Student Wellbeing

Wellbeing Day

Wednesday 26 May saw our second Senior School Wellbeing Day, this time focused upon the important topic of leadership. Having discussed the groundings of great leadership in their Mentor Groups during the early part of the term, each year group had the opportunity to develop these skills in a practical sense on the day.

Our Year 7 students began the day, hunting for the locations of Senior Management Team members. Once there, they had role-specific puzzles to solve and were encouraged to ask questions about the team member’s role, leadership journey, and what makes for a good leader. Following this, our Year 7 students enjoyed a double period playing games with their Year 12 House counterparts to experience (or reminisce) about life before technology. The day culminated in an improvised drama activity whereby the mentor group had to develop a group performance that included specific props, actions, and phrases.

Our Year 8 students spent the day with Michael Richards from Kite Magic/UNSW. In partnership with the School, Michael developed a design-thinking exercise around building a solar car. The students were told that they, in small groups of five, needed to build the fastest solar car possible. The solar car had to tow a box trailer along a 30-metre section of track and carry a passenger. The instructions were few and far between, which forced the students to collaborate, innovate, and actively problem solve. It was fantastic to see so many teams racing their cars and trailers in the afternoon.

Our Year 9 students were separated into gender groups for the day, with our boys visiting Mount Canobolas and our girls Borenore Caves. This was for cultural reasons, with Mount Canobolas an important site for men and the Borenore Caves a birthing site for women. The students began the day with a Welcome to Country and a smoking ceremony from local Indigenous Elders. This was especially poignant for the students as Wellbeing Day marked National Sorry Day and the beginning of Reconciliation Week. Following their talks, the students embarked on a bush walk during which they banded into small groups to discuss their journey from childhood to adulthood.

Our Year 10 students began the day with an interactive workshop from Jessica Hickman and our Prefect Team. In collaboration with the Prefects, Jessica spoke about developing an Upstander Movement at KWS and the responsibilities of every student in developing a school free from bullying. The students then had an introduction to peer support, during which each mentor group was involved in developing a contribution for a hilarious house dance-off. The afternoon involved gender specific online workshops with Tomorrow Woman/Man, where the students discussed the ‘her’ and the ‘him’ code and common misconceptions around what it means to be a man or a woman in modern society.

Our Year 11 students spent the day at our PLC site working with ‘Burn Bright’. The students were engaged in activities throughout the day as they discussed how they can come together as a cohort to be the best possible versions of themselves to lead the school forward.

Our Year 12 students enjoyed a rotation of activities, including a yoga session with The Yoga Room, the aforementioned games with Year 7, a session on emotional regulation from our psychologists, and talks about future careers and study planning for their final 15-weeks of school!

The day culminated with our second parent series lecture; this time led by Yasmin London from ySafe. ySafe is Australia’s largest cyber safety education provider and has spoken with over half a million students since inception. Yasmin’s engaging talk explained the key features of current social media platforms, including what to watch out for and how to keep your children safe. She then outlined important tips for managing a cyber safe home. These and more information can be found on our Cybersafety Hub https://kws.cybersafetyhub.com.au/ 

We look forward to updating you in Term 3 on Wellbeing Day 3, the theme of which will be character.

Here are a few more pictures from the day.