The Amber Flag

We are very excited to announce that here at Masterson National School; we are embarking on a new adventure. Following on from the success of the Active Flag and Green School Flag initiatives, we are now taking on the challenge of obtaining an Amber Flag.

The Amber Flag initiative aims to promote positive mental health and well-being for all the children in our school.

Positive mental health and well-being means feeling good in your body and your mind, getting on well with others, feeling grateful for everything you have and feeling proud of the special person that you are. This enables us to lead happy, fulfilling lives.

Well Being Warriors

This group of children along with the whole school  will work together to create a safe, positive and healthy attitude towards our general physical and mental health and well-being. In order to do this we have created an Amber Flag Committee who will  work very hard to outline lots of innovative ways to promote positive mental health and wellbeing amongst our students.

Gratitude Post Box

In Masterson NS we have a lot to be thankful for. We wrote down what we were thankful for and then posted our notes of Gratitude into the Gratitude box.

Well Being Week 7th - 11th February 2022

  • On Mindfulness Monday all children from Junior Infants to 6th Class participated in guided meditation and received their friendship buddies for the week.

  • On Thankful Tuesday all the children talked with their class teacher about the meaning of gratitude and doing kind gestures for one another They also identified things that they are thankful for and wrote it on a leaf for the gratitude tree.  

  • On Wellness Wednesday, the children participated in mindfulness meditation and colouring activities or any other activities chosen by the class teacher that would allow them to be in the present moment.

  • On Triumphant Thursday, the children focused on changing negative thoughts into positive thoughts. They discussed with their classmates their strengths and what makes them unique and a good friend.

  • On Feel Good Friday the children came to school dressed in their pajamas to raise money for Pieta House with the positive motto of When it rains, look for rainbows. When it is dark, look for the stars. The children played with their friendship buddy during lunch-break and had golden time in the afternoon.

The Amber Flag Committee would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to everybody for their amazing generosity in helping us raise money for Pieta House.  We are so thankful for each and every contribution made. 

Yoga

Yoga and mindfulness have been shown to improve our focus and performance and reduce stress and anxiety.
​On Well being teacher Catherine took each class for a yoga session. We enjoyed learning some new poses and taking time for ourselves during the busy school day. Thank you Catherine for doing the yoga workshop with us.

Wellbeing Journals

The students from 1st to 6th class have been completing Wellbeing Journals on a Friday. The students have a positive affirmation for the week such as 'Reach for the stars' and they write down some of the things that they are grateful for that happened that week. This is a great way to show gratitude for what we have in our lives.

World Kindness Day - Saturday 13th November 2021

World Kindness Day is a holiday that promotes the importance of being kind to each other, to yourself, and to the world. The purpose of this day is to help everyone understand that kindness is what binds us all together. As part of our Amber Flag the students in Masterson National School celebrated this day by taking part in a range of activities that promote kindness.
Our Active Flag committee along with our teachers were on the look out for children being kind. We were very lucky to get a certificate and receive a treat if we were 'caught being kind'.