10th February, 2015 Reflection Teach Me to Listen Teach me to listen, O God, to those nearest me, my family, my friends, my co-workers. Help me to be aware that no matter what words I hear, the message is, ‘Accept the person I am. Listen to me.’ Teach me to listen, my caring God, to those far from me – the whisper of the hopeless, the plea of the forgotten, the cry of the anguished. Teach me to listen, O God my Mother, to myself. Help me to be less afraid to trust the voice inside – in the deepest part of me. Teach me to listen, Holy Spirit, for your voice – in busyness and in boredom, in certainty and doubt, in noise and in silence. Teach me, Lord, to listen. Amen. (Fr John Veltri, S.J)
MindMatters Project—Mental Health Late last year the College was invited to take part in a panel discussion about the redesigned BeyondBlue’s mental health framework MindMatters. The panel came together last week for two days of discussions. I attended the first day of the discussions and shared the panel with Dr Michael Carr Gregg "Managing Director, Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre, Dr Katherine Dix Senior Research Officer, Principals Australia Institute, Kristen Douglas National Manager of headspace School Support, Professor Ian Hickie, Executive Director of Brain & Mind Research Institute, Professor of Psychiatry, Tracy Zilm Executive Consultant, Principals Australia Institute and Jono Nicholas – CEO, ReachOut.com. Television host Julia Zemiro chaired the panel. We discussed throughout the day how MindMatters can be used in schools and the importance of having mental health programs in place. Mental health is not about illness but about being in good place mentally. It involves the ability to bounce back, deal with challenges that we all face in our day-to-day lives and be resilient. The framework is about young people; their health and wellbeing. It helps schools to support young people to achieve their goals, build relationships and cope with challenges. It aims to promote mental health, prevent problems and enable early intervention. The core components of the program centre on creating a positive school community, developing resilience skills in our students, providing support to parents and families and supporting students experiencing mental health difficulties.
MindMatters provides useful resources and links on their website http://www.mindmatters.edu.au for young people, families, teachers and schools. Listed below are sites also available on the College intranet when you log onto your PAM account. http://www.beyondblue.org.au/ http://www.headspace.org.au/ http://au.reachout.com/ http://oyh.org.au/ More information will come out throughout the year about the many programs and support we provide here at CRC. In the meantime have a look at some of the sites. PE Uniform Students have been informed that the wearing of PE uniform to school is only permitted when they have PE, Drama or Dance classes or are representing the College at SACCSS and Premier League. After having further discussions with the Sports Coordinator Ms Emma Brown and the Principal Mr Sheehan students who are trying out or training for sporting teams will be permitted to wear their PE uniform to school. Lack of change room facilities makes it difficult, as students have to change in the toilets, this is not ideal. Some students in the past have taken advantage of the situation of wearing their PE uniform yet not trying out, turning up for training or claiming an injury. If students abuse this privilege they will receive points for wearing the incorrect uniform. We ask for you cooperation in checking with your son or daughter if they are intending to wear their PE uniform to school. Parents and Friends Our first meeting for 2015 is on Wednesday February 25th starting at 7.30pm. All welcome, especially parents new to the school.