Wellbeing Report
Introducing Wellbeing Officer – Larnia Sobott
Larnia has been working in the Wellbeing Officer role for 10 years and has 20 years of experience working in the Youth Work field. Larnia lives locally and has a good understanding of the local community.
Larnia has completed a Bachelor of Arts (Sociology), Graduate Diploma in Adolescent Health and Welfare, Diploma in Alcohol and Other Drugs, and has participated in many professional development opportunities.
Prior to Lowanna, Larnia has worked in the Youth Homelessness, Family Violence, and Youth Alcohol and Other Drug sectors in various roles including; Counselling, Case Management, Outreach, and Residential Support roles.
Larnia is passionate about working with young people to support them to achieve their best.
Breakfast Club Update
A reminder that Breakfast Club is available to students each Tuesday and Thursday morning from 7.45 am to 8.20 am. We encourage students who have not had a bite to eat to come along and get some toast and hot milo.
The breakfast club team of helpers are also looking for anyone who would like to volunteer their time, one or both of the days we provide breakfast club. Please let the Wellbeing team know if you can help out. We also love donations to go towards the breakfast club – Margarine, Cheese Slices, and Milo are the things we would greatly appreciate.
Respectful Relationships Update
Recently, staff at Lowanna College participated in an all-staff briefing about Respectful Relationships. There were a lot of discussions, in groups, about the issues around Family Violence, types of violence, the impact that Family Violence has on young people and their learning, and the direction that Lowanna College would like to head in this important work.
All students have had a student briefing of Respectful Relationships in home groups which is the start of their learning journey about this important work. Our aim is to raise awareness of the issue of Family Violence & Violence Against Women and work towards changing the culture to a violence-free and respectful community.
Domestic & Family Violence Awareness Day
Recently we held an Awareness Day in recognition of Domestic and Family Violence Awareness Month.
What a great day we had!! Students and staff dressed in orange or purple as our way of raising awareness within our school community. Some of our senior students attended a talk by Lizzie Harms who spoke about her own experiences of bullying and harassment within a secondary school setting. We had some great engagement and questions coming from some students which demonstrated commitment to being more aware and thinking about what can be done to address the problem. At lunchtime, we held a sausage sizzle and had Latrobe City street games attending to engage our students in games promoting working together, teamwork, and respect. We also had selfie frames out and had a bit of fun 😊
Achievement Program Update
We are in the process of finalising the Sun Protection benchmark – Our Health Promotion Officer Claire Watts from LCHS has met with the wellbeing team throughout semester 1 and discussed what the school has in place to address sun protection. Claire has observed various things such as shaded areas in the school, promotion of appropriate clothing for warm weather, policies, promotion of sunscreen, and fluid intake. A sun protection policy has been developed specifically to reach this benchmark and will be submitted in the coming weeks.
The next benchmark we will be addressing is Mental Health. This work will require Claire to look at our current procedures and processes in place to support student and staff wellbeing. Claire will look at the programs and professionals we engage with and our processes for identifying students requiring support. During this process, we will be able to identify areas for improvement. A further update will come in our next newsletter.
Bullying
In this newsletter, the wellbeing team would like to tackle the issue of bullying. Bullying is described as a behaviour that embarrasses, threatens, or intimidates another person. There are different types of bullying – Face to Face, Online, and through other people. Bullying has very serious consequences for the mental health and wellbeing of another person. Lowanna College does not accept bullying behaviours at the school and will be working towards creating a more positive culture of respect. We encourage parents and carers to have conversations with young people at home about the importance of being respectful towards other people. The issue of addressing bullying is a shared responsibility. While the school can put strategies in place and speak with students about their responsibility to be respectful, home is another key player in addressing this issue. Having ongoing conversations with young people about the consequences of bullying someone (school behaviour consequences, police involvement and emotional/social impacts) is a good starting point so they are able to see the seriousness and repercussions of bullying behaviour. More information regarding bullying will be included in future newsletters.
Student Lunches & Snacks
As we support our Lowanna students to navigate their way through secondary school, we use this as an opportunity for them to learn about responsibility and independence. One thing we recommend is the opportunity for students to take responsibility for preparing their own lunch and snacks for the day.
A healthy lunch has many benefits – helps with concentration, improves mood, improves heart and gut health, and is good for bones and teeth.
Young people who don’t eat through the day will feel lethargic, have poor concentration, and their mental health declines.
Encouraging your child to prepare their own lunch means they are developing basic life skills while also choosing what they want to eat. Please encourage your child to pack enough food for the day to give them the best opportunities to have a successful day at school.