Student Wellbeing 

At Ballarat High School we have some incredibly passionate students. We see this through the many objectives they set out to achieve, whether it be their personal goals through their sport or extracurricular activities or through their tireless efforts at school. We also have students who are fearless and passionate advocates about matters that are important to not only themselves, but our wider school community. This year we have been fortunate to have three students join the Live4Life Crew for 2024. 

Josh, Simone and Kherington have been able to use this opportunity to use their voices as their power and speak openly about mental health and how important this is to support young people and all people to understand and feel safe to discuss. These three students have participated in fundraising events and been pivotal in decision making within the Ballarat community about how funds can be raised to further mental health education in secondary schools. They have joined forces with other schools to discuss ways to move forward, including the development of a video to highlight the value they have seen in completing the Teen Mental Health First Aid Program. Remarkably this program has now been delivered to Year 8 and Year 10 students in almost every secondary school within the Ballarat area, meaning these students now have collective knowledge, collective language and an enhanced understanding of the supports available to them and how to access these.

Over the school holidays Kherington represented Ballarat High School at the Live4Life camp. This camp saw 9 students from local secondary schools meet up with other students from many different regions of Victoria whose area are also completing Live4Life and the Teen Mental Health First Aid Program. Below is Kherington’s reflections on her role within the Live4Life crew and her time on the recent camp.

“I joined the Live4Life program with the goal of being able to expand my knowledge about the world of mental health and teach people of the hardships around mental health with the goal to remove stigma and build a better society. During my time with the Live4Life crew, I have been able to meet so many different people and try so many things I wouldn't have gotten to experience if I had missed out on this opportunity. 

 

My knowledge of mental health and my surroundings with the crew were only expanded on the 2024 Live4Life camp. It was a camp filled with laughs, learning, new friendships, activities and lots of yummy food!

 

I went into the camp knowing nobody, as I was the only representative from Ballarat High School. But coming out, I had made so many new friends and met so many people. That is what made everything worth it; being able to say that I made so many friends with goals, hobbies and interests similar to mine and friends that were completely unique and different to me. 

 

And while I could write a whole report on the incredible adults and students I met, the biggest impact this camp left on me was the informational activities based around mental health education. We had a lot of guest speakers come and teach us about various topics including other people’s experiences, public speaking and communications, working together as a team, building relationships and how to put on a harness for the giant swing and flying fox! Activities ranged through the entire day, including late at night when everyone would get together in their pj’s and have some fun! Our late night activities involved dance battles and quizzes that were more than entertaining. If I were to summarise it all in a sentence, I’d say it was a camp that supported me and helped me grow as a person and that I will one day pass on my knowledge to younger generations with the same passions as I. 

 

That’s what the camp was about, being able to ensure that the generation after me and after them will get to experience new things, take new opportunities and learn what was once shut down. That mental health is not fake, it’s not a hoax, it is a real thing experienced by different people all around the world everyday. So with every person that chooses to educate themselves about mental health and how we can help others and ourselves, all I can say is that it will help us build a better future and let us live for life”.

 

Kherington A

Year 10

Georgia Gregor

Mental Health Practitioner