Wellbeing

Year 10 Wellbeing Day!

On Tuesday the 28th of March year 10 students participated in a day full of wellbeing workshops.

Students began the day with an assembly run by their Year Level Leaders where they explored the theme TRIUMPH which will be a focal point for term 2.

Students then participated in a workshop about team building and problem solving. Students were split into small groups and expected to work collaboratively through problems.

Period 3 students participated in a workshop on responsible decision making where they were taught the importance of taking into account the multiple facets of decision making. Students were given scenarios to work through where they were asked to explore what course of action they would take and why.

Year Level Leaders then ran a workshop on physical activity where students were given an opportunity to engage in several activities and the importance of exercise and good mental health was emphasised.

The day concluded with a gratitude activity and then a sausage sizzle. 

Thank-you to all the amazing teachers who supported and assisted on the day!

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                                                                  Harmony Day 2023

Harmony Day is a celebration which recognises diversity and brings together the community. The focus of Harmony Day last week on Tuesday 21st March was inclusivity, respect, and a sense of belonging. The Wellbeing Team partnered with Whittlesea Community Connections (WCC) to run a range of activities to highlight the day and to promote the diversity we have at Epping Secondary College. 

There were a few activities across the school, and this included:

1. The day being launched at 1pm via the PA system, with our school leaders Leilani Masoe and Mary Loar addressing the whole school about Harmony Day. Staff then showed a clip celebrating the cultural diversity of students and staff at the school. 

2. The Badge making activity was very popular and many students promoted Harmony Day by wearing the badges they made. Tiffany Griffith, The Rainbow Group and WCC staff ran this activity. 

3. Georgia Tziros made a playlist of upbeat songs, and this added a lot of energy and atmosphere to the day.

4. Serdar and Dean from WCC umpired the Soccer friendly matches. Students played 10-minute games and represented various countries such as Greece, Australia, Zimbabwe, France, Macedonia, and India. The teams had many spectators cheering them on and we will look at introducing more soccer activities into lunchtime programs. 

5. Aboriginality was acknowledged and commemorated by Eva Mumbler from WCC who spoke to students about Aboriginal culture and the tribes. There was a map of Australia and Non-indigenous and indigenous students added pins to acknowledge that they were born on this continent. 

6. Where am I from? This included a map of all the continents of the world and students placed a painted spot on the continent they came from. We will keep this as a momentum for Harmony Day and place the map of the world in the Wellbeing Centre for everyone to view. 

So many staff and students contributed and volunteered their time to either supervise or run activities. I would like to thank everyone and acknowledge their contributions to a very successful Harmony Day 2023 celebration. 

Staff included Louise Krionas, Mary Mesquita, Mel Foresio, Tiffany Griffith, Georgia Tziros, Martin Evans, Sofi Sword, Mona Botros, Antoinette Rehak, Josh Wolter, Anna Butera, Cara Gallina, Mackenzie Fisicaro Rebecca Munari, all the staff from WCC and our fantastic student leaders, Batul, Michael, Briana, Julia, Lucy, Natalie, Mary, and Leilani.                 

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Epping Secondary College is committed to creating a safe and inclusive environment for all its students including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual + (LGBTIQA+) students. 

All members of our school are welcomed, accepted, and treated equitably and with respect; regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation, so that they can participate, achieve and thrive at our school. 

The following policies will be visible on our website for the school community: Gender identity policy, Inclusion diversity policy and Prevention bullying policy, Student well-being inclusion and engagement policy. 

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 The following free information sessions are available if you are interested:

Leanne Halsall

Year 7/8 Student Counsellor