Student Health & Wellbeing
Pakenham Secondary College
How to manage teens’ expectations after exams
When exams finish, students often feel a mix of relief, joy and excitement. But after a while, this can shift to stress and anxiety while they wait for their results.
Please click on the below link to find out how families can maintain stability in that waiting period and support your teen to manage their expectations.
Deadly Directions
ReachOut Australia's Deadly Directions collection is all about helping young First Nations people navigate school, study, work and next steps. They’ll find tips, tricks and real yarns from young people who’ve been there.
If you are finishing up school, heading into senior years, or just looking for a little inspiration and perspective from others please click on the button below.
How to handle fear about the future
Leaving school is a huge milestone, but the uncertainty of ‘what’s next’ can be a lot for students to navigate.
ReachOut Australia have a guide that provides practical strategies to ground yourself, challenge your thinking, and break down big decisions into manageable steps.
Free chat with a peer worker
For students in the thick of final exams and nearing the finish, it’s a lot to navigate. You can connect with a free, confidential ReachOut PeerChat session and chat one-on-one with a trained peer worker.
Peer workers are young people who understand what it’s like to feel stressed and overwhelmed by exams. They can chat to students about school, exam pressure, the future, or anything else that’s on your mind right now.
Everything you need to know about AuDHD
Parenting a teen with ADHD or an autistic teen comes with its own learning curve. When both conditions are present at the same time, the experience can feel even more complex.
Psychologist Kate Plumb breaks down what AuDHD is, the signs your child might be AuDHD, what to expect from the assessment process, and how you can support them at both home and at school.
Mindful Knitting
Mindful Knitting has a new date, time and place - please come to the library at recess on Mondays!
Headspace Services
Doctors at Secondary Schools Program
Pakenham Secondary College is part of the Doctors at Secondary Schools Program. As part of the program, Dr Patrick Halton, a Headspace adolescent-trained GP, will be at the school every Tuesday from 9:30am until 12:30pm, as well as Nurse June, a Headspace adolescent-trained nurse, to provide free access to primary health care for secondary students at our school.
You are welcome to attend consultations with them, if/when required.
Why is it needed?
We know that teenagers are the least likely of all age groups to seek health care, but we also know that many health problems that can have consequences into adulthood start at this time of life. This program seeks to address this issue.
What will the GP do?
The GP will provide students with the same services as the kind normally provided by GPs in the community, including seeing students about their physical and mental health, and sexual and reproductive health issues.
GPs may also make referrals to other health services as required. The GP will bulk bill consultations through Medicare, so there will be no out-of-pocket expenses for this service for your family.
This program is not designed to replace any existing medical arrangements your family may have in place. The GP in the school can provide a convenient alternative to primary care within schools hours, and encourage health care access to those students without an existing relationship with a GP.
The program is intended to provide better access to primary care for secondary school students. Therefore, parents, carers, guardians and other family members are not able to use this service at this time. All GPs in this program adolescent health training and will understand the health and wellbeing needs of teenagers.
Accessing the GP
The school GP office is located behind the Gym, next to the Log Cabin.
Please click on the below image to book an appointment.
Support Services
If you feel like you could do with the support of a professional, help is always available.
MyPlace - Cardinia - 1800 496 884
Youth Counselling and Support Service - Casey - 9792 7279
LifeLine - 13 11 14 - Provides counselling, information and referrals for people experiencing a personal crisis. Click here for the link.
Beyond Blue - 1300 224 636 - Provides advice and support for people experiencing depression and anxiety. Click here for the link
Suicide Call Back Service - 1300 659 467 - Provides free counselling for anyone (15 years+) who is suicidal or affected by suicide.
Kids Helpline - 1800 55 1800 - Provides free, private and confidential telephone and online counselling services specifically for young people aged between 5 and 25. Click here for the link.
E-HeadSpace - Provides free online or telephone support with a clinician via an online chat. This service is available for 12–25-year-olds, Click here for the link.
Reachout - Click here for the link.