Welcome to Term 4

Welcome back to school, we hope you enjoyed a restful Spring break and are feeling as excited as we are for term 4 and… SUMMER! We have some very exciting events planned for this term and we are also available in M11 for wellbeing support.

Just in case you are new to the school community or need a reminder of who supports student wellbeing at Northcote High School, here is a list of our team members and their roles:

Head of Student Services- Leanne Petroff

Wellbeing Coordinator (Years 7, 8, 12)- Megan Simmons

Wellbeing Coordinator (Years 9, 10, 11)- Sabatinie Balasooriya

Mental Health Practitioner- Jane Harrison

Secondary School Nurse- Tess Hodgins-Parry

Student Placement Counsellor- Sarah D'Mello

Chill Skills for Year 7 Students

This term, the Student Services Student Wellbeing team will be delivering a small-group program called Chill Skills to students in Year 7. Chill Skills is a six-week program (1 period each week) that supports students to build practical skills and strategies for managing anxiety and building confidence.

Chill Skills has been designed for students who have been feeling low or anxious - while it’s totally normal to feel this way sometimes (such as before a big exam, game, or performance), if anxiety is starting to take a toll Chills Skills is a great way to learn some new ways to manage these feelings.

If you are a student (or the parent of a student) who is interested in participating, please contact the Wellbeing team on 9488 2321 by Friday 14 October. Chill Skills will be delivered by Jane Harrison (Mental Health Practitioner) and Sarah D'Mello (Counselling Placement Student).

NCASA - Focus Group with Senior Students

CW: non-graphic mentions and discussion of sexual violence.

We were fortunate to have the Northern Centre Against Sexual Assault (NCASA) team present to multiple year levels in term 3. In addition NCASA educators Kaye and Sarah also met with a group of senior students to hear their feedback on the sessions. Mia from year 11 reflects on this discussion below. Please see information attached on “how to help a friend” and see the staff in M11 should you or a friend need support.

"At the end of last term, NCASA (Northern Centre Against Sexual Assault, which provides education around sexual violence as well as various services for survivors of sexual assault) held a focus group discussion between two representatives of the centre (Kaye and Sarah) and students from the school. There was a relatively high turnout of students, with around 20 coming in to share their views and learn more about how NCASA structures their workshops and the work they’ve done with Northcote High students in the past. It was a great opportunity to discuss the recent workshops NCASA have been doing, and very helpful to provide feedback on previous sessions.

While it felt a bit odd to have this group meeting over zoom, everyone was more than happy to share their opinions and Kaye and Sarah seemed very interested in what everyone had to say. The discussion was really interesting, with many good points being brought up about how gender and other factors play a part in how students are taught about this difficult topic, and how best to make conversations like them more comfortable for those involved. A lot of the discussion was centered around how best to prepare and support students for the sessions, as they can be quite confronting, and NCASA was very willing to receive feedback so their important work can continue to evolve and improve.

Students from both year 11 and 12 have had two sessions on sexual consent from NCASA in the past year, and there was a variety of students willing to share ideas on how to best present these sessions to their peers. NCASA was very receptive to feedback and are aiming to utilise the ideas given to them in their future sessions to ensure sexual consent education is even better. Education on sexual consent and assault is crucial, especially for young people, and we are glad we have had a small part in helping improve the quality of this education."

~Mia, Year 11

Dental Van- Smile Squad

Smile Squad (Dental Van) has arrived onsite to deliver FREE dental care to the students of NHS in term 4, 2022 through to term 1, 2023. Smile Squad is a Victorian Government program that offers free dental care to all Victorian government school students. The friendly Smile Squad dental team visit schools to provide a free annual dental health examination and free follow-up treatment as needed.

Thank you to those students who have returned consent forms, more information regarding your appointment to follow. For those yet to return consent forms, you can submit the form online here or return the paper copy to the school.

Years 7-10 please return the form to the JUNIOR sub school office and Years 11-12 please return the form to the SENIOR sub school office. The service will commence Thursday this week!

Mental Health Week - Week 4

October is Mental Health month, an important time where the Australian community comes together to raise awareness and promote better mental health for all. At NHS, we are celebrating Mental Health week in week 4. We have some exciting activities planned for the week, with a focus on a different area of mental health and wellbeing each day- moving, sleeping, giving, eating, and playing. Please keep an eye out for more information about the activities in the coming weeks.

Upcoming Family Information Evenings

We will be holding two family information events this term. On Wednesday 19 October, Northern Centre Against Sexual Assault (NCASA) will be presenting on ‘Conversations About Sexual Consent and Pornography with Our Young People’. Please see flyer on the following page for information on how to book tickers.

On Wednesday 16 November, Steven Dupon from the Institute of Games will be presenting on ‘The Impacts of Video Games’. Stay tuned for more information.

Tuning in to Teens- External Group

For families who are wanting to participate in Tuning in to Teens (an evidence-based program that focuses on an emotion coaching parenting style), Berry Street are running a FREE six-session online program in November.

Where: Online via video call (Zoom)

When: Wednesdays 11am – 1pm, from 2nd November – 7th December

Contact: Candice (0417 047 426) or Ella (0429 097 979) from Family Services

Student Services : Parent Information Evening

Explore practical ways to initiate conversations about sexual consent and pornography