Two weeks ago the 6th grade G&T students had learned about what it meant to be mindful at Iselin Middle School.

According to https://mrsmindfulness.com/what-is-mindfulness/ mindfulness means waking up out of autopilot and ‘taking the steering wheel’ of our attention again. The websites says that, “We practice mindfulness by maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations and the surrounding environment. Mindfulness also involves non-judgment, meaning that we pay attention to our thoughts and feelings with the attitude of an impartial witness — without believing them or taking them personally.”

 The G&T educator Ms.Sweeney explained  mindfulness as, “being aware or current, so it can give you the opportunity to change.” She says the reason why she taught her students about mindfulness was to “calm themselves down if they were under stress.” Ms. Sweeney stated.

 She responded that mindfulness can “enhance your ability to be grateful”, and that “you don’t have to worry about the past or future, just the present”. Ms.Sweeney explained what some other benefits of mindfulness are, “One of the benefits of mindfulness would be enhancing gratitude; you can appreciate what that moment is, it gives you the opportunity to take a step back.”

 A few students that went on the field trip explained it to be “new experience” for them.  They also stated that this new experience can and will continue to “impact” their lives.

Steven Szabo, a 6th grader from G&T, said, “Mindfulness can help people in life by us having good intentions. Mindfulness can lead us to those goals, by caring and being alert of our surroundings.” He continued to explain that mindfulness can help him in life by, “when you are mindful, you have the ability to help people in need, and achieve your goal in school and in your social life.” He also stated,“When I’m older my dream is to become a NBA player, so being mindful can help me with succeeding in my goal.”

 Another 6th grader from G&T, Ray McSorley said that mindfulness can change his life, he said, “mindfulness, in a way, can keep me safe and it can cause me to stay on pace of what I’m doing.” He said that mindfulness “can give me the ability to calm myself,” he proceeded, “ it can be a way for me to not get flustered or angry.”