Student Wellbeing

by Mrs Raylene Slee, Student Support Officer

Much has been happening in the student well being space again this term. I am pleased to share with you just some of the initiatives students have participated in during the term.

Across the school, wehave continued to focus on school attendance. Everyday missed at school is a missed opportunity to learn. Each week we have a 100% attendance competition. At assembly each week, two students who have 100% attendance over the previous two weeks have their name drawn from a hat with the winners receiving a $5 canteen voucher. Parents are being notified via text message if their child is away or if a student misses roll call. Parents are asked to ring the school to explain the reason for their child's absence.

RAISE Mentoring – Students have had a meet and greet with the Mentors and a 'speed date' scenario to see which students and mentors will work work best together. The students had a lot of laughs and lots of discussions during the meet and greet session. The mentoring sessions commenced last week and will run through until the middle of Term 4.

Reconnect - aprogram focused on resilience, self motivation and looking after yourself has been running place this term. The team from Reconnect have been working with students in Year 9. During the last session students were keen to try making and applying a natural face mask made of banana, natural yogurt and honey. It was a new experience for many of them. The girls said their faces felt refreshed after the experience.

Breakfast Club has seen lots of changes this term, we now operate five days a week with a variety of food choices. The ham and cheese toasties and wraps are always popular, but we have also had sausages and gravy on the menu along with scrambles eggs, and no one can go past the pancake mornings. They always prove a hit with students. We have also provided students with a big breakfast a couple of time each term. For these, the primary and high school come together to enjoy bacon and egg burgers before they hit the classroom ready to learn. All students are welcome at breakfast club.

Love Bites – Year 7 have been participating in the Love Bites Junior program this term. Facilitated by Kelly and Gail from the NDCAS service, the program runs for one hour a week over nine weeks. The highly interactive sessions have focused on respectful relationships and I am pleased to say that students have participated exceptionally well each week.

Each week the students have worked on two key topics;

Friends – communicating mindfully, warning signs of abusive relationships, power in relationships, responding to concerns, seeking help and who and where to get help from.
Cyber bullying / sexting – what to do if it happens to you or a friend, and who can help

Anti-Violence Presentation – A local police officer along with a member of the PCYC team from Tamworth visited our school recently to talk with students in each stage group. They provided students with the knowledge to address drinking friends, keeping each other safe and what to do if a situation arises that is out of control. The local officer showed a short video to help bring their message to life for students. The presentation also touched on rules and laws around underage drinking and vaping.

Moorambilla Voices – is an inspiring organisation of volunteers with a passion for music and singing. They gather together talented young singers from schools across rural and regional NSW to build their vocal skills and confidence as they work towards a group choir performance.

Our school hall proved to have wonderful acoustics as students eagerly joined with the

Moorambilla Voices crew to sing a range of songs. The students who participated learnt new skills and we are delighted that several of our students have been selected to participate in a vocal development camp. These students included; Rakaia Skinner, Haylie Reynolds, Bree Pillar, Mason Humphries, Lee Easterbrook and Tanaha Knight.

Talented Year 12 singer, Haylie Reynolds was also selected to attend the Opera House in the holidays to participate in some opera singing.

Read more about Moorambilla Voices here

Crime Prevention Week – On Thursday 22nd June students participated in a presentation by local police. The program was initiated by Narrabri Shire Council and NDCAS and saw police speak with students in an interactive way about bullying, online scams, cyber safety, substance use and other important topics that the students want to chat about.

Reconnect's After School Program – Wednesday afternoons between 3pm and 4:30pm students are encouraged to attend an after-school program on the school grounds. Each week, participating students take part in a sport or activity of their choice, with soccer a regular favourite. Another popular choice is badminton. Students who attend each week have shown a great improvement in their racquet skills. Another popular choice has been Kubb, a sport new to many of us that involves throwing balls at a target.

Adventure Quest - Was a program that was run by Narrabri Shire Council and NDCAS one Saturday during the term. We were pleased to have four WWHS teams participate. The quest was made up of many challenges, from maths, trivia, drama and thinking outside the box. Teams were transported by bus which was kindly sponsored by Namoi Care Connect. Everyone agreed that it was a fun day of teamwork and participation that provided lots of laughter throughout the day.