9Abb are currently studying the novel The Bone Sparrow in their English classes. The novel is set in a refugee detention centre, and the protagonist is a Rohingya child, born in the camp. Subhi struggles with things that make him feel powerless and/or anxious, and with utter boredom.

This week, as part of the study, the girls read about a wise old man who gave a “Pebble of Happy” to the child, for his birthday. The idea of the pebble is that the person holding the stone attaches a happy memory to it, and when they need to feel happy, to calm down or to relax, they hold the stone and focus on the happy memory - to get them through difficult situations.

We can all do with help sometimes, and we all experience challenges in our daily lives. So - this week, all the students in 9Abb created Pebbles of Happiness for themselves. The students all selected one or more pebbles from an array of small pebbles - just the right size and shape to be held in the palm of your hand, and to be a Pebble of Happiness! They then decorated their pebble with words and designs that are meaningful to them personally, and they attached their happy memory to the pebble.

The following lesson, Ms Penny Muir - the school counsellor - took the opportunity to work with us all to help us develop strategies to relax, to manage times of stress, and to become more mindful. Thanks Ms Muir - we felt great after that lesson, and we will feel much more confident in dealing with stress around speeches, tests and assignments in the future.

The Bone Sparrow is a beautiful and regionally very topical novel. Listen to a short introduction by Zana Fraillon of her book and why she wrote it here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnCm04_fpq4

This longer interview is well worth listening to also - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWEL_y7SRR0