Student Wellbeing

Student Presentation

Congratulations and thank you to Ruby L and Polly G from Year 10 who attended a meeting of the Leadership Executive earlier in the week. Ruby and Polly addressed Leadership about some inspiring ideas to improve and beautify the stairwell leading to the Year 10 locker area. We were all impressed with their well-planned, articulate, and polished presentation. We look forward to working with Ruby and Polly to help bring their ideas to fruition.

Wellbeing Network

At Shelford we are incredibly fortunate to have an extensive wellbeing support network available for our students and their families. We remain committed to providing a nurturing environment, where each student can thrive both academically and emotionally. Please take a moment to refamiliarise yourself with what we have available. We enjoy working closely with parents on a range of wellbeing matters and encourage them to enhance outcomes for our students; please do not hesitate to reach out to one of the team, if there is something that we can support you with. 

In addition to the resources included each fortnight in this column, we also have a suite of Shelford created webinars available to you. Please access the webinars here. If there is a topic that is not available, but you think would be useful, please advise me via email pcutajar@shelford.vic.edu.au  

Wellbeing Mentors and Year Level Coordinators 

The Senior School Wellbeing Mentors (WBM) are a central member of your daughter’s Year Level Team. The WBMs are working closely with the Year Level Coordinator to support the students in their Homegroup and to deliver the Quaerite Wellbeing Program; they also liaise with other Shelford staff as required.   

Counselling Team 

Our school is fortunate to have two highly trained and compassionate school counsellors who are readily available to support our students. Edith Benardeau-Short and Charlotte Edmonds provide confidential one-on-one counselling sessions, helping students navigate challenges, manage stress, develop coping strategies, and make positive decisions. 

Sport Uniform Focus Group 

In response to parent and student feedback on the Shelford Sport Uniform, I am excited to announce the formation of the Sport Uniform Focus Group. The group will comprise of staff and students, whose primary focus will be to review and provide feedback on the design, functionality, and overall suitability of our current sport uniform. They will evaluate and consider factors such as comfort, functionality, durability, and overall design and will identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. The group will work closely with relevant Shelford and Noone staff to inform the design process and will make recommendations on a new sport uniform that will meet the needs of our students and when worn will promote a sense of pride amongst our students. 

Interested students are invited to email a brief expression of interest to pcutajar@shelford.vic.edu.au by Wednesday 24 May outlining the following: 

• Why would you like to be involved? 
• What skills/attributes will you bring to the group? 

I look forward to working closely with the selected students and keeping you informed of the progress. 

Resources

Article: How video games are supporting young people to build positive social connections 

In this fascinating article, Speech and Language Pathologist and researcher at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education Jess Rowlings explores the way video games are being used to support neurodivergent kids develop teamwork skills. 

Pauline Cutajar

Deputy Principal – Student Wellbeing and Development