NUACHTÁN MIDDLE SCHOOL | December 2021
We are pleased to present one more issue of our newsletter to you. On this occasion Miss Pilar Mones, academic coordinator, talks to us about the importance of study habits and Miss Paola Llop, from the Psychopedagogy Department, shares with us the importance of self-knowledge, 2 fundamental issues in our students’ training.
Celtic Community, we are about to conclude one more year, where we have all been a fundamental part in the work of our students. We know that there is still a lot to work with our children and we will only achieve it with your support. In this stage of change, they require our containment and structure, so it is essential to continue guiding them every morning.
All of us who make up the Middle School section wish you Happy Holidays! We hope that the year 2022 will be one of great achievements and full of great health! Thank you for all the support and trust during this year full of challenges and learnings.
‘Fostering honesty, the campaign, ‘IF IT IS NOT YOURS, IT BELONGS TO SOMEONE ELSE’ promotes that any valuable object found that is not their property, be delivered to the assistants of each level in order to deliver it to its owner’. (CCE)
Thanks for your honesty:
• Karla Mariana 7th
• Mariel 7th
ACADEMIC MATTERS
Formation of good studying habits
María del Pilar Mones Urtuzuástegui | Academic Coordination
Developing good habits in our students is a tool that will help them for the rest of their lives. Habits form the person in each and every one of their spheres: intellectual, social and emotional. The formation of habits can be nurtured through learning and repetition, with the aim of that behaviors become a way of life and, with it, achieve the proposed goals.
This time, we will talk about the study habit, since it is a very good tool for students to save time and effort when they have to prepare themselves for the application of their exams, since they will present them on countless occasions throughout their lives and preparing themselves will help them to have better results and better performance.
The study habit is a practice that allows you to achieve the desired educational goals. At the age of our adolescents, they always have a lot to do and do not have all the desire to study, so they generally leave everything for the day before; therefore, the assimilation of knowledge and, thus, the best results in their evaluations are not always achieved.
To achieve these goals, the ideal is to form good study habits, and the earlier you start with this practice, the better. So, when it comes to learning, it is necessary to take into account: What? When? How? and where to study? to develop skills that help them to leave the rush, face these tests and ease the process.
Throughout our lives, each and every one of us face various circumstances or challenges, such as preparing for school exams, college entrance exam, interviews and exams to get a job, and even passing a professional degree level, All of the above requires a lot of effort, so it is important to have the best study habits. Since it is not enough to want something, motivation and having some strategies are necessary, because not all tests are prepared in the same way; It is not the same to take a math test, a science test, or develop topics from some other subject.
Here are some tips for cultivating good study habits:
- Eating healthy for energy, drinking water to improve cognitive performance, sleeping well has positive effects on memory and taking care of mental health, allow us to be focused.
- Work in order. If the obligations are clear, they can be met. So, a good strategy is to keep an agenda. One of the most important steps in acquiring good study habits is knowing how to plan which activities are most important and the time it takes to complete them. Establishing a study schedule during the daily routine also helps to promote good study habits. It is important to separate the contents by days, it is more effective and less strenuous to divide the study by topics, than if it is intended to finish with all the contents in a single day before the exam.
- It is important to use a comfortable place: well ventilated, quiet and with good lighting; a place where there are no distractions such as the cell phone, the computer, the TV; since doing several things at the same time, fragments the attention and diminishes the memory. It is important to work on self-control and be very firm to overcome these situations.
- Another thing to consider when you are going to study is to know the contents of the subject and be clear about what will be evaluated. It is important that notes are taken during classes, since not all subjects have a book with all the information. It is a good time for inquiry, so you delve deeper into the issues and the learning will be more meaningful. Another very important point is to try to understand, not to memorize, by internalizing ideas it is more difficult to forget what has been learned. The support points are:
- To make summaries and concept maps, look for examples or relate the contents to real events, which will help to keep them in memory.
- Match words with pictures. Underline the most important texts with colors, use stickers, or look for images that better illustrate the words. Graphic resources attract attention and make content more enduring.
- Study groups are a strong support in this matter, it allows them to share doubts, concerns, notes, develop understanding in stressful situations, and so on. The important thing is that, within these groups, the relationship is beneficial and productive, even if they are groups of two or three people.
It is necessary to support habits from home, since it causes a drag phenomenon; in other words, when working on them, many more are developed, subscribing to the integral growth of our adolescents.
Psychology Today (2021). Formación de hábitos. Recuperado el 08 de noviembre de 2021 de https://www.psychologytoday.com/es/fundamentos/formacion-de-habitos#cmo-formamos-hbitos Arranz A. (13 febrero 20217). Buenos hábitos de estudio: Cómo lograr el éxito en los exámenes. Cognifit Salud, Cerebro & Neurociencia. Recuperado el 08 de noviembre de 2021 de https://blog.cognifit.com/es/buenos-habitos-de-estudio/
DESARROLLO DE NUESTROS ADOLESCENTES
Self-knowledge
Psych. Paola Llop Hernández
Hello Celtic community, we want to share with you a topic of great importance for the adolescent stage, self-knowledge. A stage of rediscovery, which will allow them to rebuild who they are and allow them to have better habits and achieve their goals.
Self-knowledge is «knowing our internal states, preferences, resources and intuitions» (Goleman, 1995). Self-knowledge is a primary self-control mechanism.
What happens when we don’t know ourselves well enough?
Low self-knowledge fosters insecurity, if we do not know ourselves well, we will tend to compare ourselves with others, trust the opinions others have about us and we will try to seek for external approval.
If we do not know ourselves, we will have difficulty eliminating unwanted habits, many addictive behaviors have the function of coping with an internal discomfort or fleeing from certain emotions. Self-awareness enables us to recognize and accept painful emotions and experiences and to treat ourselves with compassion.
The lack of self-knowledge negatively influences our relationships, if we do not know ourselves, it will be more likely that we ignore when we are projecting emotions that are ours on the other, or that we hold others responsible for how we feel.
How do I develop self-knowledge?
Self-knowledge through mindfulness: Mindfulness is a technique that is recognized for its positive effects on mental health, and involves paying attention to present experiences (thoughts, emotions), observing them without judging them.
Start a journal: Keeping a record of our thoughts, emotions, things that are difficult, can help us to know ourselves better and, also, cushion the emotional impact of certain experiences, as well as better process difficult situations in our life.
Analyze your actions: Start wondering why you react the way you react, especially if it was an intense reaction. Why have I answered my friend like this? Have I felt attacked? Is it a sensitive topic for me? Does it happen to me more with people or situations?
Bibliography Garcia A. (2019). «What is self-knowledge and how to achieve it?» Cognifit. Retrieved December 12, 2021 from ttps://blog.cognifit.com/es/que-es-el-autoconocimiento-y-como-conseguirlo/
FECHAS PARA RECORDAR
• DECEMBER 6th to 14th – Semester P2 Exams
• DECEMBER 10th – Xmas with the Joy of Gratitude
• DECEMBER 17th – ‘Piñatas’ Day | departure 12:30pm
• DECEMBER 20th to JANUARY 2nd – Holiday period
