Year 11 students enjoy the demonstrations at the Health Immersion Day
Mr Blaikie officially starting the Senior Boys race at the Division Cross Country
District Cross Country
A Principal’s work is never done, and I had the opportunity to visit the Division Cross Country Carnival at Norton’s Reserve in Wantirna last Thursday – and I was even invited to “start” the Senior Boys Race. That was a bit of fun and I thank all our 82 Wellington students – Senior Intermediate and Junior who competed with spirit in ‘the Wellington Way’.
Overall, we came 3rd, with 29 students progressing to the Regional Finals on June 13. Best of luck to those going to the next round.
Push Up Challenge
Wellington is participating in the Push Up challenge from June 1 to June 23 thanks to the organisation and leadership of Year 12 student Zakeem Imran. This challenge is designed to raise awareness of the importance of mental health in our everyday lives.
The goal for Wellington as a school is to complete 3144 push ups – which sadly corresponds to the number of Australians who took their own lives in 2021. To participate, students need to register at either of the Sub-Schools or at the Wellbeing Centre. More information is available at: www.thepushupchallenge.com.au
R U OK – Student Voice Visit To Forest Hill College
Late last week, a student voice delegation from Wellington visited Forest Hill College as part of the cross-school student voice program in our network. The theme of the day focused on mental health and culminated in a commemorative native plant being presented to each participating school. In Wurundjeri culture, families would use the blooming of the local wattle to trigger a “check in” with friends and particularly older family members – to make sure they were “OK”. I thank Mr Driscoll and the student team lead by our College Captain Ben and SRC Vice Presidents Arushi and Dorothy for attending. I have asked Mr Hose to oversee the planning of our native plant in the newly established Wellbeing Garden next to the Wellbeing Centre. Wellington will be hosting the next round of activities for this group in Term 3.
Semester 1 Reports
As already reported through Compass, staff will be working at home finalising their assessments for Semester 1 on Friday June 16. These Semester 1 Reports will be available on Compass at the end of the last week of Term 2. The end of Semester is always a time to reflect on what has been, what could have been and what will be. I encourage families to contact the Sub Schools if they wish to follow up any concerns with the learning of their children.
Winter Concert
This will be held from 6.30pm on Thursday June 22 and will be a great opportunity for the music students to showcase their talent on a live stage. I encourage families and friends to attend. Entrance is by gold coin donation and the Community Voice Team will be providing tea and coffee.
End of term
This is early notice; however, Term 2 will finish at 2.30pm on Friday June 23 and Term 3 will begin on Monday July 10. The Charter Bus schedule will be adjusted on Friday June 23 to cater for the early finish.
Hugh Blaikie
Principal
From Wednesday 17 to Friday 19 May, 111 Performing Arts students and their teachers attended the annual Performing Arts Camp.
Instrumental Music students spent quality time mastering their instruments under the guidance of their teachers.
Production Cast spent time creating new dances, practicing songs and mastering acting scenes. Whilst the makeup crew worked to design the many styles required for this year’s show.
Finally, the technical crew continued to master their skills using the colleges AV equipment, culminating in their professional handling of the many performance needs of our concert on Thursday night. A massive thank you to the staff and volunteers that attended the camp and continue to make the program a success.
Mr. Aben Alexander
Performing Arts Learning Area Leader
On Monday, May 22nd, Mrs Saxton, Miss Jacobs and a group of students attend the Monash Tech School’s Health Immersion Industry Day at Holmesglen TAFE in Moorabbin. The students rotated through a series of simulations including Patient handovers and CPR training, Nursing skills and Pathology skills. The students met with industry professionals and current students and watched some interesting demonstrations including how to separate plasma from blood, how to insert an IV to take blood and how to measure a person’s Blood Pressure. It was an exciting, engaging and informative day.
Miss Jaclyn Jacobs
Vocational Education and Pathways
Attending the Health Immersion Industry Day was a helpful and insightful experience that gave me ideas about my future career path. The staff were all knowledgeable and friendly and they demonstrated how different jobs, equipment, and patients were handled in a usual hospital setting. One memorable moment was using the $500,000 robot, which was designed to provide practice for CPR and heart fluctuation. It was fascinating to observe the robot up close, as it even simulated human breathing. At the end of the day we received show bags and a digital badge, hopefully benefiting us in the future.
Rebecca Tran (10K)
Recently, I had the amazing opportunity to participate in a health immersion excursion. The experience exceeded all my expectations as it was fun to participate in and very informative. There were many workshops and educational sessions where we learned about Holmesglen and what the TAFE provided for the students studying there. There was a range of different activities and support from the staff in charge. Overall, it was a really enjoyable day for everybody and they even provided lunch. 10/10 recommend!
Fitrah Faizal 11C
Have you ever thought of hosting an overseas student? Or do you know someone with a spare room who might be interested?
We are urgently looking for English-speaking host families, located close to the College who would be interested in accommodating an international student from Cambodia or Vietnam.
Homestay provides students with the best possible way to experience Australian culture and rapidly improve their English language. It is full board and accommodation offered by a family or couple, for which a set weekly fee of $320 is paid.
If you would like to know more, call our International Programs Team on 9547 6822 to discuss.
What is stress?
Stress is a common physical response to challenging or new situations. Stress is often thought of in negative terms, but we need the bodies stress response to keep us safe. The bodies stress response commonly called ‘fight or flight’ is a way our bodies have adapted to respond to danger. When you experience a ‘stressor’ these help us to learn to deal with situations. If you experience these symptoms of stress more often it can have long term effects on your health.
Signs of stress
Stress is different for everyone, but below are some of the common signs that you may be feeling stressed:
Causes of stress
The way people respond to stress is different for everyone. However, the following are some of the common causes of stress:
Things you can do to help ease stress:
Shannon Pook
Mental Health Practitioner
Any member of the College Community is welcome to join and participate – Parent, Staff, Students (Past or Present) or Community members. To support the College and its students through:
Periodically, this group may also meet with the Principal for conversations about current school issues.
If interested in joining this group, please contact the College by email wellington.sc@education.vic.gov.au
