“Every day, everywhere our children spread their dreams beneath our feet and we should tread softly.” Ken Robinson I use the quote from the late Sir Ken Robinson as this is a wellbeing blog after all and putting the children first is ingrained in my role. There is no doubt we are all suffering […]
Get creative: how doing something practical, just for the fun of it, can create a sense of purpose and release. A lesson from childhood. This is a story of creativity, release, bloodshed, bodily harm, tears, hope and humanity. Writing those words I am struck by the fact that it could describe my childhood: […]
The College Scheme of Work for the Michaelmas Term 2021 “Well-being is not a destination, but a process. It’s about how you drive, not where you’re going.” – Noam Shpancer, PhD A warm welcome back to Marlborough College Malaysia and a particular hello to those of you joining our community for the first […]
Welcome back to a new year and one filled with hope, optimism and confidence. This is founded on the impressive vaccination programme in Malaysia; how such programmes have worked so effectively in other countries and, of course, our pioneering work in Wellbeing. Our progress within the field of Wellbeing is testament to our multi-talented pool […]
When thinking on a suitable topic for the penultimate Parent Wellbeing Blog this year, what better choice than Humour, in the belief that a good laugh benefits health, relationships and overall well being. That is equally true in college and at home. It may not be the obvious one that springs to mind toward the […]
Cast your mind back to July and August 2019, where were you, how did you fill your days, where did you take your vacation? I remember them fondly, we travelled freely, undertaking our favourite hobbies, socialised and played our favourite sports. I was lucky enough to participate in triathlon events in Bintan, Desaru, Singapore on […]
A recurring concern this year has been how we continue to promote and ensure wellbeing amongst our boarders in these unpredictable times when we are stripped of so much of what gives us our boarding identity. Gone are the interhouse sporting and music competitions, the house shout, house drama, even boarders’ assemblies. For a long […]
The Most Important Keys to a Healthy Diet Eat a variety of foods, even if some are in very small amounts Eat frequently to keep blood sugar balanced Balance the food you eat with physical activity Eat something for breakfast everyday Make food choices that are moderate in sugar content Be intentional about your meal […]
“The rain it raineth every day.” – Feste Twelfth Night Act 5 Feste’s gnomic observations about life and nature run through Twelfth Night and one might be forgiven for thinking that Shakespeare’s setting for it in Illyria was in fact based on Barton Farm! Here too is a land apart where weird and wonderful things […]
“To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan and not quite enough time.” – Leonard Bernstein This is not a blog post about eliminating exam stress because that would be an unrealistic – and unhelpful – objective. As Bernstein wisely recognised, a certain amount of pressure (properly acknowledged and directed) can […]
Pupil leadership and pupil voice have been regarded in previous posts on our blog as a priority for MCM. Pupil Councils are effective channels for pupils to suggest improvements to various areas of the school including food, boarding, management, and well-being. Pupils gain experience representing their year group or house in different forums such as […]
“Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become.” ― attributed to C.S. Lewis Motivational Tweets and mindset posters have become ubiquitous in education and can be both a […]
This weeks blog is linked to the most recent Webinar in the “Your Digital Life” series, which focused on safeguarding in the digital world. We recognise that the last 12 months have been some of the most unprecedented and turbulent in modern times. It has placed tremendous strain on so many aspects of our ‘normal’ […]
In 2013, I was the unfortunate victim of a serious car accident. Without going into detail, I woke up in hospital with my arms and legs in plaster. Recovery meant 5 operations, 3 days in intensive care, 3 weeks in hospital and 3 months off work. Naturally, this was a painful and difficult time, and […]
The recent Upper Sixth mock exams put to the test all that the pupils have learned academically over the last two years. No doubt the reports that their beaks have been writing this week will largely focus on their performance in these assessments, the areas that they need to improve in, and the likely grade […]
Deciding to move my family halfway around the world in the middle of a global pandemic has begged some questions. How do you manage a 5 & 7 year old in a hotel quarantine for two weeks? How much Lego can you fit in a suitcase? Will Gran be able to use WhatsApp video […]
“The bamboo that bends is stronger than the oak that resists.” This old Japanese proverb came to mind as my wife’s favourite mixing bowl slipping from my soapy fingers and disintegrated on the kitchen tiles. The bowl was bright red and one of the few remaining meaningful pieces that my wife had brought from the […]
When I was first asked to write this blog I thought it would be a great opportunity to share lots of the initiatives that we have been working on at MCM in the last year since COVID-19 became a part of our lives and link to the webinar that we will be hosting on Monday […]
Twenty-Twenty has been a strange year for pupils in both Pre-Prep and Prep Libraries and it continues in 2021. From March 2020 onwards pupils have been unable to access either of the libraries, or at least have had very limited access. Even when we had access to the school at the beginning of the Michaelmas […]
Lockdown, CMCO, Circuit Breaker, MCO, a new language and significant changes to life as we now know it. We are learning to live with the stress of teaching kids being taught online and still having a happy homelife. I can assure you that I am in the same position as you all and it is […]