Wellbeing News

And just like that the 2024 school year has come to an end!!! Whilst we recognise that the true meaning of Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Jesus it is also a time where it is natural to feel reflective as the year closes. This time of reflection can also be a time where many different emotions are triggered, both positive and negative. 

2024 was an extremely busy year academically, creatively, on the sporting arena as well as within the wellbeing space. There were many initiatives and programs held to destigmatise mental ill health and provide opportunities for people to increase their knowledge regarding services available both within our local and wider community. Many activities were student driven and for me personally it was fabulous to work with such a motivated group of students as well as a fantastic school community that embraces challenges and supports the opportunity to bring about change whilst promoting a sense of inclusiveness and belonging.

At the end of term 3 six year 10 students had been nominated to represent MCC and invited by Soroptimist International to take part in the “Empower Enable Workshop” which was facilitated by “Burn Bright”. The young women had been nominated as each person demonstrated leadership qualities, maturity and it was evident that each member had a passion for social justice. The students were given the challenge to return to their perspective schools and design and implement a program or activity that was both informative and educational and increased awareness regarding the lack of equity for girls and women throughout the world demonstrating how this impacts on their quality of life. This week their initiative came to a conclusion and the feedback from both students and staff has been very encouraging. 

The initial project that the students had planned was unable to come to fruition due to time restraints given that term 4 is notoriously busy from a logistics perspective so the girls displayed resilience and in a very short amount of time design a project that was both effective and relevant to what was occurring both locally, nationally and indeed on an international level. Their project was inspired by the “16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence”, which is an international campaign to raise awareness about violence towards women and advocate for women’s rights. It runs every year from 25 November (the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women) to 10 December (Human Rights Day). During the 16 Days of Activism, communities around the world join the call to prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls.

 One of the students, Anna Ooi explained “In Australia, while we’ve made progress in promoting gender equality, challenges remain. According to the Australian Femicide Watch, 81 women have lost their lives to violence from the hands of men in our country. Our project aims to engage and draw attention to the significance of women’s rights across the MCC community. Additionally, our goal is to educate and empower staff and students to take action”.

Throughout the activity the group shared daily quotes and statistics associated with women's rights during homeroom and created informative posters featuring domestic violence resources and centres in Griffith that were available for all during times of crisis or for practical and emotional support.

Feedback from the hosting group, Soroptimist International was also positive with an invitation being given for the school to continue this initiative in 2025 and have additional support to create greater awareness. “Well done to the group for pivoting so quickly and bringing to light DV at a school level. Great way to get all levels of school involved in critical conversations (including the boys)”.

The students involved are to be congratulated for what they achieved, and the legacy of their activity will be that we will continue to be involved in this initiative throughout 2025 and on an annual basis. This aligns with other programs being conducted across the school including “Amity”, a positive social and emotional peer relationships program for year 8 girls as well as “Love Bites”, a respectful relationships program for all year 9 students.

Children certainly are our future and if they are to be the catalyst for change this starts with educating our young people, academically, socially and spiritually so they can bring about the change and install the values of love, kindness and compassion in addition to equality and inclusion in future generations. 

Whilst many people are looking forward to sharing time with friends and family, creating happy memories and celebrating, there are those within our community however that this will be the very first Christmas without significant loved ones or it may be a very different celebration to previous years. Please take the time to keep them in your thoughts and check in with those around you and encourage them to reach out and access support if needed.

Finally, my wish for you all this Christmas and throughout the holiday period is that you find time for some self-care, and you get to enjoy some rest & relaxation. For those who are to travel, please take care and stay safe. 

I wish you all a very merry Christmas and the best for the holiday period and I look forward to continuing to be part of the MCC community in 2025.

Regards Sue Hone 

(Student Wellbeing Worker)