As part of this project, there will be a writing competition for all pupils and staff at Boclair Academy to write 300 words or less on “How a Book Saved my Life”.
Can you think of a book which has ‘saved your life’ by…
making you realise that you’re not alone?
making you feel happy?
helping you through a difficult time?
Entries must be handed in to the library, Guidance or English Department by March 29th 2018 pieces will be published in a booklet.
This term we are continuing to report on mental health, with our focus on how Music can benefit our wellbeing.
How singing can improve your mental health and wellbeing – sign up to school choir now to reap the benefits!!
By Callum M, 2D
Music and humans go a long way, but recent research has shed light on a new possibility; music being used to improve mental health.
We all know that music is a great way for us to relax. Many therapists are now adopting this idea of “music therapy” into patients with such disorders as autism dementia and depression, it is said that using music helps patients to relax and relieve stress.
Music is also seen as an alternative to speaking. Those suffering from an anxiety disorder have the ability to communicate through a musical instrument, in turn helping them to open up and be more confident in themselves. The musical instruments used in music therapy usually do not require any previous experience such as:
Triangles
Tambourines
Bells
Wood blocks
Simple harps
These instruments work great as a starter for patients and sometimes even lead to them trying other instruments and taking lessons which is a positive step. More and more therapist are starting to use this wonderful tool of music to communicate and make progress with their patients, it is believed that this “universal language” will strive to help all of us sometime in some way shape or form.
As part of the BBC School Report remit for New Day on the 16th March , we have been very busy preparing our own mental health and wellbeing reports. We have also visited many departments in our school to photograph our pupil at work to exemplify wellbeing.
“Five ways to wellbeing: connect, be active, take notice, keep learning and give.”
Photos –
Emotional Health & Wellbeing Lesson with Mrs Kennedy
S2 Dragons Den project using recyclable materials
Mental health counselling is demanded more than provided
Written by Megan 2D
Children’s charities are saying that there is a lack of mental health provision. This urgently needs to change; to be revolutionised. Around half of all mental health problems occur before the age of 15, thus the mental health provision has a long way to go to tackle this issue early on in young peoples’ lives.
A shortage of mental health workers and psychologists is the result of budget cuts. Around a fifth of all children that are referred to NHS Scotland because of mental health aren’t seen within a target of 18 weeks. Between January 2015 and September 2016, over 30,000 young people have been seen by NHS Scotland mental health counselling services (‘Chams’), with almost 7,000 of those patients having been on a waiting list for more than 18 weeks. 708 of those had to wait more than a year; this insufficient service from the NHS needs radical improvements made to create the transformation that our country needs.
The Mental Health Minister, Maureen Watt has told BBC Scotland that “I have said that where there are long waiting times in health boards for ‘Chams’ and psychological therapies, it is not acceptable. I have used part of the £150m to make sure that those health boards that are far away from meeting targets are given help to, where necessary, redesign their whole service are where they need more people, more psychologists more nurses that those are provided.” They say that we are going to begin to see improvements, but it is a long way to go.
GOSPEL SINGING, BAND INSTRUMENT SKILLS & HILARIOUS LEARNING GAMES IN HIGHER MUSIC (CONCEPTS) IN THE MUSIC DEPARTMENT BOOST OUR CONFIDENCE AND EMOTIONAL WELLBEING
SOCIAL STARTERS IN GEOGRAPHY LESSON HELP OUR GROUPS TO COMMUNICATE
Survey analysis of mental health
By Isla McN
As a school, we asked pupils to complete a survey relating to mental health and what can be done to support them. We counted the results by tally marks and worked out their percentage. An overwhelming 73% of pupils felt as though Boclair supports them well during times they feel anxious or concerned. 40% of pupils demonstrate confidence in seeking help when they are anxious or concerned, while 26% admit they would be reluctant to ask. Some suggestions for improvements as to how we could enhance the mental health of our young people at Boclair were: more individual help from teachers and guidance teachers, present the message across the school to encourage pupils to ask people how they are whilst remembering that it’s okay not to feel okay, and other reassuring advice.
