School Nurse -

Carla Lang 

🎉 Party Smart – Looking After Yourself and Your Friends

As the school year winds down, there are parties and end-of-year celebrations to look forward. 

It's a great time to catch up with friends, family and to start to wind down after a big year of study, work and exams. 

It’s also a good time to think about staying safe.

For our older students, parties can sometimes involve alcohol, vaping or other substances. The safest choice for young people is not to use alcohol, nicotine or other drugs, but knowing how to look after yourself and your friends is important. 

For Students: 

• Know where you are going and who you will be with.
• Make sure a trusted adult knows where you are.
• Arrange how you will get home before the party starts.
• Keep your phone charged.
• Have a parent, carer or trusted adult you can call if you need help — even if things haven't gone according to plan.
• Have a safe word you can text to a trusted adult if you want to leave and need a lift home but don’t want those around you to know. 

Look after your friends: Being a good friend means noticing when someone isn't okay.

If a friend becomes unwell, confused, very sleepy, injured or is behaving unusually, get an adult immediately. Don't leave them alone and don't assume they'll simply "sleep it off."

And remember you never have to do something just because everyone else is doing it. 

It's okay to say no, change your mind or leave.

For parents/carers:

As parents/carers our role is to help our teenagers navigate this time but most of all to be supportive if/when things don’t go to plan.

A simple conversation before an event can make a difference. Talk about:

• where your child is going
• who they will be with
• transport home
• what they should do if something goes wrong
• how they can contact you without worrying about getting into trouble.

Sometimes the most important message is simply:

"If you need me, call me. We'll sort everything else out later."

🎉 Party tip: Having a safe way home and a trusted adult to call is one of the best plans you can make.