When we wake up in the morning what is the first thing that we do? Do we reach for our mobile phones to check the latest news or indeed weather reports or look through our messages. At 6.30am in the morning is this the first thing that we should be doing? Ultimately like the infographic below this has a negative effect on our own health.
Instead of affording us time, mobile phones eventually take away time that we can spend together talking, playing, enjoying each other’s company as a family. This is where we must disconnect (switch off) our mobile phones to have face to face conversations, look someone straight in the eye and ask, ‘How are you feeling today?’. We won’t achieve this if we have our faces down buried into our mobile phone screens feeling anxious as the next red weather warning is issued by Met Eireann.
So how can we reconnect in Willow? First thing is we must ban all smartphones on the Junior school campus, secondly, we must get our heads up and politely ask how our fellow classmates and indeed teachers, parents are feeling today? This will be the first and most important rule in the Willow Breakfast Club.
I hope that the Breakfast Club open to First Form through to Sixth Form boys will provide the opportunity for the boys to have a healthy meal to begin their school day. But more importantly, the boys will have the chance to sit down with their fellow classmates and talk about the latest sporting event, new movies or indeed homework tasks as they eat their cereal or toast. I will be looking forward to sitting down myself enjoying a Willow breakfast with the boys and listening to any suggestions that they have in ways to improve our Junior school.