Going for goals at St Mary’s Middle School

On the 14^th September 2016 the Dorset Team returned to St Mary’s Middle School in Puddletown for a session on Goal Setting. Des Day, Stu Little and Kaye Jackson our Dorset JETLO worked with 13 year 8 students.

The students had an inspiring and motivating talk on why goal setting is important and how it can make a difference to your chances of success. Then they thought about what passions they had and set themselves a goal with help from the volunteers and Kaye. The students showed a real understanding of how to set smaller goals to help them achieve their big dreams. They really impressed the JET team with their passion and enthusiasm.

Next came some challenges to encourage the students to work as a team. Firstly how to ‘think outside the box’ when approaching a task, not taking instructions as a limiting factor but to see how they could push boundaries to come up with innovative solutions. Quickly some leaders of the group became evident with the quick and clever thinking.

Finally there were three activities to test their problem solving and team work skills. Students had to take on a group sack race course, the wobbly rope challenge and tower building with marshmallows and spaghetti. Once again the students worked together communicating and supporting one another to achieve their objective quickly.

After the session, Thea said: “I learnt how to work well as a team. I will now set short term goals. It helped me with my confidence with a group. They were really fun and encouraging for later in life.”

Conor said: “Yesterday was very fun because we went to see the Jon Egging Trust. I had a very good time.  I learnt how to set goals and work though targets to get you there.” 

Abbie Elliot, Learning Mentor said “It’s amazing to see pupils instantly engage. So much is packed into two hours; the Jon Egging Trust representatives are efficient, captivating and put everyone at ease straight away.  The sessions run smoothly, they are always fun and have strong messages.  It is brilliant to have the Jon Egging Trust’s input in our school.”