WELLBEING WEEK AT CBS
The second week in March was a very important week in the calendar of CBS Secondary School, Mitchelstown; Wellbeing Week. Wellbeing Week is a five day all-inclusive, whole school endeavour, that has been occurring in the school for a few years, with the overall aim to promote wellbeing for the whole school community.
With a varied array of events held over the course of the week, all six Wellbeing indicators were catered to. Monday saw a TY and 1st Yr hike up the Galtees with teachers which adhered to the indicators of being active, connected, and resilient, with active leadership and helpfulness from the TY guides demonstrating responsibility and respect at the core of the event. Monday also saw a variety of treats (healthy and not so healthy!) left for the staff by principal Mary Hannon.
Tuesday then focused on motivation and the Wellbeing indicators: awareness, connectivity, resilience and responsibility. In this instance we had two esteemed speakers: Ray Langan with his workshop ‘Rayse the Game’ for the 2nd and 3rd Years, while John Lonergan gave a fascinating talk to the 5th and 6th Years. Tuesday night saw John Lonergan also give a talk to the parents of the CBS students. Both events were particularly well received with John’s harshly real and extremely engaging oratory style notable.
The idea of motivational talks and workshops also influenced Thursday’s activities, with Johnny Holland giving a practical and relevant workshop on nutrition and health, thus focusing on the indicators of being active, resilience and responsible. This vein was also maintained with the exceptionally well organised and well attended Apprenticeship Evening that took place in The Firgrove on the Thursday night, an event that saw collaboration between all three schools in the Mitchelstown area.
However, in the CBS there is a belief that wellbeing for one is wellbeing for all, and with the current war affecting millions in Ukraine, there was a notable sense of altruism over the week. During that time parents, staff and students all donated generously to the Ukraine Appeal. There was a collection at the parents’ talk on Tuesday night, a staff coffee morning on Wednesday and a non-uniform day for students on Friday, 5th March. Collectively, a fantastic €1,426 was collected for the Irish Red Cross to aid those in need during this humanitarian crisis. When you couple this with the six car loads of physical donations that were given the week before, once cannot but be moved by the sense of humanity and care in the school.
With Wellbeing Week over for another year, the school wishes to note the success of the events; it really was a week that brought the whole school together. On this note special thanks needs to be given to the two organising teachers, Ms Sinead Ryan and Ms Carmel Ryan, who were instrumental in making the week the success that it was.