If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on it, I would use the first 55 minutes to determine the proper questions to ask. Albert Einstein. What colour is your house? You thought about the colour of your house right? Here are more fun questions. What are you proud of? […]

Seven daily essential mental activities to optimise brain matter and create well-being. The Healthy Mind Platter has seven daily essential mental activities necessary for optimum mental health. These essential mental activities strengthen your brain’s internal connections and your connections with other people and the world around you. The idea around The Healthy Mind Platter is […]

Many parents feel powerless to help when their child is stressed and overwhelmed about their schoolwork. It is not just senior students who experience this level of stress, research indicates that for some students this starts as early as Year 7. If your child is experiencing stress and anxiety related to their schoolwork, here are […]

New Research in the fields of psychology, education and neuroscience shows teaching meditation in schools is having positive effects on students’ well-being, social skills and academic skills. Mindfulness Meditation “Mindfulness” meditation is one of the more popular practices being taught at schools. It involves a three-step mental process where students are asked to: Focus your […]

The second semester often heralds blocks of examinations or assessments for students. Some students cope well with the pressure and stress while others find it overwhelming. Of course, the more prepared students are, the less stress they are likely to experience. Encourage students to start their preparation for examinations and assessments early, in particular their […]

The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor is based on his work as a lecturer at Harvard and his expertise in Positive Psychology. Shawn discovered that when students started at Harvard their anxiety levels rose significantly particularly for students who felt they were “not as smart” as other students. To compensate some of the students who […]

Why we quit easily and lack motivation. Perhaps you’re “naturally academically gifted” or perhaps like me you have to work hard at school to achieve good results and even then “good results” may not be that great. Many students believe the reason they don’t get good results is because they are not smart. As a […]

Once you start setting your goals for the year, compare them to the checklist below to make sure they are SMARTIES. SPECIFIC: Make goals as detailed and specific as possible. Don’t make broad wishy-washy goals like ‘I want to do better in Maths’, make them very detailed and specific. Exactly what do you want to […]

Discovering your WHY – your reason for achieving your personal best. All too often when I speak with students, particuarly senior students there is a negativity toward the senior years of school. There is often the cultural message that the final year of school and corresponding exams and assessments “will set you up for future […]

Some students take a long time to realise that there are actually two types of work in secondary school. There is the obvious work, the work your teacher specifically tells you to do and that is compulsory: homework, working on assignments, preparing for tests and assessments. But students who get good results in school take […]