Wellbeing

It's been a busy start to Term 3 for our wellbeing team. 

We are privileged to have had specialists join us to bring their expertise to work with our staff and students in important areas.  One area of focus was how we can empower our students to consider how they want to design their lives, as described below.  We also engaged in highly impactful discussion around how we, as a community, can be aware of and navigate together the objectification of women, the sexualisation of girls, and harmful messaging and stereotypes about masculinity. We have all learnt a lot and are excited to continue our work in both these important areas. 

myDesign

It was great to have the myDesign Education team at the College earlier this term.

Richard Burton and Kirstene Ciappara adapted their school-based program to work with over 150 of our Year 10 students over a 2-day bootcamp.

Using the unique 'SIM' framework, students took an inside-out approach to reflect deeply on their SIM – their Strengths, Interest and Motivators.

Students reflected that they are not only more informed leading into the Year 11 Subject Selection process, but they also feel more empowered to 'design their life'.  

We look forward to an ongoing relationship with the team from myDesign Education.

The myDesign program has supported me through the subject selection course and has helped me shaped my future. I was able to identify my strengths, skills and interests going into the future, helping me identify what I would be interested in.

Bellah W.

Student Year 10

The myDesign 2-day program showed us how to navigate through our SIM profiles, and helped us develop understanding of our subject choices for Year 11. The program highlighted the importance of communication and design skills. I was able to effectively choose my subjects through understanding my strengths, interests, and motivation profile. Overall, I enjoyed the program and recommend it for future success.

Emily B.

Student Year 10

Collective Shout

We were very fortunate to have Collective Shout visit the College this term. Collective Shout is a grassroots campaign movement who stand against the objectification of women and the sexualisation of girls.

Experts in their field, Melinda Tankard Reist and Daniel Principe hosted workshops for students throughout the day. Melinda worked with our girls to better identify and address the intense sexualisation and objectification of women and young girls that starts from a very early age. Melinda clarified the definition of sexual harassment, and identified behaviours which constitute it. Most specifically, Melinda strongly encouraged girls to speak with an adult to seek support in not putting up with it. Many of the girls reflected that they felt empowered by the messages from her workshop.

Daniel worked with our boys to identify the impacts of harmful messaging and stereotypes about masculinity. Through his workshops, Daniel helped our young men gain more understanding about how these cultural forces give them distorted ideas about their bodies, relationships and sexuality, and can fuel inappropriate behaviours for some. Some of our young men felt more informed about acceptable behaviour and language, especially when directed towards girls.

Approximately 200 parents joined Melinda and Daniel for a presentation in the evening. Whilst the message was quite shocking, parents felt more informed about how to approach the extreme challenge of supporting their child to manage the pressures of social media as well as the messaging from mainstream media and other companies.

We will work with our students, staff and community to continue to uphold respectful relationships and challenge behaviour that falls short.

Huge thanks to Melinda and Daniel for their engaging and expert insights. We know that they have had an impact based on the feedback, some of which is provided below, from our students.

Stage 6 Feedback:

Boys

“The extensive impacts of the issues talked about were shocking. I was aware of most of the impacts, but nowhere near to the extent that they told us. It was well worth the while.”

 

“The sexualisation of girls in society has become too normalised through technology and advertisements. Boys are confused as to what it means to be a man.”

 

“Daniel showed us how we as men can stand up and say that’s unacceptable in our society and stand up for women rightly. We as Stage 6, Year 11 and 12 boys, were extremely grateful for Daniel visiting us and showing his research to us.”

 

"I wish I knew some of the information earlier."

 

"The presenter was not judgemental."

Girls

“It was a tough conversation, but so important.”

 

“It was absolutely necessary.”

 

“Collective Shout provided us with a powerful presentation that was eye opening.”

 

“Confronting and empowering.”

Stage 5 Feedback:

Boys

"Through Collective Shout, we have learned just how much media can mess with our ideas about people and our relationships. We now understand why it’s important to see through harmful ads, songs, and movies, and not let them shape our views. We have gained a thorough understanding of respecting and not objectifying women, and what makes a healthy relationship. We were shown to ignore the negative influences that society has placed in our hands and to strive for positive change."

Hamish J.

Student Year 9

 

"The Collective Shout presentation that the Year 9 and 10 boys experienced was an educational and informative conversation that left a long-lasting message about the dangers and ideas that society has placed upon young men and women. It explains the problems experienced by both young men and women, and how men are influenced by media to be the ideal of a "man". They questioned what a man is and how the portrayal of women in the media influences a man's attitude towards women. Our speaker also ensured that we understood that the blame wasn't placed upon us, but in society as young men we have to be better. Overall, Collective Shout was an incredible experience that educated us as young men on the impact of social media and how we should act as young men today."

Hugh W.

Student Year 10

 

"Our world is one of change. Some change for the better, and some for the worse. Society, now more than ever, has created rigid stereotypes that we are forced to follow. The internet and greater access to social media, which portray these hyper-stereotypes, aren't helping matters. Collective Shout taught us that it's okay to go against what everybody else wants us to be as young men, and to try our hardest to become kind, caring, trustworthy, and compassionate young people. They taught us that it's okay to go against these stereotypes and peer pressure and to become who we want ourselves to be, not what someone else wants us to become."

Sebastian B.

Student Year 9

Girls

"Collective Shout was helpful in teaching us how as young women we have been conditioned by society to act, look, and be a certain way. It showed us that it is OK to say no, break the stereotypes, and that we are understood and heard as a collective."

Charli L.

Student Year 9

 

"Collective Shout was a great learning experience that raised awareness about the stigma and stereotypes around women, not only in advertising, but in day-to-day life. Through this program, we learnt that we have the right to be respected, the ability to say no, and the power to stand up for equality. Overall, it was a great opportunity that taught us that together we can make a difference for the better."

Hannah R.

Student Year. 9

 

 

Stage 4 Feedback:

Boys

“The whole experience was so eye-opening. It wasn’t just a lecture, it was an open conversation that really inspired all of us.” 

Charlie T.

 

“I thought it was a good experience for everyone given the world we live in. I liked how the speaker was interactive with everyone.”  

Will M.

 

“I think that the experience of Collective Shout helped all the boys that were included in this presentation to get a deeper understanding of the tough things we have to go through." 

Jonathon N.

 

“It was a special privilege to be able to listen and have an open conversation to the Collective Shout team, all the things said were helpful and will help all boys going through the situation, especially the strategies given to help us was intriguing. Wonderful experience and would recommend to anyone to listen to the things they have to say.” Charlie F.

Girls

“A very inspirational and eye-opening experience.”

Imogen B.

 

“It was very important for us to learn this stuff so that we can be more aware about what happens to some girls and what people do.”

Kaia C.

 

“It was amazing to hear about the issues facing gender equality in our generation.” Celeste R.

 

“It was awesome that we were able to have an engaging conversation about gender stereotypes and inequalities. It was also an eye-opening experience that allowed us to learn what our generation is being told to accept about different gender stereotypes.” Yvette K.