Term 3 continued to present challenges for staff, students, parents/carers and the broader community as a result of COVID-19 and stage 4 lockdown. We have now been updated by Premier Daniel Andrews that stage 4 will continue for the next few weeks, but we look forward to welcoming our senior students back to school early next term.

In Term 4 we welcome a new member of the Wellbeing Team. Kat Elliott is our new Mental Health Practitioner and she comes with years of experience in working with young people. Welcome Kat!

Wear It Purple Day

Wear It Purple Day was on Friday 28th August, and we did not let remote learning stop us from having a great day! Wear It Purple is a not-for-profit organisation that promotes and raises awareness for the LGBTIQA+ community. In honour of the day, we did daily posts in the week leading up to the day, educating our staff and students about the meaning of LGBTIQA+.

We encouraged staff and students to get involved by changing their Teams video background to a Wear It Purple background, or by wearing purple. We also asked staff to get involved in a video that was created by our team called ‘Why do we Wear It Purple at HPSC?’, which you can view here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sj8EDY0PU-U

We had a fantastic day and we already can’t wait for next year.

RUOK Day

The purpose of RU Ok Day is to raise mental health awareness and promote action, so that everyone can meaningfully connect with people around them and support anyone who is struggling.

In the media this day is often promoted as suicide prevention and awareness, but the HPSC Wellbeing Team are focusing more widely on overall wellbeing this year. Given the challenges that we have all faced in 2020, we are working to inspire a sense of hope, gratitude and positivity for our school community. While last year the wellbeing team were able to acknowledge this day with a whole-school celebration, this year we are working hard to create a virtual experience that can be just as fun! Staff are running some virtual lunchtime activities and we have provided a range of resources and tips already over the last week.

This is a great opportunity for parents to check in with their children, as well as other family and friends. If you think it would be helpful to have some further information on how exactly to do this, please check out these great websites:

Wellbeing Wednesday

Harlin continues to put interesting ‘Wellbeing Wednesday’ tips and fun activities on teams and Compass and thanks to our student leader, Eddie Vusic for acting out one of the cooking activities online. It was a great effort Eddie, but we’re not sure if it really was edible!

Social Media Warning for Parents

The College became aware that some disturbing and potentially graphic content is circulating on multiple social media platforms – Facebook, TikTok and Instagram. While these platforms are doing their best to moderate content, there is a chance this material may still be accessible. If you have any concerns, please refer to the following supports:

If you or your child come across this content, you can report it to the E-Safety Commissioner.

For added support, or access to the Hampton Park Secondary College Wellbeing Team resources, please visit the college website. The Wellbeing Team are available to support all students and their families during this time, so please feel free to contact us via the main office on 8795 9400 and request student wellbeing.

Community Activities

At the moment, there’s a lot of different activities and supports happening in our community, so check these out!

Community Art Project - Collecting Solidarity

If you like art, or like being creative or wanting something FUN to do, then why not get involved in a project led by Headspace Art Student, who is keen to work with any young people who might be interested in contributing to a mural to be hung at headspace Dandenong. If you have interested, fill out the survey and they will get contact with you, and provide further information https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/STV98HS

Support Services

Relationships Australia

Relationships Australia Victoria is a valued provider of specialist family and relationship services. We offer counselling for individuals, couples, families, and children. Counselling can help you to sort through difficult thoughts and feelings in a safe environment, find strategies to cope with tricky situations and make positive changes. Relationships Australia is offering a range of services online for both parents and children. To access some of these courses, check out

https://www.relationshipsvictoria.com.au/courses/relationship-education/category/22

City of Casey Programs

If you have overseas qualifications and/or skills but struggling to find work in your area of expertise? The city of Casey is running programs to support adults looking to find work.This session will be online via Zoom on Tuesday, 15 September, 2020 10am - 12pm.

To register, please see https://www.caseycardiniajobs.com.au/news/3286/successful-migrant-career-acceleration-program

eSafety Webinar

Taking a look at TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube

The eSafety Commissioner has invited the parent/carer community to participate in their live (no cost) parent/webinars for National Child Protection Week.

This live webinar (no cost), focuses on popular apps used by young people. It will include case studies, research, and targeted advice so you can support the young people in your life to have safe, enjoyable online experiences.

https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/webinars

Food Delivery Support

HPSC Newshamper

Hampton Park Secondary College is rich in our diversity, and by empowering and engaging student we remain whole hearted in our pursuit of excellence.

Issue 8 · 09 Sep 2020

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