"Mater Dei Matters"

Wellbeing Week

Last week, our Year 9 Students participated in our inaugural Wellbeing Week of programs and activities. Building upon our platform of Faith Formation from previous years, we extended our Boys and Girls Programs over a full week to maximise the opportunities for our students to engage in a wider array of activities. College Staff and Industry Experts led our students through challenging programs designed to support the wellbeing and personal development of students who are entering young adulthood and who are faced with issues such as; sexuality, healthy relationships, social and emotional resilience and gender related body issues.

 

GIRLS PROGRAM

The Girls program centred around the concept of drawing awareness to the mind, the body and the spirit. Themes from each of the week’s sessions signified connectedness to peers, gratitude, awareness of the needs of self and others, being active and engaged in learning about resilience and help seeking behaviours.

 

The week featured many significant highlights for our girls including;

  • Listening to female Industry Professionals talk about their Career Journey in a ‘Career Speed Dating’ Session
  • Drawing a wellbeing message on the pavement for the Mater Dei Community
  • Undertaking a Yoga and Mindfulness Program with ‘The Body Mantra’
  • Considering the nature of adolescent relationships; coping, feelings and wellbeing support strategies
  • Engaging in activities to promote spiritual centredness; Christian values and friendships
  • Exploring the nature of personal empowerment with ‘Enlighten Education’; personal safety and connecting with their core values and beliefs.

 

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BOYS PROGRAM - CULTURE OF MEN

We launched our first ‘Culture of Men’ camp last week! The camp consisted of three nights camping in the Snowy Mountains. It was an opportunity for Year 9 boys to spend time together strengthening old, and building new relationships in a relatively harsh, but beautiful, environment. No technology. No phone service.

 

The students cooked their meals on the campfire, ate together, and shared conversations over mealtimes that probably wouldn’t have happened in any other environment. 

 

Around the campfire at night we shared stories of life hardships and highlights, and spoke of the heroes in our lives: our true role models. 

We journaled and spoke about the things and people in our lives that we are grateful for, and committed to taking more time in the future to acknowledge these.

 

We reflected on the men in our lives, past and present, and tried to instill in these young men what it is to be a man in our modern world.

We gave students the opportunity to recognise their strengths, and created an environment which allowed them to freely utilise and explore these strengths within a positive leadership model.

 

We worked on developing an understanding that every single student has a story, and we challenged them to be proud of their own story and accepting of others’.

 

With the current social climate surrounding masculinity, it’s experiences like these that will help build and define a positive understanding of what masculinity is, and better prepare these boys as they transition into young men.

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We wish to take this opportunity to thank the many teachers and support staff who so generously engaged the planning and delivery of these wonderful programs, for the benefit of our students.

 

 

Mrs Amelia Bright | Acting Assistant Principal

Mrs Catherine Banks | Leader of Students

  Mr Scott McAuliffe | Boys Camp Leader