Senior School Highlights
Year 8 cooking class for wellbeing connection day
Dee Broughton, Dean of Wellbeing - Year 8
On Thursday 9 September, I did a fun cooking class with the Year 8s for our wellbeing connection day. Here are some of their finished pizza scrolls (and mine)!
Food Technology classes during online learning
Karen Bryce, VCE Coordinator
We miss the energy and enthusiasm of our students being together in the Food Technology kitchens, cooking and being creative.
It is not always possible for everyone to cook along from home during online learning but it has been wonderful to see some students continuing to extend their practical skills and enjoying time away from their desks by participating in a range of cooking activities.
Remote wellbeing through Year 9 Impact Program
Year 9 Staff Impact Team
During remote learning, the Year 9 Impact Program continues to support student wellbeing in a number of ways. The flexibility of a full-day program each Friday allows us to incorporate a range of activities for students to connect with one another, stay active through healthy inter-House competition and participate in online workshops lead by external partner organisations.
Each Friday begins with the Year 9 'Connect 4' which has students placed in groups of four; assigned a Teams channel; and then given four tasks to complete together. This light-hearted, fun way to begin the day allows for greater connection across the cohort, with new groups assigned weekly.
We also come together as a cohort to share the experiences from Connect 4 during the Year 9 meeting, while extended Mentor Time is used both mornings and afternoons to allow for small group check-ins and to share reflections of the challenges and triumphs of the week in remote learning.
The Mentor Group Physical Activity Challenge is a chance for each student to earn points for their Mentor Group by being physically active during an allocated time each Friday afternoon. The time spent completing a physical activity of choice translates to the ongoing points tally. These points are then collated by student leaders, with the winning Mentor Group awarded a prize at the conclusion of the competition.
Recently, an external organisation called ToolBox led an extremely beneficial workshop to help students create new and balanced perspectives and reduce the intensity of difficult emotions. This aligned nicely with RUOK? Day and the presentation from Monique Alexander (School Psychologist) on how to provide appropriate and additional support for a friend who may be struggling.
Year 9 students also completed two major research tasks during remote learning in Term 3. To encourage and empower students to take ownership over their own wellbeing, small groups conducted structured research on sleep, exercise, nutrition and relaxation, and the role that each of these play in contributing to overall wellbeing.
Students also worked in small groups to research the history of the Melbourne CBD and begin to plan a fun and exciting marketing campaign for a chosen precinct titled Celebrating Melbourne.
WELLBEING CONNECTION DAYS
Students in Years 7, 8 and 10 participated in a Wellbeing Connection Day towards the end of Term 3. This was an opportunity for students to take part in workshops that focused on their wellbeing.
These workshops were facilitated by Mancave and Flourish Girl. These sessions helped students to better understand how they can manage their emotions and support themselves and others.
Year 8 students were given a choice to participate in a MasterChef Cooking experience, a Fitness Challenge or a fun Interactive Games Session. Years 7 and 10 students worked in small groups to complete a number of engaging connective challenges.
Most importantly, students had the opportunity to have fun together. Students were also provided a range of screen-free activities in the afternoon. This was a very successful day for those involved.