Student Services : Wellbeing
Mental Health Week was awesome!
In Week 4 (24th - 28th October), the Student Services Wellbeing Team worked together to create possibly the best Mental Health Week the school has ever seen 😊
We were so excited to have the opportunity to have “in person” events with minimal restrictions and are so proud of how successful they were! We know with Covid-19 and what felt like endless lockdowns, mental health has deteriorated, and our schedules and coping mechanisms have gone out of whack. This Mental Health Week, we focused on promoting healthy and fun habits in the domains of moving; eating; giving; playing and sleeping. Here's how they went:
Moving
On Monday, we had the honour of working with Alice and Jade from No Lights No Lycra. We turned the PAC Theatre into a ‘dark disco arena’, prepared a playlist, held a workshop for PE students (led by Alice and Jade), and welcomed staff and students for a lunch time dance. No Lights No Lycra creates a safe space where people can dance freely in a non-judgemental environment and promotes a healthy mind and body. If this speaks to you- check out their website to find your local NLNL! We are looking for students to become ambassadors for the NLNL program at NHS (About The Program – NLNL Education Hub (nolightsnolycra.com), if you are interested in this, have a read further below for more information and see the staff in M11.
Eating
On Thursday, the Breakfast Club Committee put on a showstopper Pancake Breakfast! The pancakes did not stop turning until 9am on the dot- and we can confirm that the students and staff who had a pancake appreciated the yummy start to do the day!
We also hosted Bike N Blend on site giving our students the opportunity to pedal their perfect smoothie (focusing on our ‘moving’ and ‘eating’).
Sleeping
On Wednesday, we hosted “Nap Time” where students could come to the hall during lunch time for a relaxing, comfortable space to have a snooze or a bit of quiet down time whilst Harry Styles narrated his sleep story. Unfortunately, the real Harry Styles was unable to make it (the budget didn’t allow for it), and we settled for the sleep story via the “Calm” app.
Playing
We invited Therapy Animals Australia to bring two therapy dogs and a bunny for our students to come “pat” and “chat” with. This event was super popular with students lining up for round 2 and round 3 to get some extra time with the animals. Our lovely library staff also ran some mindfulness activities such as colouring in and origami!
Giving
At the start of the week, we opened up our charity drive to support the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre. Thank you to so many of our NHS community for the non-perishable goods they donated.
We are so happy with how the week turned out, and we’re already looking forward to 2023 Mental Health Week celebration! See some feedback from fellow students:
“For me, I loved all the different activities, the variety of different things. I especially loved the costume day! Although with the pats and chats I was disappointed that there were only pats no chats but overall, it was amazing and fun.”
~Zara, year 7
“I really enjoyed the No Lights No Lycra Disco; It was a happy, helpful way to make me feel happier about life. It was good to join in with the singing and have no one judge you. All together it was an exciting and helpful experience, and I would love it to happen again.”
~Anonymous, year 7
Acknowledgement of Country Signs
In the coming weeks you will see new Acknowledgement of Country plaques around the school. These beautiful plaques were purchased from an organisation called Kinya Lerrk, (kinyalerrk.com.au) with funding sourced from a grant that was applied for by the Wellbeing team in 2021.
KINYA LERRK (Wemba Wemba for ‘women coming together’) is the collaboration of Aboriginal visual artists Emma Bamblett (Wemba Wemba, Gunditjmara, Ngadjonji and Taungurung) and Megan Van Den Berg (Dja Dja Wurrung, Yorta Yorta and Boon Wurrung) who have a strong history of collaboration on design/arts-based projects. The plaques show our school’s respect for the land’s Traditional Owners, as well as the continuing connection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to country.
Dental Van - Smile Squad
After a disruptive start to the term, Smile Squad (dental service) is up and running at NHS and delivering free dental care to students. Thank you to those who have returned consent forms, the service has now stopped accepting forms. Families will receive an SMS the day before alerting of an appointment. Please check your compass for the appointment time as it will be student’s responsibility to attend the van at the appointment time.
No Lights No Lycra- seeking Student Ambassadors
No Lights No Lycra Education is a not-for-profit organisation building on the success of the original No Lights No Lycra dancing in the dark concept. Now a global community of 13 years, the weekly free-form dance class unites individuals to express themselves freely, and truly dance like nobody’s watching. Understanding the mental health and wellbeing of young people continues to be impacted by COVID-19, No Lights No Lycra Education is introducing the Student Ambassador Program to secondary schools. The free program encourages young people to move for better health and wellbeing, becoming health advocates in their school while creating an inclusive, non-judgmental and non-competitive environment to explore movement and music.
Wanting to elevate the voices of young people, the program is co-designed with and for young people, providing opportunities for students involved to lead and shape the program, while seeing themselves represented. The Student Ambassador Program is supported by VicHealth through the Future Healthy Initiative and aligns with the Victorian School Curriculum and Australian Wellbeing Framework. If you are interested in becoming a student ambassador, please see the staff in M11.
The story - No Lights No Lycra
Alice Glenn - Founder and CEO
“On a cold wintry Tuesday night in June 2009, five people walked through the doors of a little Hall in Fitzroy, Melbourne. We turned off the lights and played music that made us want to dance. It was a response to years of dancing in front of mirrors at dance classes and feeling self conscious on the dancefloor at parties. The dance night grew through word of mouth and within a few months the hall was full of people who shared the same yearning for a dimly lit space to dance as freely as they do in their living rooms. No Lights No Lycra now runs dance nights throughout Australia, and the world.
No Lights No Lycra Education is a Not-For-Profit organisation bringing the same experience to schools. We train students online and in person to run these free-form dance sessions for their peers. The Student Ambassadors, as we call them, have complete control over the event - the music they play, the way they promote events, and the way they see No Lights No Lycra evolving and supporting their school community.”
Helpful Links
No Lights No Lycra Article - study by the University of Sydney
Future Healthy - VicHealth
Student Ambassador Program - No Lights No Lycra Education Website
No Lights No Lycra - Website