Student Services News 

What a term it's been!

Well, we did it! If you’re anything like us, you’ll know that Term 2, 2020 will go down in history as one of the longest and strangest school terms any of us will ever experience. Not only do we have a whole new vocabulary (Flatten the curve? You’re on mute! Wanna hang out on houseparty?), we’ve also learnt a lot about ourselves and the strengths of our school-community during this time. 

We'd like to take a moment to reflect on the resilience and comradery we have seen in our students, families and staff. We have watched you adapt, support and encourage each throughout this challenging time. To those who have bravely reached out for help, or offered support to a friend or loved one, we want to say thank you and well done. We truly are all in this together!

As we prepare for the well-earned holidays break, we encourage you to reflect on what you have learned over the last few months. With restrictions loosening up, it can be tempting to think that this pandemic is behind us. Often, it’s not until weeks or months after an event that we realise the impact it’s had on us. Your Student Services Student Wellbeing team are here to support you – please don’t hesitate to reach out. We’re here Monday to Friday during the school term. No appointment needed. While we won’t be around over the holidays, we’ve put together a list of wellbeing supports options in case you’d like to chat to someone during this time. Please check it out, and share these resources with family and friends. 

Enjoy these holidays. You’ve really, really, earned them! 

From your student wellbeing team Leanne, Alana, Julia, Patrick, Kat & Lauren 

How to access wellbeing support over the holidays 

• Make an appointment with your GP, they can support you and help connect you to other services like a psychologist. Learn more about how to make this appointment, and what to expect in this guide on getting yourself a mental health care plan from your GP
• Kids Helpline are available 24/7 on 1800 55 1800
• Connect with Headspace or eHeadspace where you can speak with an experienced clinical either over the phone or via online chat 
• As always, in an emergency and if you don’t feel safe, you can phone 000

Goodbye and good luck to POG 

At the end of this term, we farewell our Year 7 & 8 Student Wellbeing Coordinator Patrick O’Gorman. Patrick is our positive psychology-guru, whose warmth and support has been a great asset to our team in this strange year. We wish Patrick all the best as he embarks on his next adventure. Although we’ll miss the puppy updates and his enthusiasm for #offgrid living, we know that Patrick is the kind of guy who will do well, and do good, wherever he goes. 

…and introducing our new Year 7 & 7 Student Wellbeing Coordinator Jonathan Hoon 

With Patrick’s departure, we welcome Jonathan to the team in Term 3. Jonathan’s commitment to supporting students is well known around NHS, and the M11-team looks forward to having him join us. Stay tuned for next term’s newsletter, where you’ll get to learn a little more about Jonathan! 

The power, positivity, and pleasure of owning a pet

The Student Services Team are huge lovers of animals . It really does not take much for any of the team to share an array of pet snaps to interested (and maybe sometimes not so interested ) folk! So when we heard about Sid’s oral presentation in Year 8 English that outlined many of the wellbeing benefits of owning a pet – we knew we had to share these wise words with our pet-loving community. Thanks for sharing, Sid! 

"Did you know that owning a pet can have an extremely positive effect on your health? When we own pets, we feel like they are a part of our family, and that makes us feel safe and secure, so this also affects our social and physical health. Our social health is improved, because we have a companion to keep us company and when we take a dog for a walk, we will probably interact with other dog owners. Our physical health improves because when we walk our dog, we are getting exercise as well. Scientists have also discovered that when a person pets a friendly animal their blood pressure goes down, their heart rate slows, their breathing becomes more regular, and their muscle tension relaxes, all of these things giving the person a strong sense of happiness and wellbeing. Did you know that some hospitals even have pet therapy programs for the patients, where they are allowed to pet and interact with dogs?  Research also shows that owning a pet reduces stress hormones and can even help reduce anxiety in children."

Open the pdf to read Sid's persuasive speech in full