Dear Parents, Carers and Families

There are two incursions coming up at school for Year 8 and Year 9 students. Below you will find information about the speakers and topics covered!

Year 9 Incursion 10 March 2022

On Thursday 10 March all Year 9 students will be taking part in a special incursion at school. There will be speakers from BATYR and the Proactive Policing Unit over the morning. We wanted to let you know some information about the content so you can talk about it with your student/s and perhaps ask them more about their experience.

BATYR

BATYR means ‘hero’ and it is a preventative mental health organisation, created and driven by young people, for young people. It started in 2011 and has been successfully running since. Its goal is about encouraging meaningful conversations about mental health with young people. Why? Of every 30 students in Australia, seven will be dealing with a mental health issue, yet only two will reach out for support, leaving five suffering in silence. This is about opening this up and exploring helping options and reducing the stigma of needing help. The link to their website is: https://www.batyr.com.au/

Afterwards students will discuss ways to initiate and hold conversations about mental health with friends and peers to help them gain skills in this area.

The second group of speakers is from the Proactive Policing Unit or PPU, whose role amongst other things encompasses building community relationships in various ways including visits to schools; making themselves available to students to answer questions related to legal matters, and generally promoting trust. The theme for this presentation is safety one, and the speakers will give information to students about aspects of online safety and the law. Students will be encouraged to ask questions and interact positively with the officers.

Year 8 Incursion 17 March 2022

On Thursday 17 March it is the turn of the Year 8 Cohort of students to participate in an incursion with the SMASHED program and the Pat Cronin Foundation.

SMASHED

Smashed is a powerful and realistic story for young people aboout the things that can happen with alcohol use. Learners stop and ask, ‘What if that was me?’ Smashed doesn’t tell… instead they enable learning. Students observe, explore and reflect on vital underage drinking themes including:

The social and emotional causes
The impact on young lives
Social influence and decision making
Where and how to help yourself and others

Their website is: https://www.smashedproject.org/

The second group of speakers is from the Pat Cronin Foundation.

Be Wise. Think carefully. Act kindly.

The Pat Cronin Foundation works with young people presenting the story of Pat Cronin and the tragedy of the Cowards Punch which killed him and has killed and maimed so many young people.

Below is a quote taken from their website. https://patcroninfoundation.org.au/

Pat will always be 19 years old.

He will never have another birthday, or play another footy game, or finish studying health science and physiotherapy under the scholarship he was awarded.

Pat went out on Saturday 16 April, 2016 for a few quiet drinks with mates after playing his first senior football match alongside his big brother. He wasn’t a fighter; it just wasn’t his scene. But when a brawl started to build outside the pub, being the loyal and caring mate he was, Pat stepped in to pull a friend away. It was then that Pat was punched in the head from behind.

He stayed on his feet, checking all his mates were ok, but soon after he started to develop symptoms, had a seizure and was taken to hospital unconscious. Two days later, we made the agonising decision to turn off his life support.

Pat isn’t here to take care of his mates anymore, but we are.

We are here to honour Pat’s life by helping young Australians make wise decisions so we can end the senseless violence that devastates families and communities, together.

We are here to End the Coward Punch.

Be Wise. Think carefully. Act kindly.

– Robyn, Matt, Emma and Lucas Croni

We hope you agree there are some great speakers for our Year 8 and 9 students to learn from.

By Josie Mitchell, Youth Health Nurse

Western Metro LAECG

Youth Committee