As we approach the end of Term and reach the half way point of the year, it is a good time to stop and reflect. The last few weeks in particular have been very busy and at times “stressful”. Students have been completing assessment tasks and exams whilst engaging in the other opportunities of school life. Staff continue to work toward delivering quality, engaging lessons, planning and supervising other opportunities and completing half yearly reports. These times of “stress” in our lives can be viewed in a number of ways, but at best we can be using these times to learn, utilise our best coping strategies and treat these times as moments of growth and formation of resilience.

Resilience is the ability to get back up after adversity and it is the word used globally amongst wellbeing experts as a key for positive mental health. Anecdotally, a lack of resilience, is a major factor in the growing mental health issues of young people in Australia. Fortunately we know that wellbeing is a skill that can be cultivated and trained. Building resilience is something that all individuals can work towards. Perhaps this mid year break may be an opportunity to work toward increasing wellbeing skills and preparing our mind toward increased Resilience. In September 2015, 150 world leaders met at the UN Sustainable Development Summit. A key topic on the agenda was human wellbeing. Leaders identified the need for sustainable world development crucially depends on humankind flourishing as opposed to economic growth alone. Key speaker at this summit, Dr Richard Dawson highlighted four key human characteristics as essential for wellbeing:

Sustained positive emotion.

Empathy and pro-social behaviour.

Mindful attention.

RESILIENCE.

The building of resilience is achievable. Due to the unpredictability of life, there will always be joys and sorrows. Resilient people are able to greet change and difficulty as an opportunity for self-reflection, learning and growth. Many psychologists have shown that resilience is best cultivated from WITHIN by how we perceive and then react to stressors. Mindfulness (seeing things as they are in this present moment), a skill we are often practising in lessons every day at SCM, plays a key role in building resilience. A recent study showed a link between mindfulness and resilience highlighting “Mindful people can better cope with difficult thoughts and emotions without becoming overwhelmed or shutting down. Pausing and observing the mind may help us resist getting stuck in our story and as a result empower us to move forward.

Difficult emotions such as fear or anger should not be seen as the enemy. It is reactivity towards these difficult emotions that are most harmful. Often when fear or anger are in place we revert to our “reptilian” brain and go into “Fight or Flight” response. Being able to be mindful of our emotions allows us to tap into our human or higher brain, see the bigger picture with calmness and clarity. Think of emotions as we drive to and from work. Inevitably we will confronted with some bad driving. Personally, if I find myself yelling obscenities or beeping wildly, I know my “fight or flight” brain is taking over. A few deep breaths, bringing ourselves back to our higher brain, and we realise the big picture. Training our brains in a such way will allow us to “bounce back” from those bigger moments in life when things are not going well for us. For teenagers this can be on a daily basis, in their minds, and it is important they remain mindful, aware of their emotions so that they can bring themselves back to a natural state of wellbeing.

My last tip and an aim for this midyear break is to take time out to TAKE NOTICE. Not move through our daily routine in a mindless fog, connect with our emotions at key moments and actively retrain the brain to a much calmer and positive state.

Elephant Education

On Thursday 26th June (Week 9 Term 2) we engaged the services of Elephant Education to run small group workshops for Years 8-10.  Elephant Education is a highly regarded educational group and one of Australia’s leading Sex Education resources. Elephant Ed send young, relatable and highly trained facilitators to deliver engaging sex education workshops. These workshops were delivered to Years 8-10 in small groups, are evidence based, age-appropriate and mapped to State and National PDHPE curriculum Guidelines.

Year 8

Sex & Social Media

Workshop Aim: To educate on the complexities and ramifications of sexting and digital footprints.

The Sex & Social Media workshop links to the Health, Wellbeing and Relationships and Healthy, Safe and Active Lifestyles strands within the Stage 4 PDHPE curriculum.

Workshop Outline

• Introduction to one’s ‘Digital Footprint’ and the importance of awareness around online activity Introduction to sexting, including its definition and an exploration of reasons why people engage in the activity (including peer pressure)
• Overview of relevant legalities relating to sexting, particularly for minors
• Responding to and preventing peer pressure to send explicit images
• What to do when something goes wrong (how to deal with a leaked image, including image based abuse report)

Year 10

Consent Part 1

Workshop Aim: To explore the concept of sexual consent and respecting boundaries Teacher context The importance of respecting boundaries. Avenues to seek help if required.

The Consent Part 1 workshop links to the Health, Wellbeing and Relationships and Healthy, Safe and Active Lifestyles strands within the Stage 5 PDHPE curriculum.

Workshop Outline

• Legalities, including age of consent and free agreement.
• Key requirements for valid consent, including verbal and nonverbal communication.
• Critical analysis of consent in the media.
• The importance of respecting boundaries.
• Avenues to seek help if required.