Easter Term & Exams - welfare support

The Health and Wellbeing Team will continue running the usual regular wellbeing events, along with some extra provision geared towards support during exams.  Details are below. 

Managing Your Focus and Motivation Workshop- Thursday 9th May at 4pm in the OCR 

Book Your Place Here!

Are you struggling to stay motivated and focused during the term?

Whichever way a lack of motivation and focus affects you, this workshop will provide you the space to undo it. It will help you to: 

• Understand what causes your personal demotivation and how it manifests itself in your daily life
• Recapture a feel-good about yourself and your degree
• Develop strategies to maintain and boost your motivation and focus whenever you need to - especially in exam term- so you can get what you want from your Cambridge experience and beyond
• Leave knowing that you can change your behaviour and do things differently moving forward

Jo Thompson is a life coach who works with students to help them make changes in their lives to get what they want and be at their best for more of the time. She studied at Oxford University herself and her understanding of the Oxbridge experience informs much of her work, which includes workshops and individual sessions at Catz, Sidney Sussex, Girton and Peterhouse. You can find out more about her at: www.wisebirdcoaching.com 

Staying Calm and Confident Mindfulness Workshop- Monday 13th May at 5pm in the SCR

Book Your Space Here!

Join Dr Elizabeth English, a skilled and experienced Mindfulness practitioner and researcher to learn mindful practices which calm and refresh you throughout the day. You will learn how to track your nervous systems responses to stressful situations and become skilled in managing body and mind. This builds resilience and confidence, and the ability to stay strong and grounded under pressure. 

Wellbeing Wake Up- Every Tuesday at 8.30am in the Bar from 14th May

The Health and Wellbeing Team will be in the Bar between 8.30–9.00am on Tuesdays from the 14th May. This will be a  very informal drop in where you can grab a breakfast bowl and a smoothie whilst having a chat about how the week is going and find out about some straightforward ways to look after yourself over the week ahead.  It's a relaxed and low pressure space drop in for as long as you'd like.

Tea@3- Every Wednesday at 3pm in the Bar from the 15th May

There will be several Tea@3 events during the exam period open to everyone in the St Catharine's community. The aim of Tea@3 is to provide a bit of a boost during the mid-afternoon slump and enable students to have a breather before continuing with studying. Please come along to the Bar at 3pm and say hello, have a chat, and pick up some wellbeing resources. 

Duck Walks – Fridays from the 26th April 

Duck feeding walks continue every Friday from 26th April, starting just after 1pm and ending by 2pm (though you can leave earlier if you need to). Meet at the Main Court Porters' lodge if you would like to come along. Duck walks are a great way to take a break, get some fresh air and sunshine (and a tiny bit of exercise), and spend some time in the natural world with some low-key social interaction!

Pebble Painting- Sundays from the 28th April- 9th June 

Channel your creativity by joining Ally for Pebble Painting, an informal and relaxed opportunity to paint some pebbles and chat. Starting at 2pm for an hour in A4. 

Managing stress

There is a lot of support available from the University and in College.

• You are welcome to contact the Health and Wellbeing team for individual support, whether it's about your exams and deadlines or something else. 
• The University wellbeing service also offers some really excellent workshops addressing some of the key challenges that students may face at this time of year. These workshops begin on 1st May, with workshops specifically addressing exam issues, so book now!
• The University Counselling Service also offers one to one appointments - you can self refer, and the waiting times are much shorter than in previous years. You may just want to have one session to talk through what you're finding difficult, or you can choose also to book further appointments through the term. 
• The SU also provide an exam guide full of resources for managing exam term.

Although it can feel as if exams and deadlines dominate this term, we know that other challenges you may be facing (family, relationships, health etc) don't just go away; remember that you can seek support no matter what is troubling you, and that there are useful resources on the welfare hub. 

In the meantime, try to focus on the basics of wellbeing:

• getting enough sleep and aiming to keep to a health sleep pattern

• eating well

• taking regular breaks - including fresh air, sunlight, and moving around

• asking for help when you feel stressed or panicked 

Remember...

The intention behind the exam process is for you to be able to demonstrate the knowledge that you have gained over the last year, not to push yourself or your wellbeing to its limits or beyond. Please feel able to get in touch with the Health and Wellbeing team, your tutor or your DoS if you’d like a chance to discuss how you’re feeling about the exams and identify strategies that could be helpful to get through this time.

What if...?

You may feel less anxious about your exams if you know what to do in the event that something unexpected happens. Do make sure you've familiarised yourself with the information that your department has sent you, and that you know when and where your exams are taking place (or the technical information you need if you're doing exams online).  There is lots of essential information on the new University Exam Sharepoint Site and you can download this handy 'what if' guide which contains useful contact details and information about what to if something goes wrong (particularly illness or IT problems).