Director of Student Services Update

Dear Families, Students and Community Members,

The Wellbeing Team have had a busy start to the year, with many students requiring additional support from our staff across a range of areas. Our Wellbeing Team can provide short term intervention for students requiring additional support and can assist students/families with external referrals where longer-term mental health support is required. 

If your child requires more assistance, or you would like advice regarding mental health support for your child, parents or carers can send an email to:  wellbeing@mc.vic.edu.au. 

Students are also welcome to self-refer by sending an email to: wellbeing@mc.vic.edu.au, or they can be referred via their Year Level Coordinators (YLCs). 

In our Wellbeing Team this year, we have Hailey Pratt our Youth Counsellor and we have recently welcomed Troy Kettle, our new Youth Counsellor to the team this term as well as Linda Walsh who has returned to the team following her maternity leave.  Brooke Jones is our Adolescent Health Nurse from the Department of Education, who also supports our students two days a week.

Our Wellbeing Team continue to run The Breakfast Group, which operates each Tuesday and Friday from 8.30am, where students can gather and enjoy brekkie together at the start of the school day in the Wellbeing area, all students Years 7 – 12 are welcome to join. The Respect Group continue to gather weekly on Mondays for students who are LGBTIQ+ and allies and on Tuesdays for our Diversity and Inclusion Group (DIG); students are invited to have a conversation with our Adolescent Health Nurse, Brooke Jones if they would also like to join in.

Mordialloc College has collaborative partnerships with external local mental health services including Kingston Youth Services, Headspace in Bentleigh and the Infant, Child and Youth Area Mental Health and Wellbeing Service (ICYAMHWS) in Moorabbin. 

Kingston Youth Services have recently employed additional counselling staff and have current availability for young people aged 12 to 25 who live within the Kingston catchment, requiring further mental health support. To access their free counselling support, you can self-refer via the link here: https://kingstonyouth.org.au/youth-support-and-counselling/ 

Kingston Youth Services also have a drop-in invitation for students every Friday from 3.30 pm - 5 pm at Platform 81, which is located opposite Mordialloc Station. Students are welcome to have a bite to eat and to be involved in a fun and inclusive space and participate in a variety of scheduled activities designed to promote social opportunities. For more details regarding the drop-in opportunities, access the link here:

https://kingstonyouth.org.au/platform-81-drop/

Headspace Bentleigh (located next to Moorabbin station) have also employed additional staff and have more resources to support young people aged 12-25. Headspace Bentleigh offers free or low-cost services, where young people can access qualified mental health professionals, youth-friendly GPs, drug and alcohol counsellors, vocational service providers and the specialist early psychosis program. For further details, please see their website: https://headspace.org.au/headspace-centres/bentleigh/

For students requiring more intensive support, the Infant, Child and Youth Area Mental Health and Wellbeing Service (ICYAMHWS) team can provide further intensive intervention. The teams at ICYAMHWS provides a multidisciplinary approach from Occupational Therapists, Social Workers, Mental Health Nurses, Psychologists, Dieticians, Speech Pathologists, as well as Child and Adult Psychiatrists and Lived Experience Youth and Family Peer Workers and system advocates. ICYAMHWS utilise a family based approach and other support networks as integral to the mental health recovery journey. Initial family sessions will usually be offered to families at the start of treatment. This helps ensure everyone in the family and/or support network has opportunity to identify what is important for them to support treatment outcomes. These sessions also often help strengthen family relationships and address misunderstandings.

 For further details, please see their website: https://www.alfredhealth.org.au/services/child-youth-mental-health-service

Sarah Letho

Director of Student Services