"Mater Dei Matters"

Pastoral Care and Wellbeing

Mental Health Month

 

October is known as Mental Health Month. This is a month to encourage people and communities to learn more about mental health and use that knowledge to grow personally and take control of their mental wellbeing.  According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), mental health is the state of well-being in which every individual with their own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to their community (WHO, 2014).

 

Nearly half of all Australians (45%) will experience some form of mental illness during their lifetime, and those that don’t will most likely know someone that does. There is still a lot of stigma and confusion around mental health so it is important to ensure not only our students, but our broader community has an understanding of what mental health looks like and what can be done to support someone who is facing mental illness.

 

This October our Year 10 students had the opportunity to listen to the BATYR crew. BATYR made a great connection with our students. Their honesty about their own real life experiences is powerful in breaking down the stigma and giving students insight into the many types of people mental illness can affect. You can find out more about BATYR through clicking on this link.

 

In Week 3 of this term Year 9 was fortunate to have NRL Player Joel Thompson represent the NRL as a Yarnspace ambassador and speak to this year group about mental health. Joel’s talk was inspiring and he mentioned the many avenues of support including Headspace and eheadspace.

 

Girls and their Frenemies

 

This week I had an interesting article shared with me. It resonated with me and I’m sure many parents and teachers, who have supported students in dealing with many or the behaviours outlined in the article. In my interactions with young women, my focus is often on empowering them to have the skills to counteract these behaviours. As discussed in the article, unfortunately many of these behaviours continue into adulthood in a more subtle way. The more we can skill teenagers to be aware of when they may be caught up in this need to belong and how to respond when they’re on the receiving end of the negative behaviour, the more we are preparing them as resilient and confident adults. I encourage you to take a look:

http://smceducationblog.tumblr.com/post/150629869120/girls-and-their-frenemies

 

Cyber Safety Workshop

 

On Monday 7 November (next week) we will be hosting a community eSafety presentation in our College Hall. The presentations will provide an overview of how young people use technology and the risks they may be exposed to. The presentation will cater for parents, carers, educators and others with practical information to support conversations and safety measures for today’s youth. Strategies for safe use of the internet will be explained and useful links to the Office’s eSafety resources.

 

We encourage all parents to attend. Please see a Flyer with further information below.

 

Leadership Opportunities

 

If you are interested in the following opportunities please contact Ms Paul: paule@ww.catholic.edu.au

  • Year 10 – Wagga School Leaders' Program
  • Year 7 – Group Leaders for Year 6 Orientation Day on 2 December
  • Year 11 – Representatives to attend the Remembrance Day Commemorative Service at the Wagga Wagga Victory Memorial Gardens on 11 November

Ms Emily Paul

Assistant to the Principal - Students