24 August 2017

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Well winter is continuing to make its presence felt and like many I have succumbed to one of the many dreaded lurgies doing the rounds!

The show however must go on and it is newsletter week … with that in mind I found this really good article (abridged) I’d like to share with you.

HOW TO BE MINDFUL WITHOUT MEDITATING

Cat Lamb & Erin Hoare

The word mindfulness can conjure up many mental images; the cross-legged guru atop the mountain, the plethora of colouring books we see in bookstores and even at supermarket checkouts, the svelte yogi downward-dogging their way to inner peace. Mindfulness has become synonymous with ‘rising above’, with breathing deeply and responding calmly in the face of the storm.

There is a considerable amount of science supporting the practice of mindfulness, and there is good reason to see it as a sort of panacea – a fix-all for the troubles of the twenty-first century … with demonstrable benefits, ranging from improvements in brain and immune function to greater acceptance, understanding and awareness of problems, emotions, coping styles and personal struggles.

In a nutshell, the aim of a mindfulness practice is to be aware, present and focussed. The added layer is that of acceptance; to notice where our attention goes in a non-judgemental way, and to be able to redirect it to a task, if that’s where we’d rather it be.

Ironically, the ‘practice’ of meditation can be stressful, as it doesn’t come easily to all who try it…. The challenge of being still is too much for some people – adults and children alike... So, if sitting still and meditating is not your cup of tea, try these alternatives.

Activities in which your skill is challenged and attention is required

Think: skiing, mountain biking, writing, painting, knitting

By maintaining focus while undertaking an activity that is both challenging and requires a degree of skilfulness, you are more likely to reach a Flow state… Accessing a state of flow – that feeling of being ‘in the zone’, where time moves at a different speed and you become engrossed in the activity – is only possible if you are present, focussed, and aware.

Failing to focus or letting your mind wander can be a recipe for disaster, particularly in more high-speed pursuits such as skiing or mountain biking... Practising the skill of being present increases your skill in any endeavour, whether it is outside and active or a more sedate craft. Losing focus while knitting or painting results in less than satisfactory results; the importance of staying present and aware is obvious.

Easy tasks that allow for ‘no focus’

Think: washing the dishes, using colouring books, ironing your laundry

It’s easy to let your mind wander while you’re completing mundane and repetitive tasks. Whilst there are benefits to daydreaming, if you would like to practice mindfulness, mindfully completing these tasks is beneficial and offers similar benefits to meditation.

By remaining present throughout the activity, choosing to notice where your attention wanders to and gently bringing it back to the task at hand, you are flexing your mindfulness muscles.

Focusing intently on the task, or the way you engage with it –the smell of the ironing, the sound of the coloured pencil rubbing– is another way of practising the skill of being present, focussed and aware.

Daily opportunities for practice

Think: mindful eating

Perhaps integrating mindfulness into learning a new skill or during repetitive, daily chores are not appealing options for you - ‘shopping around’ for the ideal context to practise mindfulness is encouraged.

One popular and effective practice for mindfulness is mindful eating…

Mindful eating refers to eating with full awareness of appearance, aroma, taste, satisfaction and gratitude. It could be as simple as taking a single piece of fruit, placing it in your mouth and keeping it for as long as possible without chewing it, being fully aware of its flavour, texture and all sensory experiences. This simple mindfulness exercise can be practiced readily and can be easily extended to longer durations and a variety of settings.

Thinking outside the box

Think: outdoors, running, walking

It has also been recommended that mindfulness practice can be strengthened by tuning into our environmental surroundings, or through our interactions with such surroundings. We’ve seen growth in the evidence base relating to positive mental health and wellbeing outcomes when people have access to, and use, green spaces.

You might further extend this practice by walking or running –undertaking some type of physical activity… Try paying attention to your breath, being aware of the sounds of the natural landscape, but then bringing your attention back to your breath, or counting your steps; stopping the count at 20 and restarting to ensure you really are paying attention.

Whatever you enjoy there is always an opportunity to seek some mindfulness

The full article and many other interesting reads are available below.

Kathleen Hoare
Principal

AUSLAN

Auslan @ GHS

Did you know….

Auslan Fact: The term Deaf or hard-of hearing is the preferred term amongst the deaf community. The term ‘hearing impaired’ is found offensive to many as it implies that they are impaired. People who call themselves “Deaf” use signed language and identify as belonging to Deaf Culture. People who call themselves “Hard of Hearing” usually use spoken English and do not identify with the culturally Deaf.

Auslan Fallacy: Deaf people don’t dance. Wrong!

Many Deaf people love to dance. Some Deaf people may hear particular frequencies that allow them to hear some music or parts of it, and others enjoy feeling the beat of music.

family signs

REMINDER – CANTEEN FUNDRAISER MONDAY 4TH SEPTEMBER

A list asking for donations was sent home with your child on Monday this week.

PLEASE give it your consideration and return to school as soon as possible.

Thanking you in anticipation

Canteen Committee

RESEARCH PROJECT STUDENT EXPO

On the 9th of August, the Stage 1 students travelled to Adelaide to attend the Research Project Student Expo at Wayville Showgrounds. Inside the convention were many stalls that showed previous research projects from other students, options for University’s, TAFE course and presentations on how to make the most of your Research Project. It was a jam-packed day for all students as we all learnt something new about what approach to take with the Research Project and career options in the future. Here is what some students had to say…

I thoroughly enjoyed getting handouts and finding out more information on what topics I could do for my Research Project. – Jade Cunningham
I had a blast talking to people and learning different ways to approach the Research Project. – Jake Clements
I really liked finding out more information about CITB and KESAB. – Steven Haynes-Nayda
I was fascinated with what courses the Uni’s had to offer for me. – Maddison Flavel
I really enjoyed talking with TAFE SA about my future. – Tyron Hahn
I got some really good ideas for my Research Project next year. – Nathan Hooper

NEW ARRIVALS IN THE RESOURCE CENTRE

Exchange of Heart – Psychiatric illness, family’s Australian stories

Since the sudden death of his younger sister, Munro Maddux has been stuck. Flashbacks. Anger. Chest pains. And a voice -- taunting, barking, biting -- that his counsellor calls 'the Coyote'. Munro knows a student exchange will not be the stuff of Disney movies. But in Australia he intends to move beyond his troubled past. Lower to Mid secondary

The width of the world – Heroes & heroines, voyages & travel

This is it. Vega Jane's time. Lied to her whole life, she has broken away from Wormwood, the only home she's ever known, and headed off into the Quag in search of the truth. She battles horrors to fight her way through it, with her best friend, Delph, and her mysterious canine, Harry Two, alongside her. Against all odds, they survive - but arrive into a place that's even worse. Not because deadly beasts roam the streets, but because the people there are enslaved and don't even know it. It's up to Vega, Delph, Harry Two and their new comrade, Petra, to take up the fight against savage and cunning new foe - and their triumph or failure will determine the fate of the whole world.

The bad decisions playlist – Rock musicians, fathers, coming of age

A stranger rolls into town... And everything changes for Austin Methune, when the stranger turns out to be his father, presumed dead, and his father turns out to be Shane Tucker, a bigtime musician -- just the role Austin wants for himself. Austin has a long history of getting himself in trouble, with the assistance of weed, inertia, and indifference. And he's in deep trouble now -- the deepest ever. He's talented, though. Maybe his famous father will help him turn his life around and realize his musical dream. But maybe Austin has inherited more than talent from Shane, who also does drugs, screws up, and drops out. Austin is a wickedly funny tour guide to his own bad decisions and their consequences as he is dragged, kicking and screaming, toward adulthood. Lower to mid secondary

Sparrow by Scot Gardiner – Escapes, Adolescents, Australian stories

Sixteen-year-old Sparrow swims. One, two, three, breath. There are sharks and crocs around him but the monsters he fears most live in the dark spaces in his mind. He's swimming away from his prison life and the skeleton of his family tree. He's swimming for a desolate and rocky coastland and the hollow promise of freedom. He'll eat or be eaten, kill or be killed. Sparrow has nothing left to lose. But to survive he'll need something more potent than desperation.

In the dark spaces – by Cally Black,

Before the Crowpeople, Tamara knew what she had to do. Stay silent. Stay hidden. And keep her baby cousin Gub a secret. But after, Tamara knows nothing. Not why the Crowpeople killed everyone but her. Not whether Gub survived. And not what the Crowpeople will do with her now. But they don't know that Tamara is a fighter. And she'll do whatever it takes to stay alive.

Lower to Mid Secondary

The build-up season – by Megan Jacobson

mid to upper secondary, Seventeen-year-old Iliad Piper, Ily for short, is named after war and angry at the world. Growing up with a violent father and abused mother, she doesn't know how to do relationships, family or friends. Her love-hate friendship with Max turns into a prank war and she nearly destroys her first true friendship with misfit Mia. She takes off her armour for nobody, until she meets Jared, a local actor and someone who's as complicated as she is. From the author of Yellow comes a powerful exploration of family and identity set against the humid build-up to the wet season in Darwin.

SHAOZHEN – through my eyes Lower Secondary

A powerful and moving story about one boy caught up in the Hunan drought in China, set in 2014. Shaozhen might come from a small village in Henan, but he has big dreams. At thirteen, he has no intention of staying a poor farmer in his tiny home village, carved into the base of the mountain range of the 'bread basket' of China. For Shaozhen, his future is in the West - ideally through his first love, basketball. But while Shaozhen might daydream about becoming the next Chinese sporting superstar, there are more than a few concerns in the village that are becoming harder for him to ignore. The floods haven't come this year and the crops are dying.

Dragon Teeth - by Michael Crichton

The year is 1876. Among the warring Indian tribes and lawless gold-rush towns of America's western territories, two paleontologists pillage the Wild West. They are hunting for dinosaur fossils, while surveilling, deceiving and sabotaging each other in a rivalry that will come to be known as the Bone Wars. Into this treacherous territory plunges the arrogant and entitled Yale student William Johnson. Determined to survive a summer in the west to win a bet, William has joined world-renowned paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh on his latest expedition.

Gap year in ghost town - by Michael Pryor

The story of Anton Marin, a young ghost hunter who comes up against Rani Cross, a ghost hunter with a more extreme way of getting rid of ghosts. Anton must decide if he really wants in on the whole ghost hunting biz

Lower to mid secondary

The undercurrent – by Paula Weston

Eighteen-year-old Julianne De Marchi is different. As in: she has an electrical undercurrent that stings and surges beneath her skin. She can use it -- to spark a fire, maybe even end a life -- but she doesn't understand what it is. And she can barely control it, especially when she's anxious. Ryan Walsh is a soldier with a secret unit that has identified Jules De Marchi as a threat. Is it because of the weird undercurrent she's tried so hard to hide? Or because of her mother Angie's history as an activist against bio-engineering and big business? It's no coincidence that Ryan and Jules are in the same place at the same time -- he's under orders to follow her. But then an explosive attack on a city building by an unknown enemy throws them together in the most violent and unexpected way.

NON FICTION A pictorial history of Australian Test Cricket - Ken Piesse

Celebrating the first 140 of test cricket with rare letters, postcards, stamps posters and photographs is captured in this colourful extravaganza from one of Australian leading writers and authorities

A must read for the cricket lover!

Lunch time activities in the Resource Centre

NEWSLETTER SPONSORSHIP

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1300 795 503

COMMUNITY NEWS

BIG BADMINTON WEEKEND

WHYALLA UNI OPEN DAY

WIRRABARA TENNIS CLUB - AGM

SHEARING SCHOOL SEPTEMBER