Faculty Focus: Wellbeing

Wellbeing Days this Year

Year 8 Wellbeing Day

Unfortunately we had to postpone our Year 8 Wellbeing day due to recent Covid restrictions. We are hoping to reschedule this day for later in the year.

Year 12 Wellbeing day

Is later this term and we can’t wait to create our traditional Colour Run for students to send them off with more wonderful memories of NHS. 

Year 9 and Year 7 Wellbeing Days

We are in the planning stages of the wellbeing days for the Year 7 and 9 cohorts, to deliver meaningful and thought-provoking workshops. Both of these days will occur in Term 4.

The Wellbeing Team

Year Advisers

I would like to personally thank our wonderful team of year advisors for 2021. These amazing teachers go out of their way to accommodate students’ needs and look after their wellbeing during their school years at Newcastle High School. 

We warmly welcome back our Year 8 Advisor Laura Howard, after having a beautiful baby boy Finn. Deborah Ellis will continue to support the Year 8 cohort alongside Laura in a shared role. Laura will be fulfilling duties Monday, Tuesday and Friday. Deb will continue in the role on Wednesday and Thursday.   

2021 Advisers:

• Year 7 - Mrs Kate Handley SUPPORT 
• Year 8 - Mrs Deb Ellis TAS ^{_{WED & THU}}
  
• Year 8 - Mrs Laura Howard HSIE ^{_{MON, TUE & FRI}}
• Year 9 - Mr Paul Myers CAPA
• Year 10 - Mrs Erin Pearce TAS
  
• Year 11 - Mrs Brodee Herron SCIENCE      
• Year 12 - Mr Gareth Lewis CAPA

Learning and Support Teachers

Our wonderful and dedicated Learning and Support Teachers have been working in the Learning Hub space (C-Block) to assist many students with their learning. This role includes running the Quicksmart program, supporting students completing their assessment tasks and making adjustment recommendations so every student has access to the curriculum. 

LAST & School Support Team:

• Robyn Outram  LAST Y7 & Y11
• Nichole Dean  LAST Y8 & Y10
• Linden O'Brien  LAST Y9 & Y12
• Karen White Girls  Wellbeing & Boys Mindfulness
• Amy King  Student Support Officer
• Chris Jones  School  Chaplain

Amy and Chris do an absolutely fabulous job supporting all students at NHS. They are instrumental in the running of small group programs such as Drum Group and Tree of Life. They also bring students together to organise whole school events such as Harmony Day.

Small Group Programs

Harmony Day

A big focus for Term 1 was gathering students together from different cultural backgrounds and other interested students and building community amongst them. Through our consultations, they planned events to celebrate our cultural diversity for Harmony Day. We had an incredible group of young people who brought in family recipes which we cooked together and then shared with the school at a food festival. Students contributed phrases in their own languages for people to match the English translations. Students each chose a song representing their cultures. We played the music videos and enjoyed songs in a great number of languages and genres. There was a great turnout for a dodgeball match where students played for teams representing their continents of ancestral origin. Thank you to all the students who so generously created a wonderful week of events for our school community to participate

Drum Group

SLSO Geoff Reid and Amy King (SSO) facilitated several groups of Year 7 students to participate in Drum Group during Term 2. These groups focus on using activities on the Drums to develop skills in working as a team, listening to one another and personal resilience. One of the groups main goals is that young people leave feeling more connected to peers and have an enhanced sense of belonging. We will have more of these groups throughout the year. Some feedback from the participants this year:

What are some things you enjoyed about being in Drum Group?

• “All inclusive and sharing and looked out for each other”
• “Just very open-minded, calm and it relieves stress”
• “Being heard... listening to other people’s thoughts”
• “It’s a really good experience it’s a good mix of learning and fun”
• “Being able to be open and share have nice people to be around. ”
• “It’s always helpful and can let you meet cool people”

What changes have friends, family or teachers noticed since you’ve participated in Drum Group?

• “I am more cheerful and not as quiet”
• “I used to be more shy, give up unless its a video game but I don’t like giving up anymore”
• “When my brother annoys me, I just ignore”

What are some strategies, skills or ideas that you will remember from Drum Group?

• “To calm yourself in tricky situations”
• “Engage in new things. Give more things a go”

Peer Support

It's official ... Peer Support will be running as a transition and leadership program in 2022. And 75 students from Year 9 nominated themselves to be trained as a Peer Support leader to support, facilitate and connect with our new Year 7 cohort next year. The participating students will complete a 2 hour awareness session  later in Term 3, and a 2 day workshop will follow in Term 4. This workshop aims to prepare the leaders with skills to implement this program at NHS. We are super excited that such a beneficial program will be running next year and are looking forward to working with a keen and motivated group of students. Facilitators of the program are Karen White, Linden O’Brien and Jodie Woolley.  

Tuesday Week A Lunchtime Activity

The Wellbeing Team has introduced a Staff vs Students match during Lunchtime on Tuesdays in Week A. This term we are focusing on Volleyball and all games are on the grass courts on the gym field. Staff are extremely confident they will be undefeated after our first round was impeccable. It was fabulous to see many students enjoying the sunshine and joining in on the fun. Once Covid restrictions are lifted. All students are welcome!

Parent Workshops & Useful Links

There are many useful resources available to parents and students through external services. Below is a list of current online workshops or webinars that may help guide you through the adolescent years.

During the pandemic we are currently facing, many people might be impacted for a variety of reasons. Watch this link to a short video explaining the mental health continuum: https://youtu.be/ohpEsitFkDY

Relationships Australia and headspace Newcastle have combined to present Engaging Adolescents. Engaging Adolescents is a two-session online program aimed at supporting parents and carers to assist their teenagers in meeting the challenges of adolescent years.

Participants can attend either or both sessions:

Wednesday 8 September, 5:00 pm – 7.30 pm:

∙   Understanding adolescence as a stage of development

∙   Understanding one another

∙   Communication strategies

Wednesday 15 September, 5:00 pm – 7.30 pm:

∙   Developmental expectations

∙   Parenting styles

∙   Ways to minimise family conflict

The sessions are free but bookings are essential. To register please phone: 49 294 201.

STUDIOSITY – FREE ONLINE TUTORING

Students, parents and carers may be interested in Studiosity, an online tutoring service for students in Years 3 - 12 available through Newcastle Libraries.

∙   Online tutors are available for one-on-one assistance daily from 3pm to midnight.

∙   For writing feedback, users can submit a draft at any time of the day or night. Studiosity will endeavour to  return it with expert feedback within 24 hours.

∙   Study quizzes are available 24/7. This includes hundreds of Australian Curriculum-based practice tests for Years 3 - 12, including NAPLAN.

 For more details see the Newcastle Libraries website.

eSAFETY PARENT GUIDE

eSafety have two webinars available for parents and carers this term:

1: eSafety arent guide to online sexual harassment and image-based abuse

This webinar will help parents and carers to understand online sexual harassment and image-based abuse, (non-consensual sharing of intimate images). It is designed for parents and carers of young people aged 13-18.

The webinar will cover: 

∙   the difference between online sexual harassment and image-based abuse

∙   how to report online sexual harassment to social media companies

∙   how to report image-based abuse to eSafety and when to report to police

∙   where to get support if you feel upset or worried about something that has happened online.

Dates available:

∙    Wednesday 28 July 12.30 - 1.30 pm

∙    Thursday 29 July 7.30 - 8.30 pm

∙    Tuesday 10 August 7.30 - 8.30 pm

∙    Tuesday 24 August 12.30 -1.30 pm

∙    Tuesday 7 September 12.30 - 1.30 pm

∙    Thursday 9 September 12.30 - 1.30 pm

2: eSafety parent guide to popular apps

This webinar is designed for parents and carers of young people aged 8-13 and focuses on how to help young people safely use popular apps including TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube. It will cover: 

∙    an explanation of the popular apps used by young people

∙    case studies, research, and targeted advice 

∙   ways you can support the young people in your life to have safe, enjoyable online experiences.

Dates available:

∙    Monday 16 August 12.30 - 1.30 pm 

∙    Tuesday 31 August 7.30 - 8.30 pm

 eSafety also have a very good short recorded video for parents and carers on cyberbullying and online drama: https://vimeo.com/566359070

 More information and registration here.

REACHOUT

A reminder about ReachOut Parents One-on-One Support, a free service for parents of 12 to 18-year-olds that includes up to four sessions over the phone and online with a professional experienced in supporting families.

Parents/carers will be supported to:

∙    clarify goals

∙    find solutions

∙    make a plan to move forward

∙    put the plan into practice.

The ReachOut Parents One-on-One Support program may be helpful for parents and carers when:

∙    their teenager is going through a tough time and they are unsure of how to help them through it

∙    they are worried about the relationship they have with their teenager

∙    they want to better understand and communicate with their teenager

∙    their teenager has stopped confiding in or being open with them

∙    their teenager has become moody and irritable

∙    their teenager has been having difficulties with school, such as low attendance, study stress or peer pressure

∙    their teenager is spending more time online than usual, especially on social media.

More information, eligibility and access to the program here: ReachOut Parents One-on-One Support

Jodie Woolley - Rel. Head Teacher Wellbeing