A message from the Mental Health Practitioner

Hi VUSC community!

I hope you are all keeping warm and well in the midst of this very cold July. I am excited to let you know about a few things that are happening as term 3 commences.

VUSC Wellbeing Club

Wellbeing Club has arrived at the Junior Campus, and is coming soon to the Senior Campus! Wellbeing Club is a chance to chill out, have fun and maybe even make some new friends! It will be happening every Monday lunchtime for the rest of the term at the Junior Campus, in room J5. It will be starting around week 5 at Senior Campus, every Thursday lunchtime, room TBA.

I encourage students to come along and let me know what you’d like to do as part of this club! We can do arts and crafts, games, mindfulness, yoga, team building, puzzles, quizzes – as long as it’s fun and/or relaxing. Parents and carers – if you think this is something your young person would be interested in, make sure they know about it 😊

Headspace Parent/Carer Mental Health Information Session

I am pleased to invite parents and carers to a free online workshop called ‘Supporting Your Young Person’s Mental Health and Wellbeing’ which is happening tonight, Thursday 21st July. The workshop is being presented by headspace, the National Youth Mental Health Foundation, and will provide information about youth mental health, strategies for connecting with young people and ways to support young people with their wellbeing including how to access professional support. Please note that this workshop is not suitable for children and young people.

Details

When: Thursday 21st July (tonight) 6:30pm – 8pm

Where: Online (via MS Teams)

RSVP: Please register for the event via this link

Until next time, stay warm!

Siobhan

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Playing Team Sports to Enhance our Wellbeing and Mental Health

Welcome to the third in our series of newsletter articles, describing how curriculum areas specifically support and strengthen the wellbeing of our students.

Our next wellbeing and curriculum article is about how learning another language supports wellbeing. Please let me know if there is a specific topic that you are interested in that we can include in an article in for future newsletters.

Be safe, be happy, be healthy…

Gail Inniss

Student Wellbeing Manager

Email: gail.inniss@education.vic.gov.au

Research shows participation in sport actually improves our social and mental

health and wellbeing above and beyond being physically active by ourselves.

At VUSC, our students all have the opportunity to engage in a number of team sports, as well as learning the skills to do so, through our Physical Education Program (including Personal, Social and Community Health and Movement and Physical Activity), Interschool Sport Program, Athlete Development Program, Rugby League Academy and our annual Athletics Carnival.

Tips for engaging/re-engaging our young people in sport

A key to young people successfully engaging/re-engaging into playing a team or club-based sport, is an appropriate level of fitness and skill: ‘You need a level of skill level and fitness to actually enjoy having fun. If we go out and have a hit of tennis and all we’re doing is picking up the balls all the time because we can’t serve and rally, no-one’ s having fun (Elme, R. 2010) Playing team sport to improve our social, mental and physical health… (teachermagazine.com)

At VUSC, it might just take a student having a chat to one of their PE teachers, and asking for a chance to join in and give something a try!

It's also a good idea to do some research about what is available locally. Other students and families may have some recommendations, or try contacting a local council such as Brimbank Council to find out about local sporting clubs in your area.

Six mental benefits of team sports:

1) Playing sports improves our mood.

Any form of physical activity triggers the release of chemicals called endorphins, which make us feel happier and more relaxed as well.

2) It gives us a boost of confidence.

Sports are all about setting, working toward and accomplishing goals, which can be extremely rewarding and empowering. These goals might be to win the game, to score a goal, to perform our best or to simply have fun. Whatever the case, setting these team or individual goals can provide heightened feelings of self-worth and confidence.

3) It improves our concentration.

Exercising regularly can bolster mental skills like critical thinking, learning and concentration abilities. And on top of that, engaging in physical activity such as playing sports or cycling may help prevent the development of certain cognitive and neurological

disorders.

4) Playing sports helps reduce stress and feelings of depression.

Exercise reduces our level of stress hormones, whilst simultaneously stimulating the production of endorphins.

5) It improves our sleep quality.

As long as we don’t play sports too close to bedtime (which may keep us awake and energized), physical activity is a good way to improve your sleep quality.

6) It provides means for socialization.

Playing team sports provides the perfect opportunity for social interaction. It allows us to spend time and bond with old friends, as well as meet new ones! In addition, this increase in socialization can help reduce stress and also increase our mood.

Check out these websites for more benefits:

https://thriveworks.com/blog/6-mental-health-benefits-of-playing-sports/

https://www.obesityaction.org/resources/kids-corner-good-sport-health-benefits-of-recreational-team-sports/

And most importantly, have fun!

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Mental Health Services and Support

The school community is welcome to access these services for mental health support:

Headspace

https://www.cohealth.org.au/

https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/mentalhealthhub

https://www.foodbank.org.au/?state=vic

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Community News

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