Wellbeing Matters
Student Support Officer
One of the biggest questions I get asked as the Student Support Officer is “who can I talk to?”.
In a small school such as ours there really is no wrong person to talk to.
If students are in need of someone to talk to they can speak with their parents/family or their GP.
Here at school they can speak with their class teacher, Year advisor, Boys/Girls Advisor, request to see the school counsellor or Student Support Officer.
If unsure the Student Support Officer can always point them in the right direction. Sometimes this may involve contacting outside supports such as Kids Helpline, Headspace or Mental Health Accessline.
As parents and caregivers if you have any concerns about your child please contact their class teacher or Year Advisor. You may also like to see your GP or in case of an emergency contact 000.
Below are some key phone numbers that may be able to assist you;
NSW Mental Health Access Line 1800 011 511- staffed by mental health professionals, the line gives NSW residents access to expert mental health advice, support and referrals for people dealing with a mental health problem and their families and carers.
Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 is Australia’s only free 24/7 confidential and private counselling service specifically for children and young people aged 5 to 25.
Lifeline 13 11 14 are a national charity providing all Australians experiencing emotional distress with access to 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention services.
Other services available via
If you are unsure of who best to speak with here at school, please do not hesitate to contact me as the Student Support Officer on 63853009. We are all here to support you and your child.
Taryn Riles - Student Support Officer.
Seasons for Growth
Term 4 has seen the commencement of two Seasons for Growth groups. Seasons for Growth is a small group education program that supports children and young people to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes to understand and respond well to experiences of change, loss and grief.
The "Rainbow Group" enjoyed their first session exploring the seasons and creating a interactive seasons centre piece.
Participating students will meet weekly for 8 weeks and will do activities to help them;
- Acknowledge their experiences and recognise they are ‘not the only one’
- Understand that their feelings and other behavioural reactions are normal
- Develop skills for coping, positive choices, goal-setting and decision making
- Build a peer support network and a felt sense of belonging and connection
Stronger Smarter
During Stronger Smarter students have continued to undertake activities surrounding the theme of "Change". Students were perplexed when asked to participate in a Stronger Smarter "test".
The "test" was simply to write what they could see on a their page, which was a black dot. Students used fantastic language to describe the dot in the middle of the page, yet most did not write about the rest of the paper (which was to be expected).
Now there was method in my madness conducting this "test". The black dot represents the change and challenges in our lives. These changes are often the focus of all of our attention. The remaining area of the paper represents the rest of our lives but we get so bogged down by those changes and challenges that we lose site of the other positive things we may have in our lives.
Students then created artistic masterpieces using the black dot - reminding students that change can be a positive thing if we change our perception and attitude towards it.
This week students were inspired by Aussie legend Nedd Brockmann. Nedd Brockmann originally from Forbes, has raised funds to aid homelessness in Australia by running across Australia and most recently running laps of the Sydney Olympic Park running track. He has raised over $5 million dollars so far simply because he wanted to help.
Each class were tasked with thinking big brainstorming world issues that they would like to see improved or changed. Students discussed a variety of issues including pollution, homelessness, poverty, nature preservation and more. Students felt empowered to know that they too are kids from a small town who if they put there mind to it can evoke positive change.
Who knows we may just have a future Nedd Brockmann amongst us.
As Nedd says "If I can chose to be negative about something, I can also chose to be positive about it".