Lunch Time Groups

It has been a busy and exciting start to the year in Wellbeing as we relaunch some of our lunch time groups, put plans in place for the year ahead and get ready for our first whole school wellbeing campaign of the year.

?-Squad, our support group for LGBTIQ+ students and allies is back up and running on Thursday lunchtimes in the Wellbeing Centre. The group is very much student led and there are some great ideas and initiatives on the agenda for 2022. We warmly welcome any students and staff who would like to attend- curiosity encouraged, respect required.  Stay tuned for some more lunctime groups coming soon to the Wellbeing Centre!

National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence

Next week the school will be participating in the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence. This is an Australia wide campaign to support schools to take action against bullying and to help build safe, inclusive and respectful communities. The theme for this year’s campaign is Kindness Culture- It starts with you.

Throughout the week all students will be participating in activities in their THRIVE classes to learn about the science of kindness and how we can all make a positive impact on ourselves and others through simple acts of kindness.

The Year 10’s will be having a presentation on Wednesday 16 March from the Pat Cronin Foundation on the impact and alternatives to social violence.

On Friday 18 March – the actual national day of action, we will be having a whole school lunchtime activity in the courtyard where we will be inviting all students and staff to use their thumb print to create the leaves of a huge kindness tree painting. The thumb prints will act as a pledge to the actions that we can all personally take to create a safe school for everyone.

Community Kindness Challenge

We will also be launching a Community Kindness Challenge that will run for the rest of Term 1. We invite all students, staff and families to nominate someone at school who has been a Kindness Champion – someone who has made a positive impact on you or someone else through a random act of kindness, a kind word or gesture. We will be acknowledging our Kindness Champions later in the term. Nomination forms and boxes will be placed in student common areas and the staff room. Nominations can be made anonymously.

International Women’s Day

Tuesday 8 March was International Women’s Day and was the perfect day to announce that we are re-launching the Respectful Relationships program at the school in 2022. This is a DET mandated whole school program which has at its core challenging gender stereotypes and the prevention of violence against women. The program sits across all aspects of school functioning including leadership, policies, teaching, student support and physical environment. Karen Dean, Assistant Principal will be leading the rollout of the program this year and will be supported by an Implementaiton Action Team. There will be more information provided to families and students as we progress through the program rollout during the year.

Accessing Support through Wellbeing

The Wellbeing Team can assist students in accessing the support they need to navigate challenges that may impact their ability to engage in learning or general feelings of Wellbeing. For example, the Wellbeing Team can engage the student or family in an initial assessment of need, short term counselling or skills development or referrals to external support agencies. Students may also be encouraged to access self-help strategies or resources. We will explore the best options for each student.

We encourage students and/or parents to contact the year level leaders for wellbeing referrals. You can also make an appointment with someone from the Wellbeing Team by attending the Wellbeing Centre or contacting us via email at wellbeing@fairhillshs.vic.edu.au

Teachers who have concerns about a student may also refer them to the Wellbeing Team through their Year Level Coordinator.

If you or anyone you know needs immediate support, please contact kidshelpline or lifeline on the numbers at the bottom of this page.

Student Wellbeing Team

Student Wellbeing Coordinator – Amal Saleh-Zada
Chaplain – Gail Ackroyd
Mental Health Practitioner – Peta Cartwright
Student Support Services Psychologist – Emily Habard