Mental Health Literacy
A Strategic Whole School Approach
As a response to the challenging circumstances of our community and more specifically our students, the College has embarked on a whole school strategic approach to build mental health literacy within the community.
We are currently working through Stage 7 and have offered to facilitate training for the parent community.
Stage 7 commenced earlier in the year for half our Year 10 cohort and this has now been completed for the other half of Year 10 last week.
Pending attendance, all Year 10 students have now completed the Teen Mental Health First Aid.
This equips teenagers with skills to recognise and assist friends facing mental health challenges. Encourage open discussions with your child, especially regarding sensitive topics like suicide.
Throughout the three-session certificate, students have worked through the following concepts:
Session 1 - Discusses mental health problems in general and understanding how common and disabling these are in young people. Students also learn about professionals who can help.
Session 2 - Talks about helping a friend who is in crisis, whether because they are suicidal, engaging in non-suicidal self-injury, using alcohol or other drugs, or experiencing bullying or abuse.
The Action Plan (‘Look, Ask, Listen, Help Your Friend’) is introduced for the first time, and applied to a crisis. You can find details about the Action Plan on the MHFA website listed below. There is a video that shows a young man helping a friend who is experiencing suicidal thoughts. Participants are told that in a crisis situation, it is important to get a responsible adult involved right away.
Session 3 - Takes a step back and discusses how to help if someone seems to be developing a mental health problem. We don’t teach students how to diagnose problems – it’s advice about being a supportive friend, encouraging the friend to seek help, and knowing when it’s time to get an adult involved. Your child will bring their manual home after Session 3. There are resources for further information in the back of this manual and you may want to explore them together.
While half the year level was participating in this program, the other Year 10 students participated in the Leveling Up Program with the use of experienced guest speakers to tackle some challenging topics for our adolescents.
These included:
- Tagged (cyberbullying, sexting, and digital reputation session)
- Tomorrow Man/Woman (single-sexed sessions on identity and respectful relationships)
- Elephant Ed (consent education)
While we can be protective and proactive, the reality is that some students can be exposed to distressing content online. There is a connection between exposure to traumatic events and mental health issues, and it is important to be ready to support children and young people who may be struggling. The eSafety Commissioner has released support resources for children, young people, and their families on how to deal with violent or distressing content when viewed online. A Fact Sheet – What to do if you see distressing content online has been produced by the office of the eSafety Commission and can be accessed using the following link: https://www.esafety.gov.au/key-topics/illegal-restricted-content/distressing-content
Some tips in this space are:
It's important to stay open and talk with your children about the content they are seeing online. Encourage them to tell you what they have seen and how they feel – especially if they are exposed to material that is distressing or violent.
Sometimes parents and carers might need to take extra precautions to protect their children from seeing disturbing content online. Take a look at our resources in the parents section of the website for advice about parental controls and what to do if your child sees distressing or violent content.
Find more advice on our pages across the website, including:
- How eSafety can investigate illegal and restricted online content
- How to recognise and prevent child sexual abuse online
- Frequently asked questions about reporting
- The eSafety Guide, with reporting links to popular online games, apps, social media and messaging services
- Fake news and misinformation
Fire Carriers & NAIDOC Week
Below is a message read at one of our local churches earlier in the term by Anne-Marie Wilkinson (one of our FIRE Carriers) including the Padua College Tyabb message stick, which was carried in and placed at the alter prior to Anne-Marie's introduction to the congregation.
Wominjeka
Padua College is a FIRE Carrier school. The FIRE Carrier Program was set up by the Aboriginal Catholic Ministry of Victoria to promote reconciliation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples by bringing Aboriginal culture, history, and spirituality into the forefront of education in Catholic schools.
FIRE stands for Friends Igniting Reconciliation through Education.
Today is the start of NAIDOC Week. It is a special time to celebrate and recognise the history, culture, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
This year’s NAIDOC Week theme is: Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud & Proud. It is an opportunity for all Australians to learn about our First Nations cultures and histories, and participate in the celebrations of the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth.
It’s a time to be proud that we get to share in the culture of our land and its First Nations people.
The Fire Carriers at Padua encourage you all to take some time this week to find out a little more about the history of this land of the Bunurong/Boon Wurrung People where we live, such as significant sites like Point Nepean or the Pulpit Rock at Cape Schanck. Or to look up online the story and achievements of some of the 2024 NAIDOC award winners (who were announced last night). Or even to visit Willum Warrain and its nursery in Hastings sometime. It is through simple activities like these that we can learn and grow and walk together standing for justice and respect.
Let us all ‘Keep the Fire burning’ as we finish by quoting Aunty (Dr) Lynette Riley AO (Wiradjuri and Gamilaroi woman) who is the Co-Chair of the National NAIDOC Committee. She said: “We honour the flame of the fire, kindling the sparks of pride and unity, igniting a renewed commitment to acknowledging, preserving and sharing the cultural heritage that enriches our nation.”
Uniform
One way in which we encourage our high expectations at Padua College is in the way we present ourselves to the community through our uniform. Now more than ever the College uniform is a vehicle in which we can express pride in our community.
I draw your attention to the most common issues and ask for your support in helping us maintain the high standard we expect as a College community.
Blazer: Must be worn to and from school through the year (if cold/wet the Padua softshell waterproof jacket is permitted to be worn over the blazer)
Jewellery & Makeup: A maximum of two earrings per ear in the ear lobe (small stud or sleeper). No other jewellery is permitted and clear plastic studs and band-aids to cover piercings are not permitted. Excess jewellery will be confiscated. Makeup is to be kept to a minimum and must be natural-looking. Clear nail polish is permitted.
Leggings: These are not part of the full or sports uniform and students will be issued an infringement if turning up to school in them.
Blue Polar Fleece: These are phased-out items and are no longer part of the College uniform and therefore need to be treated as a miscellaneous top and not worn.
Well done to the following homerooms at each campus:
- Mornington 10-12: Elizabeth 3 (Mrs Charlene Storm)
- Mornington 7-9: Sebastian 4 (Mrs Lauren Rothschild)
- Rosebud: Terresa 3 McAuley 3 (Mr Daniel Kerwin)
- Tyabb: Cardijn 3 (Mr Wayne Agg)
Cardijn 1 (Mrs Mel Kenyon) will also receive a prize, as although running second at the Tyabb campus they were placed second over all the College for uniform compliance. Well done! And of course, a shout out to Cardijn House (Mrs Kelly Sheen) and Sebastian House (Mr Sean Egan) for fully embracing the competition this term. Prizes were delivered earlier in the term for distribution to the students.
North Star Commendations
Building Connection & Engagement
While we continue to provide our students with clear, consistent, structured, and predictable environments to build values, norms and high expectations, we also provide an ongoing plethora of opportunities for students to build connection and engagement within our Padua College community.
This in part is achieved through our North Star Commendation program where students are rewarded and recognised for their involvement in College activities. Collating the data for the awards assemblies for the campuses it is extremely pleasing to see 90% of all students have received at least one commendation this year. Our commendations have now bypassed the number of incidents for the student population and signify a positive shift that hopefully will carry on for Semester 2. The gender gap between this has also been increasing over time which is another positive.
Commendations
Male |
6098 |
Female |
7620 |
Social behaviours
Commendations |
13,724 |
Incidents |
11,124 |
