Community Newsletter

Wellbeing News

The Student Wellbeing Team are excited to be able to offer our group programs online.

 

Students who were allocated to these programs onsite at school, can now participate in them online via MS Teams.

 

I have included an outline below of some of the fantastic student wellbeing programs we are currently running;

RAISE Mentoring – Year 8

The year 8 RAISE Mentoring program has transitioned to online for selected students, students are able to access the program via MS Teams during remote and flexible learning. The students have enjoyed being able to stay connected with their mentor online, this has allowed them to continue to build their relationship with their mentor and share activities with their peers. They have enjoyed some great online sessions and engaged in some fun activities with their mentors. The benefits of mentoring are many, with the primary one being that students often greatly benefit from having a neutral positive role model to talk to who is an adult, but who is not connected to the school or family.

 

We are thankful to all of our mentees who continue to remember to join mentoring each week. The mentoring program will resume onsite face to face once we return from remote and flexible learning. The mentoring program takes place on a Wednesday during period two and four.

 

Please note that all mentors have been screened through appropriate Working with Children Security Clearances.

MAT (Martial Arts Therapy) Program – Year 9

The year 9 MAT (Martial Arts Therapy) program is also online for selected year 9 students, students meet weekly on a Tuesday during period four. Our facilitator Darek has adapted the program so that he can facilitate it via our MS Teams platform.

 

The program aims to:

  • Work on goal setting and problem solving
  • Learn new skills to manage life challenges
  • Engage young people in fun and fitness
  • Improve communication and social skills
  • Develop positive relationships
  • Develop new skills for mind and body

This program is designed to be a stimulating, challenging and fun experience. It uses elements of traditional martial arts to develop life skills. It is designed to help young people regulate their thoughts, actions and behaviours. The program content will cover topics such as feeling good about themselves, making good choices, respect and responsibility, managing strong emotions, managing anger and conflict, social skills training and growing positive futures.

 

We will be offering the MAT program to year 7’s in term four.

Year 7 Mpower Girls Program 

The Wellbeing team have been facilitating a year 7 Mpower girls group program. This program has also moved to online and is being offered via MS Teams. Students who were allocated to this program onsite will now be able to attend weekly session on a Thursday during period one online. This is the first time we have offered Mpower girls at Cranbourne Secondary College, the feedback has been excellent so we hope to offer another group of students the opportunity to participate in term four.

 

The purpose of the Mpower girls’ group is to:

  • Improve their communication and social skills
  • More effectively manage bullying Develop positive relationships
  • Learn new skills for mind and body
  • Enhance self-discovery

Year 7 & 8 Belonging and Connectedness Program – Expression of Interest

The wellbeing team will be offering year 7 & 8 students the opportunity to participate in an online Belonging and Connectiveness group program. The Belonging and Connectedness group program aims to gives students the opportunity to form new relationships and to express and explore how hard it is to maintain social connections throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The program will enable students to feel connected to each other and gain the strategies and resources to cope with the reduction in social contact during lockdown. There will also be a focus on how to connect with your community with activities dedicated to this.

 

The program will run for the final 3 weeks of Term 3 (1st September to the 16th September) and will involve a mixture of small group discussions, larger group sharing and activities.

 

For more information there will be a video posted to COMPASS, and if you’re interested in your child participating please read, sign and email back the consent form via Compass. If you have any questions please feel free to email 7747-wellbeing@schools.vic.edu.au.

 

Free webinar: Tips to help families cope during lockdowns

 

The Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences at the University of Melbourne are presenting a live webinar for families: Tips to help families cope during Lockdowns, on August 30, 8pm to 9pm. https://events.unimelb.edu.au/event/11736-tips-to-help-families-cope-during-lockdowns

 

The panel includes adolescent and family health experts from the University of Melbourne, Royal Children’s Hospital and private practice along with a parent who will share their insights and tips on tackling the mental health challenges so many Australian parents and kids are facing right now. There will be a chance for audience questions at the end of the panel discussion.

 

It is appropriate for families with kids in both primary and secondary schools. Event details and bookings are listed https://events.unimelb.edu.au/event/11736-tips-to-help-families-cope-during-lockdowns

Online Lunchtime Activities

During remote and flexible learning our Youth Worker Jamie offers online student engagement activities at lunchtime. Students meet online via MS Teams and they are able to play games with their peers, participate in quizzes, scavenger hunts and complete tours of different parts of the world. The lunchtime activities are proving to be a great success, if you would like your child to participate, please encourage them to join the Library channel at lunchtime.

 

Please see the below flyer that lists what activities take place on what days.