About
Reflecting on Mental Health Day
I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving Weekend with family and friends – and well done to the travelling hockey team for their set of results. Thank you to all our staff who supported students both on and off campus over the weekend.
I hope it provided an opportunity for rest and a recharging of individual batteries for students and staff alike.
As you know, the Rev and I like to theme our chapel services with the dual purpose of building our sense of community and connecting us to the outside world.
Wednesday the 10th of October is the World Mental Health Day.
The 2018 theme is ‘Young People and Mental Health in a Changing World’.
As we have discussed, these are exciting and challenging times for all of us as we step into the unknown, into new experiences.
We can react – unless we are careful – with stress and apprehension.
Shawnigan takes this very seriously.
Our staff – with special reference to our residential team, health centre team and counsellors - give first rate support, while Mr. Clinton-Baker continues to drive forward the Shawnigan Life Skills program with a focus on education surrounding positive health and wellbeing.
Prevention begins with better understanding.
Your parents and Shawnigan staff are committed to raising awareness amongst you to look after your health and well-being. We are here to help you build resilience in order to cope with the challenges of today’s world.
As the leaves fall from the trees and the weather turns, school life can become more challenging.
Much of our messaging this term has been focused on supporting others, but it seems an appropriate time to remind all of us to take care of ourselves as individuals.
I have to remind myself, each day, to try to stay balanced and healthy by:
Drinking water,
Maintaining a balanced diet,
Getting 6 to 8 hours of sleep each night,
Taking regular exercise,
Keeping a sense of perspective,
Connecting with family and friends,
Reading a book (and not my emails) before bedtime,
Not reading my emails before breakfast,
And escaping my desk every so often and my bursting inbox of emails!
I don’t always succeed with the above.
And my best piece of advice is: Don’t live your life by virtual reality and social media.
Connectivity to virtual networks undoubtedly brings benefits, but access – at any time of the day and night – can bring additional pressures and have a really negative impact.
The advent of social media is that many of us suffer from FOMO – the ‘Fear of Missing Out.’ This drives us to stay online all day and all night, across time zones, and to become absolutely exhausted along the way.
My recommendation is for you to subscribe to the less well-known philosophy of JOMO when it comes to social media – the ‘Joy of Missing Out!’
Enjoy not being permanently accessible!
So, think on occasion of JOMO, keep yourselves grounded, feel your feet on the floor, and take care of yourselves.
And if you are struggling a little or a lot (and surviving rather than thriving) in the weeks ahead, please talk to someone in person. As Canada's Health Minister, Ginette Petitpas Taylor, said in a press release for this week, ‘It all starts with … conversation.’
9th October, 2018
Richard D A Lamont
Headmaster
We acknowledge with respect the Coast Salish Peoples on whose traditional lands and waterways we live, learn and play. We are grateful for the opportunity to share in this beautiful region, and we aspire to healthy and respectful relationships with those who have lived on and cared for these lands for millennia.
Shawnigan Lake School is an independent co-educational boarding school for ages 13 –18 on Canada’s beautiful West Coast. Our diverse, interdisciplinary and innovative programming helps shape the next generation of global leaders.
