KRISTIN OFFERS MASTERCLASSES TO PARENTS AND PUBLIC As one of New Zealand’s leading independent schools, it has always been important for Kristin to position itself as a leader in educational innovation. To this end, the school has recently been offering the community opportunities to engage with experts in areas of educational interest that are associated with Kristin. These are being offered through a series of Masterclasses, available at the School. As Kristin Middle School Principal David Scott explains, the aim of these sessions is to engage regularly with parents on a variety of well-being topics which affect the lives of young people and about which parents may wish to learn more. Topics include: the teenage brain, digital media, mindfulness, coaching, resilience, teenage eating and food choices among other things. The program is still in development but Mr Scott notes the Masterclasses are organised in association with the Kristin well-being team, which is an integral part of the school. The first session took place in April and featured renowned presenter and human development expert Nathan Mikare-Wallis, who presented on the adolescent brain. The presentation covered the emotional and impulsive behaviour of the teenage years, an explanation of risktaking behaviour from a different perspective, and an understanding of how decisions are made differently when peers are involved. The presentation also explored some of the implications these changes have on the everyday life of a teenager.
Lucy Hone
The second session in June features Dr Lucy Hone, who examines why some people cope better with adversity than others, and offers insight and advice on what resilience is and how we can promote and develop it in children - and ourselves. Dr Hone lives in Christchurch and is a research academic in the field of resilience/wellbeing psychology at Auckland’s University of Technology. Lucy’s beloved 12-year-old daughter Abi was killed in 2014 in a devastating car accident in Canterbury that also claimed the lives of Abi’s friend Ella and Ella’s mother Sally. In her Kristin Masterclass Lucy reflected on this traumatic situation and shared her hands on experience and practical insights on how to build resilience in children. She will also talk about how to juggle work, family, community, social and wellbeing commitments. Future Masterclasses are being finalised but one later this year will feature Dr. Nicholas Kardaras, author of the book ‘Glow Kids”. In his academic career, he has taught the Treatment of Addiction, Psychopathology and Human Behavior at the Master’s level, and Theories of Personality, Self, Collective and Global Psychology and Philosophical Issues in Psychology on the Doctoral level. Dr. Kardaras embraces a perspective that values an integration of both traditional Western therapeutic methods combined with Eastern approaches to health and well-being. This includes integrating psychotherapy with meditational approaches like Zen Buddhism or mindfulness. The Kristin Masterclasses are promoted on the Kristin Website.
Nathan Mikane-Wallis
07.2017
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