Today the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor John Finucane visited Sacred Heart to celebrate the "Amazing Breath- TAKE 5 at School Project". We are the second school, in Northern Ireland, to embrace this amazing project which enhances the strength, resilience, leadership and warmth of the children and staff at Sacred Heart Primary School.
For us at Sacred Heart TAKE 5 provides us with a tool to help promote social and emotional learning – which in turn is leading to the provision of better opportunities for teaching and learning.
Take 5 involves a breathing technique that helps children to calm down, to be ready to learn, whilst feeling safe and happy. It also helps them deal with anger and it becomes a more powerful tool, as the children begin to lead the practices themselves.
The aim of Take Five is to grow your skills in the awareness of yourself in each moment. It is being able to recognize and self-reflect when we are feeling out of balance or out of our own power, and then having choices to know what we need to do in that moment, whether it is breathing, grounding, or walking away. It has enabled our children to recognise and facilitate emotional development, leading to better management of their emotions.
The Ambassadors have designed and created their own breathing cards specific to Sacred Heart and these are used to guide ALL the classes through the process.
Everyday we at Sacred Heart are aiming to create the space and opportunities for our children to develop and flourish to be the best that they can be- Take 5 at school is now one of the tools that we use, with confidence, to help our young people build resilience; develop a skills set; a knowledge and an understanding to grow into confident, respectful and engaging adults throughout their lives.
For us at Sacred Heart Boys’ Primary School the richness of the Amazing Breath technique is that
they breathe, they share, and they look out for each other.
