Wellbeing Update
Breakfast Club
A reminder that Breakfast Club is available to students each Tuesday and Thursday morning from 7.45am to 8.20am. We encourage students who have not had a bite to eat to come along and get some toast and a hot milo.
The breakfast club team 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 breakfast club – Margarine, Cheese Slices and Milo are items we would greatly appreciate.
Respectful Relationship Update
We have started the 2022 school year well with a strong focus on the Respectful Relationships Curriculum and planning of whole school events. The wellbeing team ran Year 7 induction sessions, led by our school nurse Emma Hughes. This included an activity from the Rights, Resilience and Respectful Relationships learning materials. Students engaged well with the activity and began the learning journey that Lowanna will take all students through in 2022.
The wellbeing team has also planned whole school events and promotional days such as Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month, RUOK? day, Mental Health Week and the 16 Days of Activism. Mental Health plays a big part in the Respectful Relationships work as we all know that kind, supportive and engaging relationships that are respectful support good mental health.
This term staff will also be participating in Respectful Relationships curriculum professional development and planning for classroom delivery.
I had the pleasure of facilitating a Mental Health and Self Care presentation for our VCE students last week. With a challenging previous 2 years and all the hard work that will go into this year, this presentation was timely and hopefully our students will take away some strategies to assist them throughout the year.
Achievement Program Update
Sexual Health Benchmark: While we wait for the Mental Health benchmark to be completed so we can receive our certification we have started to look at our next benchmark which is Sexual Health.
Sexual Health and Wellbeing is about ensuring that all staff and students have access to appropriate education and resources on healthy relationships, confidence and healthy sexual behaviour. School policies about sexual health and wellbeing should reflect diversity and be inclusive of the whole school community.
At Lowanna we have a Secondary School Nurse and experienced team members within wellbeing who have experience in working with and educating young people around sexual health. As a Respectful Relationships lead school, Lowanna is committed to educating our students about healthy , respectful relationships.
The wellbeing team is providing opportunities for staff to further develop their skillset by offering consent education and students are provided with education by the wellbeing team about consent and healthy relationships.
The Achievement Program is aligned to the World Health Organization's model for Health Promoting Schools and Healthy Workplaces.
Headspace Workshops
Headspace recently came in to run workshops with our Year 7 and 8 students. These workshops had a focus on Mental Health & Self Care for Year 8’s and Transition from Primary to secondary school for our Year 7’s.
Students interacted well and participated in activities that support their understanding of mental health and how they can help themselves and their peers. We encourage families to have conversations at home with your young people about these sessions and what they have taken away from them. This helps to open up the dialogue at home about mental health and the various options available to support young people.
LGBTQI+ Group
Lowanna College are committed to providing an inclusive environment for all students. Our school nurse Emma is supporting students from the LGBTQI+ community. Emma runs groups with junior and senior students where they connect with other peers and talk about challenges they are facing. The primary focus of these groups is to encourage and support positive respectful relationships across the school and a shared understanding that all students are respected and inclusiveness is a priority.
If you would like to know more about these or any of the groups the wellbeing team offers please feel free to make contact. We are more than happy to chat with any families who have questions about the wellbeing team and programs at Lowanna.
Project Rockit
This term we have had the pleasure of hosting Project Rockit workshops for students in years 7-10.
Project Rockit is Australia's youth-driven movement against bullying, hate and prejudice. Their youth-led workshops have reached over 500,000 young people across the country, empowering students to stand up against bullying, instead of standing by. Their strengths-based workshops have a strong focus on setting up positive norms and providing young people with proactive strategies to keep themselves and others safe, connected and supported on and offline. They aim to raise students' social and self-awareness and create an environment where diversity is celebrated, so that every young person can thrive and reach their full potential.
Students were well engaged in the workshops, hearing stories and reflecting on their own experiences with their peers online and in person.
Paul Fry
Wellbeing Leader