1. The most important accessory is your smile.
2. Dance like no one is watching.
3. Be kind.
​4. Be classy.
5. Don't drink or do drugs - enjoy life's natural highs.
​

Rather than wasting all your energy agonising over whether you are going to receive a Valentine's Day card or gift, why don't you brighten someone else's day.
Make a nice card for someone who's lonely,
Give your Mum some chocolates,
Give your friends a lollipop with a homemade, "You're Sweet" tag.

We all know that smoking is bad for you.  I've heard it said that sitting is the new smoking. We are finding out how unhealthy a sedentary (inactive) lifestyle is - it is one of the main contributing factors to teens being overweight and obese.  A study in NSW found that students in Year 8 spent 41 hours of their spare time engaged in sedentary activities.  This increases to 45 hours in year 10.  Add to that all the time you sit in class at school and that's a lot of physical inactivity.  You can find out more at www.healthykids.nsw.gov.au. Try to squeeze in periods of physical activity during the day such as walking or riding your bike to school, play basketball in your lunch break, find a set of stairs and walk up and down them a few times, do some exercises while you watch TV, join a sporting team...

Too cute!

Make your own bunting by cutting triangles out of scrapbooking paper and using an alphabet stamp set to stamp some inspiring quotes.  We hung ours on a string of fairy lights from Ikea with wooden pegs. The paper, stamps and pegs all came from K-Mart.

The Bella Rae blog has a useful article by recruitment officer, Natasha Lehndorf, on how to do well in a job interview.  She suggests:

• Arrive early;
• Be positive, try to avoid negative words and never speak badly of others;
• It's better to say "I don't know" rather than making something up.

You can read the full article here.

Pacifica is an app that helps you to manage stress and live happier.  It uses cognitive behavioural therapy and meditation to help manage the stress. You can track your mood and see your mood history.  There are relaxation exercises, you can set daily goals and track your health.  As we head into another school year it's a useful tool to help keep that stress and anxiety under control. Find out more here.