Principal's News
In an article, posted in 2021, Angela Theisen from the Mayo Clinic in America wrote about the importance of connections to our overall well-being:
We cannot separate the importance of a sense of belonging from our physical and mental health. The social ties that accompany a sense of belonging are a protective factor helping manage stress and other behavioural issues. When we feel we have support and are not alone, we are more resilient, often coping more effectively with difficult times in our lives.
To belong and to feel part of something much bigger than us can help shape and define who we are. Sometimes it is by design and other times it is by chance that we find ourselves connected to others. If my eldest sister hadn’t taken me to my first Liverpool game on my 7th birthday- where the draw of the crowd, the songs and the sheer noise dragged me in forever- I wouldn’t have been the same person or had the same highs and lows that I have experienced throughout my life. Even though I’ve never kicked a ball for my home club, I felt I was part of every victory and every defeat because, by turning up, I became one voice in 40,000 supporting the 11 fellas on the pitch. In my lifetime the refrain from the football club’s anthem, ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’, took on new meaning and resonance in the face of real loss. When we feel alone, our capacity as humans to bounce back is so much stronger when we have the support of others to help us.
For young people, there are many highs and lows that they need to navigate as they journey through high school. Being alone makes things so much harder, so it is important to recognise that we share this timeline together and remember to share it with kindness and inclusivity. A school like ours can provide so many opportunities for our students to find a ‘tribe’ that they can belong to. To belong to your ‘tribe’ means you must be inclusive and coexist respectfully with others, the opposite of a ‘pack mentality’. Tribes have a common interest- be it sport, chess, D&D, music, science… our students get to name it and we will support. Over the course of my first 8 months at Ballarat High School, I have marvelled at the range of opportunities that our students have to get involved and to belong. And whilst we are eternally grateful for the hours staff put into supervising these clubs and events, they only exist because of our students. Our students are at their best when they share their passions and find meaning in connection. We are a school of many tribes who all belong at Ballarat High School.
The Variety Nights showcased so much talent and I am sure that we are all in awe of anyone brave enough to climb on the stage to be part of an ensemble willing to entertain. The standard of performance was sensational, but what mattered more was that each journey to the stage had overcome challenges and had persevered together. The dance troupe were supervised by teachers but choreographed by our own students, turning up for rehearsals because of the positivity, camaraderie and support they received from each other, something that certainly shone in the sheer enjoyment that transferred from them to the audience. There were bands forced to go acoustic to make up for absent members, ensembles adapting due to ill-health and even our MC, Naomi Ross, who dashed straight from a shift at work and didn’t pause for breath before taking to the stage made everything seem like it had been planned that way!
Every one of our students were there because being there mattered to them. And whilst we saw polished performances, they contained hours of rehearsing, of mistakes and wrong notes- all in the pursuit of creating something that didn’t exist, nor wouldn’t have existed, without each individual’s contribution.
When walking around the different groups working hard as part of the ‘Write a Book in a Day’ event, each workspace seemed like a different ecosystem of imagination that was being sustained by the creativity of the group. The kindness and graciousness that our students received ideas and contributed their own brought an energy that we would love to see in all classrooms. There is a bravery in sharing your ideas knowing that they may not be taken up, but knowing your thoughts can spark another and another to bring something new into existence.
Our VM students, a tribe we should all be proud of, looked beyond 1726 Sturt Street last week to consider how our wider community looks after the homeless of Ballarat. By listening to local leaders, visiting centres that offer food for the homeless and by experiencing what it feels like to sleep rough for a night, they better comprehend the compassion, empathy and understanding that we need to extend to those around us. They learned about the harsh reality experienced by our society’s most vulnerable people and they did so together.
Our co-dependency is something that we cannot ignore, nor take for granted. Every student has a need to belong and at Ballarat High School we must provide the security of acceptance and inclusivity to give them that.
Stephan Fields
Principal