Wellbeing

It is with great excitement that we introduce our Year 7 Student Leaders. We had about 100 nominations from our Year 7 students which was fabulous to see. They went through a preferential voting process and we would like to congratulate the following students as they begin their Leadership Journey at Killester.

Year 12 Personal Development Day 

by Natasha Roberts, Year 12

Friday the 29th of April - Year 12 Personal Development Day. It has been three years since our last PD Day (yes I know - you’re thinking wow that was ages ago). Unsure of what was ahead of us, and dreading the thought of having to do another journal entry (special thanks to Year 12 Retreat) the cohort stepped foot into the theaterette with an open mind at the start of the day.

When walking along the Year 11 corridors, our ears were blessed with the musical talent of Scott Darlow. Scott Darlow is an Indigenous Australian musician of Yorta Yorta country. Throughout his time with us, he played us a number of his songs - including Sorry, Forgotten Australia and You Can’t See Black in The Dark (check out his Spotify - Scott Darlow if you’re interested) and entertained us with some of his stories. But, most importantly, he came to educate the cohort on the realness of Indigenous Australian history and how we as an up and coming generation can change future generations' perceptions of Indigenous Australians and the rich cultural history that we as a population are ingrained. He challenged us as students to be history makers; by changing the world we live in, and by choosing the way we encounter the people we come across in our lives. The keyword for his presentation was FLUTE. Now you may be thinking what in the world does this mean? Well, don’t worry - I was thinking the same thing! FLUTE is an acronym that we all can adapt to our everyday lives. FLUTE is defined as Forgiveness, Love, Understanding, Tolerance and Empathy. He believes that if every single person can apply this theory, then the world would be a better place. Sadly, our time had to come to an end with Scott but I know that we were all excited for recess; a special thanks to the school for providing us with muffins and fruit for a morning snack. 

After recess, we were back up in the theatrette for another presentation. This time it was with a woman named Sonya Karras. Sonya was there to speak to us about Safe Parties from her own company New World Presentations. Throughout her presentation she covered the following topics; what a standard drink is, how to avoid drink spiking, drink driving and the dangers of this, what the recovery position looks like if someone passes out and how we can help our mates if they have had too much too drink. Whilst spending her time with us, she also shared a story about a close friend of hers and the impact drunk driving had on her and her friend’s family - this really hit home. I thought I would share with you a few apps that she shared with us that can help keep you safe whilst on a night out with friends and all of which can be used on an Apple or Android smartphone. These include Medical ID (under the health app) on an Apple iPhone, Digital ID (Created by Australia Post - Which helps keep all of your personal ID safe on a night out) and Emergency Plus (this tracks your location and helps you to locate where you are if any emergency services are needed (i.e any call to 000 that needs to be made). Once Sonya’s presentation was over - it was time for lunch. 

After a much-needed break, we found ourselves back in the Theaterette for our last guest speaker of the day - Lisiate Tonga. Lisiate is the founder of the company WholeNewYou and was there to talk to us about the choices and consequences we make in our lives. He explained that for every choice we make, there is a consequence. Whether they are good or bad, it is up to us to choose what we do with our lives and we are only the ones responsible for the decisions we make. Before we knew it the day was over. I’d like to personally thank Ms Auty and the Homeroom teachers for organising the day. It was thoroughly enjoyed by all.         

Year 11 Fit to Drive Session

by Zoe Walsh, Year 11

Fit 2 drive was a thought stimulating incursion that the Year 11s participated in on Tuesday the 3rd of May. With Victoria Police and the CFA coming in to talk to us, we learnt about the statistics of crashes when on the road and even got to learn about a case that I’m sure made all the Year 11’s want to be more cautious when getting in the car. We then got to go to our class discussion group, where together we collaborated on a bunch of ideas for how to avoid unsafe driving situations, and how to get out of them if we ever find ourselves in an unsafe or uncomfortable road user environment. Overall, Fit 2 drive was a great way to prepare us as learner drivers and road users for our future experiences, and encouraged us to make safe and good decisions when on the road.

City of Greater Dandenong - Volunteer opportunity

Term 2 has come so fast and we are looking for new members to join our FReeZA Youth Committee.

FReeZA Youth Committee is a volunteer program that engages young people ages 12-25 years in event planning and delivery. Young people have the opportunity to learn about how an event is planned and organised, how to put ideas into actions by working as a team, how to engage acts to perform at the event, whilst learning how to engage with community members and practise public speak and MCing at an event. Young people who have a performance background even have the opportunity to perform at the events!

FReeZA Youth Committee runs every Thursday during school term from 4.30pm-6.30pm at 39 Clow Street, Dandenong.

We would love for you to share this information with students in your school who may be interested in this program and/or may benefit from it. If possible, could you please also share this via the school intranet system? I have attached the flyer of the program on this email too.

Students can register directly through the link provided below or if they express interest to you, you can forward their information onto me and I will follow up with the student.

https://youth.greaterdandenong.vic.gov.au/programs/freeza-youth-committee

Ms Emma Neville and Mr Peter Harte

Assistant Principal - Students