Do we need more Stillness and Silence in schools?

Along with our Head of Religious Education, Miss Mary Ryan, I attended  a discussion today in St Martins in the Fields on the relevance and importance of Silence and Stillness in schools. The event wast hosted by Just This Day, an organization which seeks to promote stillness and meditation in schools irrespective of faith or belief, if only for one day of the year (the 23rd of November being this year's chosen date). Amid the noise and bustle of Trafalgar Square, the calm and tranquility of St Martins in the Fields proved an apt venue in which to hold such a debate.
We heard from 4 speakers: Dr Helen Lees, an education researcher from Stirling University, Laura Hyde, Headmistress of St James Senior Girls School, Kim Nataraja, an ambassador for Christian Meditation for Children and her daughter, Shanida Nataraja, a neuro-scientist who explained to us what happens in the brain during meditation.
Having taught before for 4 years at St James Boys school I have already witnessed first hand the benefits that meditation can have on a child's development but I was particulatrly curious to find out today how meditation might be applied in a school with a specifically Christian ethos, such as St Catherine's.
According to Kim Nataraja the practice of Christian meditation focuses on a single Aramaic word, Maranatha. The process of focusing attention on a single word in this way provides a vivid contrast to the constantly changing and diverting life of today's children. Like every other skill we learn, this simple practice improves with repetition and dedication, with remarkable results in all walks of a child's life, including her education, relationships and spiritual life:
In learning to maintain focus for longer a child can then sustain attention, helping her to study more effectively and absorb more material whilst at school. It is also clear that meditation helps children become calmer and more balanced emotionally and to gain  greater compassion and empathy for her friends and family. In feeling a greater degree of calmness a child is then far less likely to be susceptible to the 'contagion' of stress; rather she is likely to demonstrate a more mature perspective on the world around her and articulate her thoughts with integrity and clarity.
In having helped introduce Christian Meditation to hundreds of schools around the globe, Kim Nataraja has had the opportunity to speak to countless students about their experiences and for many of them perhaps the deepest and most personal affect of meditation has been a sense of getting closer to their spiritual source or God.
I wonder if the girls at St Catherine's receive enough of these true gifts that are stillness and silence, both at school or at home.
Angus Pearson

Tales from the Bailey enthrall Siena Society audience

Before a packed audience, St Catherine's very own English teacher and Head of Law, Jane Bailey delivered a highly colourful, entertaining and informative lecture giving the history behind how and why she became a barrister as well as describing some past cases to highlight some of the unique characteristics inherent in a life at the criminal bar.
Mrs Bailey began by likening the law to teaching in that it is very much a vocation; that the rewards as such are intrinsic to the work itself (plus the odd Aston Martin...). She herself qualified as a lawyer and joined the Bar whilst the whole profession was gripped by blatant sex discrimination. As a pupil in her first chambers we heard how she was treated by the clerk with blatant disrespect, being referred to as 'Sir' in a clear attempt to belittle and demoralize her. But as we learnt later, working amid such chauvinism gave Jane Bailey a resilience which proved invaluable when doing battle in the Crown Court cross-examining various police officers.
The beginning of her career seemed to be spent dealing with a variety of pretty sordid sex offence cases before she moved to the Essex Street set of chambers. Here Mrs Bailey worked on more white-collar crime cases, including the Maxwell brothers pension fraud case as well cases involving malpractice by the medical profession.
Many of us were curious to know 'How can you represent someone you know is guilty?' and fortunately Jane Bailey had already prepared an answer to this question. 'As a barrister your job is to defend the accused however suspicious you may be; you do not 'know' the accused is guilty unless he tells you, in which case a barrister should not represent them. It is the job of the jury to decide on the guilt or innocence of an accused, not the barristers or Judge.'
Many of those present at Jane Bailey's lecture were students, from St Catherine's and other schools too; you cannot help but feel that many of them will now be considering a career at the Bar.

Sixth Form parents' evening tonight at 4.30pm in Drama Studio

Sixth Form swap desks for Pilates mats....

For one afternoon only, on November14th the Sixth Form common room was transformed into a Pilates studio. Under the expert guidance of local Pilates teacher, Nicola Howarth, the whole Sixth Form were taught the rudiments of this popular and enormously beneficial body-conditioning routine. Unlike more conventional keep-fit practices, Pilates works on your concentration, control and ability to 'centre' to enable you to gain core strength in key areas of your body.
None of the students had encountered Pilates before but each found the session interesting,helpful and leaving them eager to find out more about it.

A second language is a real asset

According to a recent international survey (www.kornferry.com) of more than 12,000 people, 31 per cent of executives who responded are bilingual, and the need for bilingual executives will be even greater in 10 years.

Dr Charles Tannock, MEP for London, to give Siena Society lecture on Thursday 20th October at 5pm.

The Siena Society is delighted to welcome Dr Tannock to St Catherine’s School. Dr Tannock will be describing his numerous roles in government, both in London and Brussels; from his work to ensure fair elections in Ukraine to his work in numerous cross party Parliamentary groups to support sufferers from epilepsy, cervical cancer and mental illness.

Are you a teenager getting less than 9 hours sleep a night?

If so, you may find yourself becoming grumpy, losing your memory, having slower reaction times and generally being less alert, vigilant and even less attractive than your peers! This and much more, we learnt in our latest Siena Society lecture given by Dr Paul Jackson, a psychologist specializing in the effects of fatigue.


Dr Jackson centered his talk around 3 questions: Why do we need to sleep? What are the consequences of fatigue? How can we improve our quality of sleep?