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Posted on October 24th 2020
Character Day - ‘Acceptance, Fulfilment and Growth'
In October, HGA had its first Character Day of the 2020-21 academic year. The day was titled ‘Acceptance, Fulfilment and Growth’ and encompassed themes of mental health, equality, diversity and inclusion.
Each year group experienced a carousel of sessions. Activities included relaxation, sessions on coping strategies, reframing negative thinking and the beauty of being unique.
Mr O’Connell ran a session on the topic of gender reassignment. "I believe that Year 11 handled this session very in a mature and respectful way," he said. "Students engaged in group discussions and sensitive topics were dealt with in a thoughtful way."
Ms Baker-Wells' session looked at different types of people and their experiences of discrimination. "There was lots of healthy debate, especially about discrimination in the workplace," she said. "The students seemed to really enjoy the real-life applications of discrimination."
The session on reframing negative thoughts, run by Mr Carr, involved pupils developing an understanding of negative thinking, analysing the various ways negative thinking may affect us and, crucially, thinking of ways to combat it.
Ms Wilson session looked at different types of mental health issues and to address some misconceptions. "Students covered strategies focussed on how to refrain from using language which can be either dismissive or diminishing," she said.
How to be good allies to LGTBQIA+ members of our community was the topc of Ms Matthew's session. "Year 9 contributed maturely to conversations regarding how an LGTBQIA+ person might feel marginalised in modern society, both in school and out," she said. "Year 9 then worked together to discuss how we can combat marginalisation of LGTBQIA+ members of society and considered scenarios in which they could use their voices to be effective allies and speak out against homophobic discrimination."
The main theme of our next Character Day is careers. Each year group will complete a survey that will explore their career aspirations. This information will then be used plan a series of sessions suited and personalised to each year group. Sessions will be interactive and will utilise professionals from the local area in order to educate our students about the opportunities that are available.
Read a report about our Character Day in January 2020, including healthy eating workshops (pictured).
