Ms Birch’s High School assembly this week unpacked the School value of Courage, evident in each of the students who spoke so ably to their peers on a range of topics including the JNF fundraiser and the recent Year 11/12 dinner dance.

Ms Birch related courage to wellbeing and pointed out that wellbeing (‘the ability to thrive and respond positively to life’s challenges’) is crucial if you are to get what you want out of life. This aligned beautifully with Mrs Knight’s current Primary School theme of ‘Rise to the Challenge’, which I have heard children discussing over the last couple of weeks. There are inevitably times when we will all experience challenges in life and we need to develop the strategies to deal with them. Ms Birch talked about strategies to manage the way we are feeling and a courageous ‘volunteer’ (thank you, Sarah G!) role-played scenarios in which she demonstrated ways in which our thoughts affect our emotions and how to proactively manage them. It was good to hear about Wellio, our new High School wellbeing program, which teaches the skills needed for students to proactively manage their mental health and wellbeing. The strategies to help manage anxiety, build healthy relationships and become more resilient are being taught across the year groups and early feedback from mentors and students has been very positive.

It has been accepted for some time that connectedness and belonging are also vital when it comes to wellbeing. ¼«Æ··´²îæ» provides so many opportunities for students to belong and to connect and Mr Quelch spoke about how pleased he has been by those who have shown courage by getting up early in the morning and attending swimming training. It’s not always easy to get out of bed extra early, but pleasing numbers of students have been making the choice and hopefully benefiting from it. Other students received certificates for their participation in JNF Green Sunday fundraising and I was again impressed by the sheer number of volunteers who are visibly demonstrating their belonging, whilst generously giving up their time for a good cause.

Sunday evening’s dinner dance for Year 11 and 12 students at the Swan River Rowing Club was another fabulous example of connectedness and belonging for our young people. Mrs Poustie and her team had decked out the club according to the theme ‘Stars’ and the beautifully dressed students rocked the night away both on the dance floor and under the real stars of the Perth night sky, on the balcony overlooking the river. Good food and company made for a lovely evening and made it well worth staying up long past my normal bedtime. Thank you to all the staff who attended and to the students and their guests, who behaved impeccably and made the night fun for all concerned.

Julie Harris

Principal