How to deal with EXAMS stress?

 

The pressure of high school exams is one of the first pressures in life that teaches you the values of dedication and commitment. Exam stress affects most students in varying ways. It is important to manage this stress and find little ways of helping to eliminate the risk of burnout. 

For some students, exams can be a breeze; revision is second nature to them, and they could ace an exam with their eyes closed. But for others, sweaty palms and heart palpitations are just a part of the territory, and it seems that nothing is more impossible than sitting down and revising. Here are some handy tips that can help to dissipate stress and make sure you can get through exam season. 

If the stress gets to a point where it is overwhelming and is affecting your day-to-day life, try and speak to someone about it. School should have a service where you can speak to people about your concerns and will be able to offer more advice on how to manage it. If that seems like too big a step, open up to a family member or a friend about the pressure you feel. You’ll be amazed to know that you aren’t alone in feeling like this.

Be flexible. While having a revision time table is one of the best tools in your arsenal for exam success, don’t be too hard on yourself if you don’t stick to it. If you accidentally oversleep, don’t write the day off.

Write down everything you feel like you need to do and try and tick one thing off. Just the act of feeling like you are in control of your revision can help. 

Research shows that overuse of mobile phones not only causes stress but can also hurt your mental health.  So it’s time to get smart about your smartphone. Here are a few things you could try: Check your social media feeds just once or twice a day. Turn off all notifications. Put your phone on airplane mode, or better still, switch it off after 9pm.

"In times of stress, the best thing we can do for each other is to listen with our ears and our hearts and to be assured that our questions are just as important as our answers.”

Year 9 Stars Activity Day(Reflection)

 The STARS Mentoring Program is a classroom-based, peer-to-peer mentoring program that engages and supports students to make positive life choices and build healthy relationships. STARS provides students with the opportunity to discover themselves and build upon their skill set through our three core elements of self-awareness, healthy decision-making and MentorLife, which means to always invest in someone and always have someone investing in you. 

STARS mentors receive training and mentoring from their program coordinator, then they, in turn, are paired with no more than four mentees where they lead activities and opportunities for discussion. Through the program, students can strengthen their leadership abilities, discover and practice positive social and emotional skills around mental health, healthy relationships and decision-making, gain confidence and feel valued.

This day is significant for year 9's and all the stars mentors leaders in the school. This event allowed them to show their leadership and present themselves, and there year 9 groups in different activities. This event started at 9 am at the school ground. Year 9's were divided into different house groups, and they wore their house colours because they all were representatives of there groups. They look wonderful in there house colours. All students participated very well and enthusiastically in all activities. The event finished with dance performances of all house groups.

Niue Language Week(Reflection)

 Niue is one of the world's largest coral islands. Niue peoples are the fourth largest Pacific community living in Aotearoa New Zealand with over 30,000 people, 75% of whom live in Auckland. 

Niue Language Week provides an opportunity for students to learn, speak, and celebrate the indigenous language of Niue, through language, song, dance, cultural displays, and community events.

Niue Language Week helps all New Zealander's journey towards shared cultural understandings. Learning a new language gives us insight into new ways of thinking and to different beliefs and cultural practices. Through this learning, we acquire knowledge, skills, and attitudes that help us live in our culturally diverse world.

There is a chance that you will have some Niuean speakers in your school community. Encourage those students and their families to be experts during Niue Language Week and validate their expertise in front of other students. Support them to teach Niuean and prepare the Niue Language Week celebrations for the school, placing an emphasis on shared language experiences.

The 2020 Niuean Language Week theme is ‘Faliki e tau momoui he tau atuhau ke he Vagahau Niue ’ which in English translates to, “Lay the foundations - give rise to Vagahau Niue for generations".

This years theme reminds us of the need to not only respect and treasure our languages and cultures but to work daily to ensure the foundation remains strong for generations to come. Niue Language week is in its ninth year, the 2020 Niue Language Week is focused on laying the foundations to give rise to Vagahau Niue for future generations.

Mental Health awareness week(Reflection)

 This year’s Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW) is September 21 to 27, and the theme is Reimagine Wellbeing Together: He Tirohanga Anamata. It is more timely than ever as we reflect on the uncertainties and stresses caused by COVID-19. MHAW 2020 is an opportunity for everyone to redefine and rediscover what wellbeing looks like, during COVID-19 and beyond. 

 Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW) is a reminder that we all have mental health – it's a taonga/treasure and something to look after! MHAW is an opportunity for a school or Kura community to reimagine wellbeing and nurture a culture of wellbeing where everyone feels safe, supported and valued.

This year hasn't been easy, and MHAW 2020 is a chance to build on the simple things we’ve been doing to look after ourselves and to reimagine what wellbeing looks like – together. MHAW is a timely reminder of the simple, everyday actions tauira/students and kaiako/teachers can take to look after their wellbeing. It is an opportunity for tamariki/children, tauira, kaiako and more comprehensive staff and whānau to reimagine what experiences, actions, relationships and surroundings make them feel good. 

Last day of Term 3(Mufti day)

 Our time is important. The kids that we teach are precious to us, and they need to know that our time together was worth it. So don’t just let the year-end: Celebrate learning, celebrate the moments you’ve had, and savour the time you have left together. 

At the end of the race, we like to hear cheers, and when kids graduate, it’s a climactic event. Really, the end of every school year should be climactic. It should be exciting. So, as teachers, we have to be very careful not to let the bell ring and have kids wondering what just happened. The end of the school year should be a time of review, reflection, and celebration.

I celebrated the last day of week three by performing various science activities and fun activities in the class with students. For STEAM, we saw earthworms, note down their behaviour. For yr 9 &10 we discuss the structure of the eye, label parts and quiz on Kahoot. In yr 10, we did the periodic table and found out different properties of Metals and non-metals.

 

Te Reo Maori Language week (Reflection)

 Te Wiki o te Reo Māori takes place this year between 14 and 20 September. 'Kia Kaha te reo Māori' is the theme for this year's Māori Language Week. Kia Kaha is a well-known phrase in New Zealand, meaning be strong. So when we say 'Kia Kaha te Reo Māori' we're saying 'Let's make the Māori language strong'.

Māori Language Week has been celebrated in Aotearoa since 1975. This particular week is an opportunity for the concentrated celebration and promotion of te reo Māori, helping to secure its future as a living, dynamic, and rich language. 

There was Celebration of Te reo Maori language in school by growing connections with Maori communities, Learn a Māori kupu or phrase each day, Support teachers and students to create and share their pepeha, Sing waiata, Explore Māori place names, Read Māori myths and legends, Organise a school or community event.

This week was Mori language celebration week, and different activities and games were organised in the school for teachers and students to participate and learn about Maori language and its history and importance. At the end of the week, it was Mufti day and best hair decoration competition for students and teachers.

Tongan Language Week(Reflection)

 Tonga Language Week is on from Sunday 6 September to Saturday 12 September 2020. The theme for Tonga Language Week is: "Fakakoloa 'o Aotearoa 'aki 'a e Lotu Mo'oni". "Enriching Aotearoa New Zealand through Prayer and Faith". The Ministry for Pacific Peoples works closely with Pacific communities’ to maintain and promote heritage languages. Languages magnify the value of a community, providing a vital link between our place in Aotearoa and our heritage as peoples of the vast blue Pacific continent.

At the time of the 2013 census, there were over 60 000 New Zealanders who identified as Tongan. Currently, there are more Tongan people born in New Zealand than there are in Tonga, giving lea faka-Tonga (the Tonga language) and anga faka-Tonga (Tonga culture) a special place here in Aotearoa.

Auckland was at level 2.5 this week. But still, teachers and SLT team worked hard to celebrate the week and introduce Tonagn activities and introduce the importance of Tongan language to the students.

Tongan language week was celebrated in school by performing various activities with students and teachers in school. The whole week was amazing and celebration and participation of students and teachers in Tongan cultural activities were amazing. Every day it was a new phrase in Tongan and students and teachers learn new phrases whole week. Tongan language games, Classroom discussions, InvestigateTongan art, hold a community event. 

Last day of the week was Mufti day and cultural day. Every teacher and the student dressed up in their cultural dresses and represents there cultural. It was amazing.