Student Wellbeing
We hope that you are staying warm and safe in lockdown 6.0!
Just wanted to update you with some Wellbeing information that you will now be able to access online:
- We now have a new email address for students or parents who would like to get in touch with the Wellbeing Team
- Emailing wellbeing@wantirnacollege.vic.edu.au will get you onto the whole team
- One of our staff will then get back to you so you have a go-to person on the team
- A reminder to follow us on our Insta account @wcwellbeinghub
- We’ll post daily self-care tips as well as links to mental health organisations information on a range of mental health and wellbeing issues
Wellbeing Resources
- Looking for information on a specific mental health and wellbeing topic? We now have a library of resources and fact sheets for you to explore on Compass
- Go to: Compass/Community/School Resources/For Parents/Wellbeing Resources
- If there’s a topic that you would like information on that isn’t on file, please email Wellbeing and we’ll source it for you
Wellbeing Update!
As part of the college’s Annual Implementation Plan the Wellbeing Team this year developed a whole-school Health and Wellbeing Plan. We would love to update you with where we’re at with some of our 2021 projects:
Surveying the Community
We asked students, parents and staff about a range of Wellbeing topics and were also able to survey students further via the Resilience Survey through Knox Youth Services. This helped us to gain an even better understanding of the major issues facing young people and their families today and is informing our current and future practice.
Communication with the School Community
We now have a new email account to contact Wellbeing, Instagram account with daily posts and Wellbeing resources on Compass for parents to access (see details for all three below!)
Breakfast Club
Breakfast Club started up again in 2021, running in the Wellbeing Centre each Monday, Wednesday and Friday before school, providing a health start to the day. We look forward to getting back into this when we return to school.
Beautifying Wellbeing
We have been very lucky to spend the last few years beautifying the Wellbeing Centre and this culminated this year in getting new brightly coloured furniture for students to enjoy at lunchtimes.
Preventative Support for Students
Focussing on a preventative approach on mental health and wellbeing has seen an increase in whole-year level presentations and workshops on a range of relevant age-specific topics, as well as targeted programs for key groups of students. These range from social skills groups, a focus on managing anxiety and stress, and using yoga and martial arts as a framework for managing overall health and wellbeing.
Professional Learning for Staff
Similarly, staff have engaged in whole-staff and opt-in workshops on a range of mental health and wellbeing topics to support their continued work with students in the classroom.
Whole School Programs
Although this one has been a challenge this year, we continue to widen the scope of important dates on the calendar to highlight in a bid to raise awareness, understanding and acceptance of difference. Examples of dates on the 2021 calendar are: Bullying No Way Day, RUOK Day, Mental Health Week, NAIDOC Week, IDAHOBIT Day, Wear it Purple Day and the Biggest Morning Tea.
Our Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Night
We are very excited to announce that on Thursday 9th September (RUOK Day) Wantirna College, together with Boronia K-12 and Rowville Secondary College Wellbeing staff and students are running a Mental Health and Wellbeing Night online from 7-8:30pm. This will be a chance to hear guest speakers in the area of mental health and wellbeing as well as access to other resources and service providers in the area. Please see the accompanying flyer for more details.
We are very excited with all that is happening in Wellbeing in 2021. We hope that you are staying safe and well.
Support Services
The Wellbeing Team have compiled a range of resources and support services for students and families to access via Compass under Community (the two people) – School Documentation – For Students/For Parents – Wellbeing Resources.
Youth support services
headspace: visit headspace.org.au to find your nearest centre or call eheadspace on 1800 650 890
Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800 or kidshelpline.com.au
ReachOut: reachout.com.au
SANE Australia: 1800 187 263 or sane.org
National 24/7 crisis services
Lifeline:13 11 14 or lifeline.org.au
Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467 or suicidecallbackservice.org.au
beyondblue: 1300 224 636 or beyondblue.org.au
Parent Support
Parentline 13 22 89
If you would like further ongoing support, it is recommended that you make an appointment with your family General Practitioner (G.P) where you can discuss the concerns that you may behaving. The G.P. will then be able to make the appropriate referral for ongoing support as required.
Would you like to speak to someone from the Student Wellbeing Team?
The role of the Student Wellbeing Team at the College is to coordinate a range of appropriate services to support young people and their families. Please contact a member of the Student Wellbeing Team at the College if we can be of any assistance on 9801 9700. In some cases, your phone call may be re-directed to the member of the team that can support you with your specific concern.
Student Wellbeing Team
@wcwellbeinghub
Katrina Katz
kat@wantirnacollege.vic.edu.au
Guiseppe Relia
grl@wantirnacollege.vic.edu.au
Sanela Avdic
sav@wantirnacollege.vic.edu.au
Lea Marrison
lmr@wantirnacollege.vic.edu.au
