News from the Wellbeing Team

Last term we said goodbye to our Student Services Officer, Amy Smith, who has moved on to a new challenge. We thank her for her hard work and the contribution she made to the wellbeing of students at our school.

This term, the Wellbeing team have welcomed our newest member, Janelle Fitzgerald who will take on the role.

Janelle will work within our school community to enhance student wellbeing and learning outcomes in partnership with the Wellbeing team and the school counselling service. She will provide individual and grouped wellbeing support and whole of school wellbeing initiatives and evidence-based programs.

On 31^st May, Year 11 students will be participating in the ROADWHYZ program which is a joint initiative of NSW Police, NSW Ambulance Service and parents within the community.

The program has been developed to assist drivers, in particular those young drivers from the age of 16–25, with the aim to provide all involved with the tools, skills and knowledge needed to stay safe on our roads.

In Term 1, the Student Support Officer delivered a Girl’s Program in Year 10 with the objective of deepening students’ intrinsic personal value, increase confidence and self-esteem, and to set and achieve personal goals.

The core focus of self-empowerment and ability to make decisions and solve problems when working to achieve goals made a positive impact on students’ overall attendance with a 14.7% improvement over the 10-week program. Student feedback on completion of the program indicated improved social connection and sense of belonging at school and a more focused approach to their education and post school goals.

When your child attends school every day, learning becomes easier and your child will build and maintain friendships with other children.

Parents and carers can help foster positive attendance habits by:

• helping their child learn the importance of punctuality and routine
• ensuring their child arrives on time from the start of the school day, ready to participate in learning
• reducing disruption to learning where possible, by planning any necessary appointments outside of school time
• promptly communicating any absence to the school (within 7 days of the first day of any absence)
• working with the school to encourage and support regular attendance.