Minds Matter

Welcome back to Term 2! This Term we are welcoming a new School Counsellor, Mrs Jessica Sexton. Jess completed her senior schooling at Mount Alvernia and is thrilled to be welcomed back into the community in a new role. 

Jess is a registered/qualified social worker, having completed a 4-year social work degree. Jess has worked in Queensland Health for almost 10 years, with 5 years spent in specialist Child and Youth Mental Health Teams. Jess offers a safe, curious, and non-judgemental approach in her work with young people and their families. Jess feels it’s important that young people feel heard, understood, and supported during the exciting and sometimes complex time of adolescence. 

Jess is interested in adolescent mental health, early intervention, and creative therapies such as animal assisted therapy. She enjoys spending time with her pooches, Pikelet and Schnitzel, as well as outdoor activities such as hiking, downhill mountain biking, wake boarding and camping. We are excited to have Jess on our Pastoral Team and are grateful to have her expertise. 

Hopefully your families had plenty of time for rest and recuperation after an unusual and disruptive Term 1. Some students may find it difficult to re-adjust to the term, particularly with multiple short weeks in a row. Some suggestions for helping your young person settle into the new Term are:

• Encouraging and assisting your young person with a consistent and appropriate sleep routine.
• Ensuring that your young person is eating regularly and eating foods to fuel them for engagement in all aspects of their life.
• Encouraging and even joining in with regular exercise.
• Normalise and validate and adjustments to the new term. Give your young person a safe space to speak with you.
• Do not facilitate avoidance behaviours. Instead, model appropriate and effective coping skills.
• Encourage your young person to reach out to staff if they are needing support. This may be their Homeroom Teacher, Pastoral Guardian, Teaching & Learning Guardian, or us as School Counsellors. 

Wishing you and your families a wonderful term ahead. As always, we are here to support if needed. Please contact counsellor@mta.qld.edu.au if you are interested in support for your young person.

Ellie Keane and Jess Sexton

College Counsellors