Student Services : Wellbeing

Spring is around the corner

The cold winter has nearly come to an end, flowers are starting to bud, and life is starting to get a little warmer. Here in Student Services we are lucky to have two student counsellors with us on placement for the rest of the year. This issue we are introducing Ella, a social work student at RMIT - over to you Ella!

Hi my name is Ella Hunter.

I grew up in the Eastern suburbs of Melbourne and had heaps of fun growing up with a close knit family and variety of Golden Retrievers, including my current cheeky dog called Ruby.

Beyond my joy for doing social work with young people, I love playing sport, particularly at the moment playing as a small forward for my local football club. I also am an avid watcher of sport, anything that I can get my hands on, but have particular passion watching the footy (any team, but especially enjoy when it’s my team the mighty Essendon Bombers winning), and the tennis particularly when the Aussie present day heroes Ash Barty and Dylan Alcott are on.

Pets of Student Services - meet Albie

Pets are provding us with a lot of comfort during lockdown and we thought you might like to meet a few of our furry friends!

First up we have Albie. He's a 5 month old labradoodle and the puppy of Lauren (our secondary school nurse), and her family. Albie is a cheeky chap, who loves walks, running wild on the local ovals and is the best snuggler. His best friend is Wayne, who is a very serious schnauzer, and he has been teaching Albie how to behave in public on weekly walks together.

Young people, alcohol and other drugs: webinar for parents

Paul Dillon will be hosting a webinar for parents and carers titled ‘Young people, alcohol and other drugs 2021: What do parents need to know?’ on Thursday, 16 September at 7.00-8.30pm (AEST). It will examine current drug trends amongst school-based young people, including vaping and the online sale of drugs via social media apps. The session aims to empower parents with a positive message and assist them in having open and honest family discussions in this complex area.

Further details and registration can be found here

State Schools Relief

If families need any support for access to internet or devices, please get in contact with Student Wellbeing via compass. State Schools Relief can offer laptops, plus internet modems (including 75GB data), for students in need across Victoria to support with remote learning. They also have headphones available for any students that are needing to concentrate in a noisy home environment.

RCH Live- How to support our child through the Pandemic

Royal Children’s Hospital Doctors recently hosted a FaceBook Live Panel for parents on how they can support their child in remote learning. The key focus points were:

Managing school refusal
Anxiety
Dealing with ongoing disappointment of cancelation and giving up hope
Concept of time for kids navigating the pandemic
Supporting your child when you as a parent suffer from Anxiety or depression
The big effect the pandemic is having on our children
Exercise
Practicing Gratitude and how this can help our children.

This very helpful discussion has been recorded and is accessible to watch on YouTube https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=y1DizMUOeng.