M.E.G.A.R WEEK

M.E.G.A.R week

M.E.G.A.R week and Community Engagement at Frankston High School came out of the appreciation that we need to continually look for ways to build a sense of resilience in our students. Research indicates that through activities that are focused on Mindfulness, Empathy, Gratitude and Acceptance we can achieve improved Resilience.  Hence M.E.G.A.R week was born.

The action-packed week started with S.E.E.D (Self Esteem and Education Development) educators delivering a range of fun, inspiring and interactive workshops to help foster and enhance self-esteem, positive body image and respectful relationships.  Students also had the opportunity to participate in rotating workshops, including Mindfulness workshops, which will lead our students through some practical guided meditation activities.  In addition, Coach Music Academy Workshop ran an interactive music session, spreading the message about the positive impact that singing and music have on mental health. Our students got moving with a Yoga session, as well as an active session with Virtus Performance.  These activities have shown to contribute to more self-confidence, more feelings of well-being, better emotional balance, improved physical fitness and greater respect for peers and others. There was laughing in the classrooms, with Frankston Laughter Group, teaching our students that laughter is a powerful healing modality. Students also had the opportunity to improve their first aid skills with the Red Cross and sharpen their conflict resolution skills with the High Resolves program. The Year 9s even spoke about the ‘elephant in the room’ with a talk on mental health from Batyr.

The highlight of the week for many students was the opportunity to participate in a day of community engagement with students protecting our environment of 3199 Beach Patrol and The Briars, engaging with younger members of the population at Overport Primary School and with our older members at Vasey RSL. They also assisted Mornington Railway and Ebdale Hub.  A big highlight was visiting The Big Issue in the city before undertaking a Social Enterprise scavenger hunt. 

Our students had an amazing week and this was capped off with comedian, Tommy Dassalo, to bring home the importance of what they have achieved during the week.

Frankston High School students will certainly be laughing their way to stronger resilience!

REFLECTIONS FROM OUR STUDENTS:

Throughout M.E.G.A.R Week, all Year 9 students were involved in many activities.  We listened to guest speakers from Batyr who spoke to us about mental health.  We got to hear from two people who experienced depression and learned how they were different, what they went through and what obstacles they had overcome to get through it.  We did first aid and learned valuable skills such as CPR, what to do if you’ve passed out and how to treat a snake bite and a bleeding wound.  In the Active session, we were taught by personal trainers from Virtus Human Performance.

We received an overview of how we can keep our bodies healthy and got to try some exercises ourselves.  In yoga, we were taught a few poses that were valuable and got us to stretch.  The instructor helped us to relax our mind and let go of everything that may be bothering us through different exercises.  Another highlight was the performance by Tommy Dassalo, a famous comedian.  He told us about his life story and how he got to where he is now, and made everyone laugh while doing so.

Overall, it was a great experience and we took a lot out of the week.

- Bijo Mathew 

During the last week of Term 2, the Year 9 students joined in class groups and were part of something called M.E.G.A.R week.  M.E.G.A.R week stands for Mindfulness, Empathy, Gratitude, Acceptance and Resilience.  On Wednesday 28 June, the students went to Monash University.  It was an eye-opening experience and many of the students enjoyed it. We had a lecture about our future career choices and how university would help us along the road to adulthood and what we choose as our career. We also took a tour of the campus and got to see how well maintained they keep it. Throughout the week we also did S.E.E.D Workshops.  They talked about how we treat each other and how we need to be more kind to each other.

- Kynen Cogan and Harry King

On the last week of Term 2, Frankston High School held a M.E.G.A.R week for Year 9 students to attend. Not only did this involve in-school incursions and workshops, but it also involved several community activities for students to participate in.  My particular activity was a trip to the Briars.  This outing was focused on community service, and we did all of our work in a community run area known as a 'Heritage Garden' which produce vegetables of excellent quality that have been planted with seeds shed from older heirloom plants.  Some of the flora even date back to 200-300 years!

The garden was located on a hill that caught wind very easily as it had no protection from trees.  Not only did this make it unpleasant for volunteers working in the garden, but it also created a risk factor that plants of very high value could be damaged.  Therefore our task was to plant several baby hedges that would eventually grow up to create a protective wall around the garden.  The process (and we got a lot of help from the volunteers in the garden as well) involved putting down newspaper first so that grass couldn't grow through, and then carefully placing mulch around the tiny, pre-planted hedge.  It took the whole day and we learned a lot of new ways to do it more efficiently, such as carting huge amounts of mulch in a wheelbarrow for everyone rather than having to go back and forth all the time.  A huge thank you to Mrs Demidowski for taking us!

- Seth Mallinson

During M.E.G.A.R week, some students were given the opportunity to visit the Vasey RSL.  The Vasey RSL is a well-equipped retirement village for the elderly.  It was an approximately 10-minute walk from Frankston High School to the Vasey RSL.  The students were given time to spend with the residents of the RSL, playing games or just talking.

We spent afternoon tea with them while some students did some musical performances.  The residents had a great time with the students, as did the students who were eager to come again. Some students upon leaving were sad as they had thoroughly enjoyed their time with elderly residents and would recommend it to following years.  Thanks to Mrs Caldwell for taking us to the Vasey RSL.

- Ben Yau and Latoya Burrows

During the final week of Term 2, some of the Year 9 students had the privilege to visit Overport Primary School and run activities with the preps.  This great opportunity was linked to Frankston High School's M.E.G.A.R week experience, where the values of leadership including mindfulness, empathy, gratitude, acceptance and resilience were explored.

Working with the prep students was extremely rewarding, as it gave us a sense of responsibility, and a deeper understanding and respect of what teachers do contribute to our learning and wellbeing each day.  Some skills we developed not only throughout the week but at Overport Primary School were collaboration, mindfulness, empathy and resilience.  We also had to adapt to speaking to kids younger than ourselves, as well as learning how to explain to and engage audiences of different levels and abilities in different ways.  We would like to thank Miss Heymann, Miss Ashton and Mr Lord for taking the time out of their day to supervise this visit, as well as Overport Primary School for having us at the school.  M.E.G.A.R week was a fun experience that we definitely recommend for future students at Frankston Hi