Pastoral Care & Wellbeing

R U OK? Day

On Thursday, St Patrick’s College recognised R U OK? Day in conjunction with National Suicide Prevention Day and the Live4Life program. The day provided an important opportunity for our community to come together in support of mental health awareness, meaningful conversations, and suicide prevention.

The day included:

• Casual Clothes Day – A Touch of Yellow: Students and staff wore casual clothes with a touch of yellow. A gold coin donation helped raise funds in support of suicide prevention initiatives, with the SPC Blue Tree Project being considered as a recipient.
• Morning Welcome: Members of the Student Congress, Student Council, and staff greeted students at the gates dressed in yellow, handing out R U OK? resources, stickers, and conversation cards.
• Lunchtime Activities:
  • A baked goods sale featuring yellow donuts, cookies, and cupcakes.
  • Fun, inclusive mini-games with small prizes to encourage participation.
  • Year level downball competitions and the always popular Students vs Staff Dodgeball match.
• Pastoral Care Lesson: During Lesson 4, students engaged in a session focusing on how to ask “R U OK?”, recognising signs that someone may be struggling, and where to seek help.

Through these activities, our community raised awareness of mental health, encouraged students to check in with each other, and fostered a culture of care, connection, and support across the College.

Digital Downtime: Managing Healthy Holiday Habits

As the school holidays approach, it’s important for families to consider the balance between rest, play, and screen use. Digital devices are a huge part of young people’s lives, but without healthy boundaries, they can quickly dominate downtime and leave little space for connection or genuine rest.

Some helpful strategies for parents include:

• Setting boundaries together: Work with your son to agree on appropriate screen limits. Involving him in the decision-making promotes responsibility.
• Encouraging balance: Support opportunities for physical activity, reading, family time, and face-to-face socialising alongside device use.
• Creating tech-free zones: Designate mealtimes or bedrooms as screen-free to encourage healthier routines and quality family time.
• Modelling healthy use: Children often mirror adult behaviour, so consider how your own device use sets the tone at home.
• Having open conversations: Talk about what your son is watching, playing, or engaging with online, and take an interest in his digital world.

Holidays are an opportunity to recharge, and finding balance between digital life and real-world experiences is a key part of this. Together, we can help our young people build healthy digital habits that will support their wellbeing.

Please click the link below to learn more about how you can support your child over the holidays.