Wellbeing update
Term 4 wrap up
Wellbeing Wednesdays term 4
The lunch time club, Wellbeing Wednesday, run by the Wellbeing Team and the Wellbeing Captains and held every Wednesday lunch time, was again well attended this year. The club is a combination of games and activities, interspersed with ‘Chat and Chill’ lunch times, when students can use the space to read, colour or just chat.
A highlight this term was when the Wellbeing staff ran ‘a minute to win it’ games. This involved trying to knock ping pong balls off golf tees. The participant with the highest score in one minute was the winner!
Year 9 program
The Wellbeing Team presented to the year 9 cohort as a part of their end of year program. The focus was on highlighting they are officially halfway through their high school journey, giving them an opportunity to reflect on how far they have come, and how they want to show up as the move into senior school. There was bingo, stage games and a visualisation to spark their thinking about the people they want to be in moving into senior school.
Christmas hampers
Through a generous donation from an outside organisation, the Wellbeing Team were again able to offer 12 beautiful Christmas hampers to some lucky school families.
2025 Reflection
2025 has been a big year for the Koonung Wellbeing Team. We have successfully grown our small group offerings this year, which has allowed us to continue supporting a wider range of students at Koonung. We have seen an overall increase in help seeking behaviours, with students reaching out more often to access supports at school. Without the hard work of each member of the Wellbeing Team, we would not be able to run and offer so many programs and opportunities for support to the students of Koonung.
Group programs, clubs and events run or organized by the Wellbeing Team in 2025:
Peaceful Teens group
Study Without Stress group
Social Skills group
I CAN mentoring
Faith Club
Wellbeing Wednesdays
Culture Club
Breakfast Club
Study and Snack
Live Life workshops
R U OK Day event
Teen Mental Health First Aid
Youth Mental Health First Aid
Stand Tall program
African Drumming
End of year programs
We are grateful for the opportunity to provide the Koonung Community with support and work towards providing a safe and inclusive space for our students and we are looking forward to providing even more programs in 2026.
It is with much sadness that we share that Philippa Ziegenhardt will be leaving the Wellbeing Team at the end of 2025. Philippa has been an integral part of our team this year and her kindness and dedication to caring for our students will be very much missed. We wish her all the best!
Whilst the holiday period can be a wonderful time to catch up with family and friends, we acknowledge that having time away from your usual routines may be stressful. Below are links to support services you can access over the break for more support.
Support services for over the school holidays:
We hope everyone has a wonderful summer break and we are looking forward to offering even more supports and programs in 2026.
Community updates
Social Media Age restrictions
The Australian government has passed a new law called the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age Act 2024).
From the 10th December, only young people over the age of 16 will be able to access certain social media platforms. This means young people who are under the age of 16 won’t be able access their social media accounts and social media platforms will be putting age verification processes in place to ensure young people under 16 are not using their platforms.
This might be a challenging time for young people and their families as we all work to adapt to the changes. We encourage families to access support services such as Kids Helpline. There is more information about support services below.
The eSafety commission will be continuing to provide accurate information and updates about this law on their website. You can find the most up to date information about how it will affect young people and families by accessing the E-Safety commission’s Social Media Age Restrictions Hub https://www.esafety.gov.au/about-us/industry-regulation/social-media-age-restrictions-hub
Young people can find information and strategies about how they will be affected, along with FAQs here: https://www.esafety.gov.au/young-people/social-media-age-restrictions
Parents and carers can find information about how to have conversations about the age restrictions with young people: https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/social-media-age-restrictions/conversation-starters
Free Public Transport for young people in 2026
From 2026, public transport will be free for young people under the age of 18. You can find further information on the Transport Victoria website below.
School holiday program
Whitehorse Council will be hosting a range of activities for children and young people over the school holiday period
School Holiday Program | Whitehorse City Council
Eryn Tyler
The Wellbeing Team