Wellbeing Team

As it is the start of the year the wellbeing team felt that this was a great time to re-introduce ourselves to the school community. If at any time you believe that your child would benefit from engaging with support from the wellbeing team, you can contact your child’s team leader or the student wellbeing team directly on 5338 9000.

Shirlene Laurie

Shirlene is the wellbeing team leader. Shirlene has a Diploma of Welfare. In her role at Ballarat High School, Shirlene provides one-on-one support for students while also running the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander group and supporting these students to attend internal and external excursions and connect to local support services. Shirlene is also the handler for our Therapy dog Kai, who does her own work in supporting our students.

Holly Blackburn

Holly is one of our Youth Counsellors at Ballarat High. Holly has a Masters of Social Work and a Bachelor of Rural Social Welfare. Holly utilises this expertise in her provision of one-on-one support for students and also runs our wonderful therapeutic art groups.

Jay Katrak

Jay is one of our Youth Counsellors. Jay has a Bachelor of Psychology and a Masters of Counselling. Jay provides one-on-one support to students as well as the provision of therapeutic group work including social-skills and confidence building workshops. Jay is also the handler of our Therapy dog Beatrix (BB for short).

Taylah Middlemiss

Taylah is our newest arrival to the wellbeing team. Taylah holds a Bachelor of Criminology (with a Major of Psychology) and joins us from Ararat College as a Youth Counsellor. Taylah is keen to get started working with students. Taylah has strengths in supporting students who have difficulty with regulation in the classroom.

Yewande Lee

Yewande is our Adolescent Health Nurse and is with us two days a week. Yewande assists teachers in bringing health focused programs into the school and supports the running of the BHS Multicultural group.

Georgia Leorke

Georgia is our Mental Health Practitioner. Georgia holds a Masters of Social Work and Bachelor of Community and Human Services and utilises this expertise in the provision of therapeutic support for young people. Georgia provides one-on-one support for students, therapeutic groups focused on particular wellbeing concerns including (but not limited to) anxiety, self-esteem and social skills. 

Georgia Leorke

Mental Health Practitioner

Now that the Wellbeing Team have introduced ourselves, I wanted to spend some time talking to you about how our students can be supported if they are worried about a friend, or are experiencing difficulty. As discussed in the newsletter article, the Wellbeing Team is able to be contacted through a Team Leader or directly by parents/students. 

We recognise that a student can sometimes find it difficult to say if they are worried about a friend or if they have something that is worrying them but don’t feel comfortable just going and talking to someone about this. Did you know that students can send through concerns anonymously to the school that will then be followed up by staff through a program called STYMIE?

Ballarat High School is a STYMIE registered school.  STYMIE helps your child to say something by enabling them to report all kinds of concerns, safely and anonymously. The STYMIE app is downloaded on a student’s BYOD device when they register their device with the school. 

When a student at BHS sends through a concern using the STYMIE app, this notification is automatically forwarded to the school and managed by the appropriate members of staff.

• Each school has their own process for dealing with notifications according to their wellbeing framework.
• Schools have a standard investigative process that they follow. Notifications are generally explored and followed up before they are acted on. 
• For your child and their peers, knowing that they have a safe place to pass on information can be a great source of comfort and relief.

Students in all year levels will be reminded/provided information on STYMIE and how to access this over the next couple of weeks at school. As a parent you can find out more about STYMIE on their website https://stymie.com.au

The Wellbeing Team