Happiness is a state of mind or a mood. Pre-teens and teenagers are usually happier when they’re satisfied with their lives and relationships, although nobody is happy all the time.

Wellbeing comes from physical, mental and emotional health. It’s also about understanding your emotions, taking part in different activities, having good relationships and social connections, finding meaning in life and feeling that you’re doing well.

Happiness and wellbeing are related, but they’re not the same thing. Pre-teens and teenagers can be happy because of some of the things that make up wellbeing, but they don’t need all these things to be happy.

Boosting pre-teens and teenage happiness: tips

You can boost your child’s happiness with praise and encouragement, clear rules and boundaries, a healthy family lifestyle and warm family relationships.

Praise, encouragement and positive attention
Praise, encouragement and positive attention let your child know that you value them, their good deeds and their contribution to your life.

• Give your child praise when they do things like helping out, doing chores or getting their homework done. For example, ‘I really appreciate it when you put your dirty clothes in the laundry bin’.

• Give your child attention. For example, go to watch your child playing sport, send your child a friendly text message, or just give them a special smile or hug.

• Encourage your child to try new things. For example, if your child is interested in playing a new sport, you could offer to take them along to the local club’s registration day.

• Value your child’s strengths, and praise your child for who they are. For example, ‘You’re really good at looking after the younger children in your Scout group’. This helps your child feel good about themselves and might stop your child comparing themselves with other people.

• Let your child know that you’re proud of them when they try, especially when things are tough. For example, ‘I was so proud of you for running all the way in your cross country race, even though I could see you were tired’.

Rules and boundaries
Clear and fair rules help pre-teens and teenagers feel safe when a lot of things in their lives are changing. If you involve your child in making the rules, they’ll be more likely to stick to them. Negotiating rules with your child is also a way of showing that you respect your child’s growing maturity.

Healthy lifestyle

• Encourage good sleep habits: pre-teens need 9-11 hours of sleep, and teenagers need 8-10 hours of sleep a night. It’s best for your child to avoid digital technology use in the hour before bedtime.

• Help your child aim for at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day.

• Encourage your child to make healthy food choices to fuel their growth and development.

• Help your child keep a healthy balance between study, work and play. This might mean looking at how many nights your child is out doing things, how much down time your child has, how much your child can contribute to family life through chores, how many family meals you have together and so on.

Family relationships

• Share and make memories together. For example, take photos or videos on special family days or at school events and look over them with your child, or talk about and remember things you’ve enjoyed as a family.

• Make time to talk about individual and family successes. For example, you could try going around the table at family meals and encourage everyone to share something that went well for them during the day.

• Establish and maintain family rituals. For example, cook pancakes on Saturday mornings, watch special movies together, go for milkshakes after school on Fridays and so on.

For older teenagers, happiness depends a lot on having freedom to make choices without too many restrictions – although they still need you to monitor what they’re doing. It’s about being respected, developing independently of parents or carers, making their own friendships and social life, and being taken seriously as individuals.

Boosting pre-teen and teenage wellbeing: tips

Here are ideas for fostering different aspects of pre-teen and teenage wellbeing.

Physical health
When your child takes care of themselves physically, it’s good for their wellbeing. For example, being active, having a break from digital technology, getting outside and getting enough sleep can boost your child’s mood and improve their physical fitness.

Mental and emotional health
Good mental and emotional health is important for pre-teen and teenage wellbeing. Your love and support and a strong relationship with you can have a direct and positive influence on your child’s mental health.

You can also boost your child’s mental and emotional health by helping them develop:

• resilience, which is being able to cope with difficult situations and ‘bounce back’ when things go wrong

• self-compassion, which is treating themselves kindly when things don’t go well

• confidence, which is believing that they’ll be successful and make good decisions.

A positive focus
If your child can notice and appreciate the good things in their life, your child is more likely to feel positive. This can also help your child keep difficult times in perspective, so they don’t become overwhelming.

Your child can do this by just taking a few moments each day to focus on what they’re grateful for. You could even make this a family activity by asking everyone at the dinner table to name one thing they’re grateful for. You can be grateful for all sorts of things, like being together at dinner, the sun shining, farmers getting the rain they need, good health, good friends and so on.

Different activities
Trying new things and getting involved in different activities keeps your child’s options open and can build your child’s confidence and self-worth. You can encourage your child by helping them find activities they might be interested in. It’s also important to praise your child for being open to new things and willing to have a go.

Relationships and social connections
Relationships and social connections are vital for pre-teen and teenage wellbeing. Your child needs close and supportive family and friends. And good parent-child relationships tend to lead to good friendships.

Meaning in life
Meaning in life can come from doing good things for others. Your child could look for everyday ways to help family or friends – for example, giving someone their seat on the bus, helping grandparents around the house, or helping someone pick up papers they’ve dropped in the street. Or your child could get involved in community activity. This type of ‘giving’ lights up the reward centre in the brain, which makes your child feel good.

Feeling connected to something bigger can also help to give your child’s life a sense of purpose. Meaning might come from spirituality, life philosophy, or a commitment to a cause like the environment. People with meaning have less stress and get more out of what they do.

Goals and achievement
Goals can give your child a sense of purpose and achievement when the goals:

• fit with your child’s values

• make your child happy

• are meaningful and attainable

• let your child use their strengths.

https://raisingchildren.net.au/teens/mental-health-physical-health/about-mental-health/happy-teens

The students are to be fully informed about the rules of being safe online, netiquette and the code of conduct. It is important to be safe online!

The results of our survey show the importnace of paying attention to wellbeing in context of so much dependance on the online world. Students lack connections and this affects their emotional, physical, mental and social wellbeing.

OUR LOGOS

Students have been asked to vote on the logos they consider to represent the project idea and goal.

Dear students,

We ask you to kindly submit your answers for the logo representing our project logo.

Having a project logo for an educational project can offer various advantages: 

1. *Visual Identity:* A logo gives your project a visual identity that can help with brand recognition and create a memorable impression on stakeholders, including students, parents, and teachers. 

2. *Professionalism:* A well-designed logo can make your project appear more professional and credible, instilling confidence in participants and partners. 

3. *Differentiation:* A unique logo can help distinguish your project from others in a competitive educational landscape, making it easier for people to identify and associate with your specific initiative. 

4. *Communication:* A logo can convey the essence and values of your educational project at a glance, visually representing its mission, goals, and target audience. 

5. *Marketing and Promotion:* A logo can be a powerful marketing tool, aiding in promoting your project, attracting participants, and engaging with the community through various channels.

 In summary, a project logo can play a vital role in enhancing an educational initiative's visibility, professionalism, and communication, ultimately contributing to its overall success and impact.

INTERNATIONAL VOTING ON THE REPRESENTATIVE LOGO FOR THE PROJECT

Dear all students,

 welcome to the international mixed teams activity of our project!

From now on, you will start to write a STORY BEGINNING with your international Team 1 members above. 

• To do this, we shall use STATION TECHNIQUE by which you will share the lines or sentences that one of you will write and then the other will continue. This will go on one after another. You can write together as many sentences as you would prefer. 

• Just keep in mind to mention that you would complete the beginning of the story when you all agree on it: For this, remember to write “COMPLETED” 

• Then please remember to illustrate the beginning of the story for our project with a picture added in this document. 

• We strongly recommend you to make and agree on the division of the tasks especially while illustrating the beginning of the story you will write.

• Please communicate and collaborate with your team members! You can also use “Comment” feature of that document above to write messages to your team members.

• Please do not hesitate to ask for help from your teachers in case you need it!

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR WORK and ENJOY THE ACTIVITY! 🙂

INTERNATIONAL MIXED GROUP 1

https://docs.google.com/document/d/10Bvc7h7SjjCnLHleeWHiC8at-G6RjGJCKUtqav0K88A/edit?usp=sharing

INTERNATIONAL MIXED GROUP 2

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RA57Trt2pmQ__PXi-E1WMMX-OFWSdJ6lceh8QpCD2e0/edit?usp=sharing

INTERNATIONAL MIXED GROUP 3

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_q1BPSJbjEvA42ABZbqIiHECl8N2D8v3W9tHUt7u7Hs/edit?usp=sharing

INTERNATIONAL MIXED GROUP 4

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YZegIKpWjXSWM8AO3f7T0yGl1Dl-MYHoaXtJ7Obag4U/edit?usp=sharing

INTERNATIONAL MIXED GROUP 5

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1o3hGnfSZPW0ZwKCEIrRH4l_dMMUSCU47jAWvpbLT4nw/edit?usp=sharing

INTERNATIONAL MIXED GROUP 6

https://docs.google.com/document/d/16gsOe3Ec0-s-8A14dQwNirYqpiVysuD3BUA-QbWB2y8/edit?usp=sharing

Our story is based on the importance of accepting each other as we are, pay attention to our wellbeing and motivate our dear ones to never back down and move forward as there will always be those who are going to help you in need!

https://www.storyjumper.com/book/read/170230591/65e80380e4771

Dissemination of our project on our website and national NSO

UTM – Universitatea Tehnica a Moldovei, în calitate de Birou Național de Asistență eTwinning Moldova, a organizat pe data de 13 aprilie 2024, workshopul ”Proiectul tematic eTwinning, un cadru de învățare interactiv și centrat pe elev”

Agenda evenimentului a inclus sesiuni plenare, activități practice și de socializare, facilitând un mediu de învățare colaborativ pentru participanți. Ambasadoarele eTwinning, Nina Tîrsînă și Kristina Cernei, au împărtășit din experiența lor prin prezentarea proiectelor de succes care au fost premiate la nivel național și european. Un moment cheie al workshop-ului a fost activitatea de elaborare a schițelor de proiect, unde participanții, împărțiți în grupuri, au aplicat cunoștințele acumulate pentru a crea fundația unor potențiale proiecte eTwinning, luând în considerare cele cinci criterii de calitate. Aceste schițe au fost prezentate în sesiunea plenară, unde au primit feedback constructiv atât de la colegi, cât și de la echipa Biroului Național de Asistență eTwinning Moldova.

Următorii pași pentru participanți includ căutarea de parteneri și înregistrarea proiectelor pe European School Education Platform. Astfel, aceste inițiative urmează a fi implementate pe parcursul următorului an școlar 2024 – 2025.

Cadrele didactice vor primi certificate electronice de participare, care să ateste angajamentul și contribuția lor în acest proces educativ și de dezvoltare profesională.

Acest eveniment a fost organizat cu suportul financiar al Ministerului Educației și Cercetării al Republicii Moldova și al Comisiei Europene.

Cadre didactice din învăţământul primar, gimnazial și liceal au inițiat mai multe proiecte eTwinning în cadrul unui atelier de lucru organizat de BNA eTwinning Moldova

 https://e-twinning.utm.md/2024/04/15/cadre-didactice-din-invatamantul-primar-gimnazial-si-liceal-au-initiat-mai-multe-proiecte-etwinning-in-cadrul-unui-atelier-de-lucru-organizat-de-bna-etwinning-moldova/

Importanța sustenabilității proiectelor educaționale eTwinning în comunitatea școlară

https://e-twinning.utm.md/2024/01/23/importanta-sustenabilitatii-proiectelor-educationale-etwinning-in-comunitatea-scolara/

Comunitatea profesorilor eTwinning este interesată în a motiva elevii și elevele din instituțiile educaționale din sistem să învețe gândind critic și complex. Astfel observăm o tendință de a crea proiecte care provoacă interes și implică echipe internaționale în rezolvarea unor probleme comune. O abordare mai de impact o constituie sustenabilitatea proiectelor implementate.

Un proiect sustenabil are o influență pozitivă și durabilă asupra comunității întrucât dezvoltă competențele pe termen lung care ulterior devin performanțe. Mai mult decât atât un proiect care generează alte proiecte se focusează pe susținerea și anagajamentul celor implicați în proiect astfel încât se exclude repetitivitatea. Anume proiectele sustenabile contribuie la promovarea inovației, creșterea performanței și eficiența practicilor educaționale.

Acest concept a stat la baza continuității proiectului „Don’t Date” (https://sites.google.com/view/etwinningpitlghibuchisinau/dont-date) scopul căruia a fost de identificare a cauzelor dependenței în rândul tinerilor și tinerelor din țările partenere Grecia, Ungaria, Turcia, Germania și Republica Moldova. Obiectivele proiectului de a cunoaște dependețele „tradiționale” – de consum de droguri și alcool, precum și cele „moderne” – de consum de băuturi energizante și abuzul de uz al tehnologiilor moderne au rezultat în o comunciare eficientă între elevi/e și identificarea cauzei principale. Astfel la conferința online a elevelor și elevilor din proiect s-a pus accentul pe importnața înțelegerii stării de bine, de a te cunoaște pe tine însuți și de a-ți crea condițiile necesare de a te simți fericit. Pe final de proiect, sondajul post proiect, a provocat elevii și elevele din IPLT „Onisifor Ghibu” să propună ideea unui alt proiect, și anume de generare a stării de bine: Wheels to Well-Being EPSM (https://sites.google.com/view/etwinningpitlghibuchisinau/wheels-to-well-being-esmp)

Proiectul „Wheels to Well-Being EPSM”, este centrat pe nevoile elevilor și elevilor de vârsta 14-16 ani. Starea de bine în școală are impact direct asupra performanței academice pentru că atunci când copiii se simt bine la școală ei devin mai motivați în a crea, genera idei, a se concentra pe sarcini mai complexe. Dar este important de menționat că școala nu este doar pentru a face studii academice, anume la școală se dezvoltă abilitățile sociale, emoționale și comportamentale. Având aceste respinsabilități, școală contribuie enorm la dezvoltarea armonioasă și la formarea tinerilor și tinerelor cu caracter echilibrat și cu comportament responsabil.

Astfel proiectul „Wheels to Well-Being EPSM” are drept scop înțelegerea și conștientizarea de către elevi și eleve și a cadrelor didactice a importanței stării de bine în școală. Împreună cu partenerele din proiect, din turcia și Italia, ne-am propus activități care ar facilita relațiile interpersoanle pozitive între elevi/eleve și cadrele didactice. Împreună cu membrii de proiect vrem să elaborăm pași de prevenire a unor situații de stres care pot cauza confruntări și ulterior fi principala cauză a absenteismului și abandonului școlar. Anume crearea revistei colaborative va deveni un ghid al pregătirii pentru viață oferind condiții de învățare a abilităților de gestionare a stresului, rezilienței, auto-îngrijirii și pregătire a tinerilor/elor pentru succesul în viață și în carieră.

Pe final de proiect vom avea mai multe produse colaborative care vor disemina importanța stării de bine în școală. Conferințele online vor include rezoluții votate cu privire la influența sănătății mentale, stării de bine sociale, fizice și emoționale pentru succesul academic, dezvoltarea personală precum și formarea unor tineri și tinere echilibrați/te și respnsabili/le.

Legătura de sustenabilitate între proiectele „Don’t Date” și „Wheels to Well-Being” ne demonstrează că proiectele eTwinning devin generatoare de idei care provoacă o atitudine bazată pe continuitate și dezvoltare durabilă. Rolul unui cadru didactic în școală devine crucial, pentru că anume în școală, împreună cu elevii/ele pot fi găsite cele mai originale și de impact idei de proiecte, pentru că vocile copiilor TREBUIESC auzite.

Cernei Kristina,

Profesoară de limbă engleză

Ambasadoare eTwinning

IPLT „Onisifor Ghibu”, Chișinău, Republica Moldova