Dare To Be Excellent - Student Success Stories
St Helena Secondary College
World Alzheimer's Month
One of the many strengths of our students is their willingness to look beyond themselves and consider the needs of others in the wider community.
As part of World Alzheimer's Month, our Year 8 students participated in a meaningful service initiative, writing letters, poems and messages of support for aged care residents in our local community.
The article below, prepared by our 2026 Service Captains, highlights the significance of World Alzheimer's Month, raises awareness of dementia and outlines the contribution made by our students. We thank Jay and Mads for their leadership in promoting this important cause and Ms Fecondo for supporting this valuable initiative.
From the 2026 Service Captains, Jay and Mads:
Each September, individuals, communities and every Alzheimer’s and Dementia association around the world come together to challenge the stigma and discrimination around Dementia.
Worldwide, over 55 million people live with a type of dementia and this number is expected to rise rapidly over the coming decades.
Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia as it accounts for 70% of dementia cases. Dementia is the second leading cause of death in Australia and the leading cause of death for women living in Australia.
It is estimated that currently over 430,000 Australians live with dementia and over 1.7 million people are involved in the care of someone with dementia, which while meaningful, can also be extremely mentally challenging and stressful.
This year’s theme for World Alzheimer’s Month is: The Earlier You Know, The More You Can Do: A Dementia Diagnosis Matters.
The earlier dementia is diagnosed, the earlier treatments and prevention strategies can be put in place to increase the success of delaying the progression of the disease!
Our Contribution
For World Alzheimer’s Month, some of St Helena’s Year 8 students spent time writing thoughtful letters filled with kind words, beautifully crafted poems and supportive messages to be given to aged care residents in our local community.
A big thank you to Ms Fecondo for helping us organise this event. We are incredibly grateful that this activity was able to go ahead and it was so lovely to see the empathy and support that our school’s students offered to the older generations in our community.
Free Support Services for people with dementia and their carers
Dementia Australia (Home | Dementia Australia) – has great information, support and advice for carers, with a free 24/7 National Dementia Helpline or live chat
Carers Australia (https://www.carersaustralia.com.au) – links a website for each state and territory’s carer organisation that provides helpful resources and programs specifically to aid carers
For more medical, allied health and support services, Forward with dementia, provides a great list of types of services – Types of dementia support services available in Australia
Your Donation Can Make a Difference
If you would like to support Alzheimer's research and dementia support services, you can make a donation via the link below:
https://alzheimersresearch.org.au/donate/
Jay and Mads
2026 Service Captains
Intermediate & Senior Girls Netball
Congratulations to our Intermediate and Senior Girls Netball teams, who recently represented St Helena Secondary College at the State Netball Championships at the Waverley Netball Centre.
Our Intermediate team competed strongly throughout the day, recording a win and two closely contested matches. A special congratulations to our Senior team, who achieved an outstanding third-place finish in the state.
We also acknowledge our Year 12 students, for whom this was their final interschool sporting competition before the examination period. In particular, we thank Sports Captain Zara B for her commitment, leadership and contribution to sport at St Helena throughout her years at the College.
Well done to all students involved on their excellent representation of the College.
