Students and staff at St Joseph's High School in Crossmaglen recently took part in a metal health and wellbeing week. The initiative was introduced by maths teacher and health and wellbeing co-ordinator at the school Catherine Toner. According to Catherine, it was important to give something back to students after the school community was rocked by the tragic death of a student following a fatal road traffic incident back in October.
The week itself included a range of activities including workshops on self-kindness, healthy eating, dance and meditation among many other things. Speaking to Northern Sound, Catherine said that giving students the skillset to build resilience is "absolutely key" to mental health. She added that it's important to encourage children to recognise signs of when their mental health is starting to decline so that they can regulate themselves before it gets any worse, especially during this time of year as examine season looms.
"I'm very passionate about mental health and bringing it to the forefront and making it the norm," Catherine explained. "Raising the profile of mental health has really helped us tackle poor mental health. Giving students the skillset to build resilience is absolutely key to mental health. I find that half the battle is getting children to recognise whenever their mental health is starting to decline so that they can regulate themselves before it gets any worse."
