WELLBEING
The Wellbeing Hub
Celebrating Student Wellbeing Achievements
We have nearly made it to the end of Term 1 and what a term it has been so far! I have loved getting to know everyone better and have been privileged to witness just how wonderful the students of the College really are. This made me reflect on an important aim of in development of our K-12 Wellbeing framework, that being how important it will be to continue building upon our community to be one that incorporates celebration of wellbeing achievements to enhance our students sense of belonging.
A sense of belonging has been found to be an important way to develop and build social and emotional skills in students. Recognising contributions of students to whole-of-school wellbeing and between students themselves also acts as a means to provide daily incidental leadership opportunities of a different kind. These are ones which model an understanding of meaningful friendships, an ability to collaborate, and sensitivity for the needs and rights of others.
For this edition of the newsletter we have three of our Heads of Houses excited to share their experiences thus far in building that sense of belonging for students into our new house system!
Sarah Lehman | Director of College Wellbeing
From The Counsellor’s Desk
Assignments and Procrastination
We are really into full swing for 2021 now and the calendar is beginning to look fuller and fuller again. Sometimes it can feel like there is a never ending stream of assignments to complete. Most of us will struggle with procrastination at one time or another so here are some tips on how to deal with procrastination effectively.
How important is this?
People generally fall into one of two categories: 1. Valuing assignments too little or
2. Valuing assignments too much.
If you don’t see the point in doing assignments and homework it can be very difficult to put in the effort needed to complete them. If this is you then you need to remember that although the content may not enthrall you, the process of getting and completing set tasks within a time frame is invaluable and relevant in pretty much every field you might go into in the future. The discipline involved in determining to complete a task to the best of your ability particularly when you’re not interested in it is a skill that you need to develop.
The opposite is also a problem. If you are a perfectionist it can be very hard to begin a task because you need everything to be exactly right. This can stem from a belief that every assignment will determine the future path of your life and that a poor result in year 8 geography will cripple your future employment opportunities and destroy your chances at happiness. This will make it difficult to start because you will be overwhelmed by the pressure to perform. If this is you then you need to remember that failure is an important part of the learning process and that when you’re the CEO of a multinational corporation nobody really looks at your year 8 geography results anymore. In fact once you’re at university nobody even talks about the ATAR you received. And once you’ve got your doctorate nobody looks at what you got in your undergraduate studies.
Decluttering the mind
Our physical environment has a huge impact on our mental state. A cluttered desk very often means a cluttered mind. Start by cleaning and decluttering your workspace. Write down all the tasks you have to complete and then organise them in order of urgency and importance. Now you know where to start… start!
Just Start
The hardest part is often just beginning a task. Start by reading the entire assignment and get the topic in your mind. Perhaps jot down quickly everything you know about the topic and your first thoughts about where you could head with the assignment. Are there any parts of the assignment that you can do straight away? Anything that looks easy or straight forward? Start with that.
Chunking
When we look at an assignment it can seem overwhelming. A good way to overcome this is to divide the assignment into different sections and figure out which sections you need to do first. Establish an overarching plan and then concentrate on what needs to be done next. The way you put an assignment together is the same way you build a wall, one brick at a time.
Discipline is contagious
Discipline is a very contagious condition. If there are people in your class who are organised and disciplined and work hard, hang around with them and you may catch it. Discipline also spreads within your life. If you can become disciplined with your body in exercise, often this will lead to a sharper mental focus around school work and life goals as well.
Reach out
If you look at an assignment and just have no idea what it's talking about or where to start, get some help. A good first step might be to just say to your parents “What do you know about…” See what they come up with. Parents are old and being around for a while can sometimes mean you pick up all sorts of information that’s useful. You’re not really looking to get an answer to the assignment question but rather just a discussion about the topic in general that may spark an idea or a perspective on the assignment that you can develop and research yourself.
Teachers (contrary to popular belief) are there to help you learn. As experts in their subjects they are great sources of information and will be able to give invaluable guidance about tackling an assignment. They know what they’re looking for and will be able to help you come up with a plan of attack and some ideas about where to find information. Talk to them.
Focus
Your mind is like a laser. If you want to get something done, get rid of anything else that is going to take your focus away. Put your phone at the other end of the house, close your door, only have relevant and task focussed materials around you. Don’t waste your time. When you’re working, work in a super focussed and efficient way. Time is precious.
When you notice that your attention is waning and that you are not as effective as you should be, take a short break. Do something entirely different for 5 minutes and come back to it ready to work again.
The College has arranged platinum membership with “Elevate”. This means that all students have access to a huge range of helpful articles to help with assignments and study. Make sure you check out their website.
If you are struggling to cope with assignments, know that there are people who are there to help. Talk to your homeroom teacher and let them know how things are going. Talk to your head of house and talk to me. We all want you to succeed and would love to help where we can.
Michael Lance | College Counsellor
Around the Houses
Blackwell House Report
Blackwell House has started 2021 in an exemplary fashion. We may be the smallest of the six Houses, but we certainly represented ourselves well at the swimming carnival where we made the most noise and ensured that we are a House that will participate with pride in all the College’s activities. ‘To win with grace, lose with courage and participate with pride’ underlies the Blackwell approach as part of our sporting culture.
This Term we have been building on getting to know our students and families, many of whom are new to the school. Our Mentor Group time has been spent building our new House culture, and having each group grow into a family of students and Mentors that will help guide each other throughout their school career. Any given day will see our Mentor Groups talking about how to manage and organise their days, showing gratitude for school or family life, celebrating birthdays or discussing life skills. It is really gratifying to be able to wander between rooms and see the diversity of learning and peer discussions, as well as the singing in celebration of each other’s special events. Our Year 12 students are working with our individual Mentor Groups in order to build a peer network of advice and encouragement, as well as conducting fun activities on Fridays to finish off the week. This will continue to build in Term 2 with our senior students.
In the latter half of this term we have the Athletics Carnival and Cross Country, as well as the continuance of The March Charge challenge. These are all opportunities for the Blackwell family to continue growing as a House in the sporting arena, as well as a chance for us to start using our Blackwell Songbook now that we are once again able to sing in public (another opportunity to be the loudest). The next few weeks are also an opportunity for our Blackwell students to continue with their outstanding representation in the classroom and academically. It can be a busy and tiring part of the term, and we just need to remember that perseverance and resilience are what makes us the people we are as Blackwell students and teachers. Until next time, take care.
John Petts | Head of House - Blackwell
Fox House Report
The Fox students have had a positive and successful start to 2021. With Lachlan Payne and George Carn leading the charge for Fox, the House has shown strength and unity. This was demonstrated at our swimming carnival. It took a whole Glanvill family and a few adoptees to take out the relay. It has been great to see the family relationships developing within the Fox House groups and seeing parents reach out to House Mentors. The House has seen friends, families and acquaintances join together to progress through the challenges of Term 1. The relationships developing in our House Mentor groups are a true reflection of the people within it. I congratulate all Fox students for being a part of what it is to be in Fox. To share wisdom, to be generous and to be kind.
On Thursday, Fox led the charge in raising money for women and children in dire situations, supporting our House charity, Sisters Housing Enterprises Inc., Fox students created a day filled with awareness, fun and unity. Year 9 house prefects, Vinudi, Jaida, Hamish and Andrew represented all junior Fox students, and completed an enlightening presentation on Sisters Housing and its link with Fox. Junior school students completed class activities focussing on the Fox crest and what this represents.
The first 6 weeks of Term 1 have been extremely successful in the classroom, with 222 class commendations for Fox students. Students are encouraged to continue working on their approaches to learning and reminded that their efforts are always noted and are contributing to the overall success of Fox. Each newsletter article written by Fox, will focus on the Fox MVP. This will not only be considered for students who participate in sport but students who display exemplary participation and contribution to all House and school activities. Fox would like to congratulate Mabel Meckiff of Year 8 for demonstrating leadership, sharing her positive outlook and engaging with all students.
Elizabeth Passlow | Head of House - Fox
Willsher House Report
Willsher House has enjoyed a wonderful start to 2021. As our students are settling into their new Mentor Groups, it has been a joy to pop in each morning and see the blossoming peer and Mentor relationships. We have also introduced a Buddy System for all Willsher students in Years 7-12. Each week, our students meet with their buddy to complete an activity. This wellbeing program is designed to foster the social skills of our students and help them to develop a broad support network at the College.
An enormous congratulations to our wonderful Willsher students and staff who participated enthusiastically in our first ever carnival last week. We were well represented at both the competitive and non-competitive Swimming Carnival events, even earning the most participation points at the Junee carnival! Well done! I look forward to seeing all of the orange colour out in force next Friday at our first Athletics Carnival.
This March, we are involved in The March Charge. Students can track their kilometres on the STRAVA app and will earn House points for each kilometres that they walk, ride, run or swim in March. In the first week, we tracked 232km. Congratulations to Hugo C, Liam W and Mr Lough who were our biggest contributors!
Our first Willsher Day is approaching in Week 9.
This day will be full of fun activities for all students at the College. We will be raising money for our House Charity, The Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation. This Foundation supports many disadvantaged families in our local community to access learning support and school resources for their children.
Alice Mattingly | Head of House - Willsher