The idea of Bounce, Don’t Break stems from being resilient to the demands of life and staying on your feet when times get tough.
Gordon’s students participated in Bounce, Don’t Break week from the 2nd to the 6th of February where students strive to: Be Active, Over give, Understand Oneself, Notice How Fortunate, Connect and Engage. This works alongside Children’s Mental Health week where staff and prefects helped promote the matter to the students, with each day of the week homing in on an aspect of BOUNCE.
On Monday, students were encouraged to Be Active. Through this the Parade Square was filled with students and friendly competitions toook place in houses. Augusta house had a wall sit competition between house families or Just Dance. Other competitions included the greatest number of press-ups and a variety of different sports during Period 7.
On Tuesday, students were encouraged to Over give. The canteen staff generously gave every individual student a chocolate bar and asked students to give it to one of their peers. Through this we hope to manifest students to over give to those around them.
On Wednesday, the task was to Understand Oneself; surveys were completed by all students allowing a period of self-reflection and personal growth.
Thursday saw students Notice How Fortunate they are, each were given a appreciation slip to thank a teacher for their work. Mr King reportedly said students had, “Made his week”, through reading the appreciation notes he received. This aims to show the importance of appreciation and spreading positivity within the school.
Friday was the last day of Bounce Week where students were encouraged to Connect and Engage with each other through board games and quality time. Houses went tech free and encouraged socialisation between students. The week showed the true Gordons spirit of positivity and the students encapsulated the CIDER values through their resilience.
Year 7 art students took part in a Weeble Wobble project, where they made their own Weeble Wobblers out of paper mache and decorated them during their art lessons. This helps capture the essence of wobbling but never falling. As Steve Maraboli once said: “Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving; we get stronger and more resilient.”
Bounce, Don’t Break was introduced just last year as an adaptation of the NHS 5 Ways to Wellbeing which acts to encourage wellbeing through connecting, being active, taking notice, learning and giving. The school staff reworked this model to become bespoke to Gordon’s and resulted in a memorable set of characteristics known by all. This framework encourages the art of resilience and acts as a symbol of the positivity that is promoted within Gordon’s school.
Junyi from Augusta House, reported that the appreciation notes: “…stood out to me, as it allowed me to thank staff and give something back in return for all they do.”
Issie, also from Augusta House, stated, “Giving a chocolate bar to someone else brightened my mood as it felt good to be generous.”
The event highlighted the true Gordon’s spirit of positivity, and the students encapsulated the CIDER values through their resilience. I noticed the uplifted atmosphere throughout the school as the week progressed and saw the impact not only on students but on the staff throughout Gordon’s. I truly believe the addition of Bounce Week has seen vast improvements and shown the power or resilience to students demonstrating it’s okay to have bad days, but what really matters is how you handle them, wobbling but finding the courage to steady ourselves and adjust to the circumstances.
The week may be over, but the lessons of resilience, gratitude, and connection continue to shape our community every day. Bounce, Don’t Break Week has once again shown the strength, spirit, and resilience that define Gordon’s.
- Emily, Y12 Scholar