WELLBEING FEATURE

WELLBEING FEATURE miNd, BOdY AND SOul

For 100 years, St Mary’s has been committed to helping girls discover their best. Through the vehicle of education, we have endeavoured to equip our students with the necessary skills to not only achieve excellence from an academic standpoint, but to become the best version of themselves.

This year, our students have enjoyed a vast array of pastoral care programs designed to foster a respectful culture of care that encourages them to be equally courageous, curious, compassionate and confident.

In February, our Year 8s embarked on a journey of self-discovery with the assistance of staff from social impact business,

Enlighten Education. The students participated in an art therapy session, where they created journals that they could use to express their innermost thoughts and reshape their futures.

Year 5 and 6 students enthusiastically embraced an opportunity to participate in a Be the Girl workshop coordinated by Magic

Coat for Kids in March. The Polson Room was abuzz with intrigue as students learnt the art of putting on their magic

CROWN – confidence, respect, optimism, willingness and nobility. The two-hour seminar focused on providing the girls with strategies to live more confidently, respect themselves and others, adopt an optimistic outlook even in the most difficult situations, and step outside their comfort zone in order to embrace opportunities.

EMPOWERING OUR GIRLS THROUGH EDUCATION

Leading by way of positive choices and actions was the theme of our Year 9 cohort’s Term 1 wellbeing activity. By participating in a range of fun games curated by mentors from yLead, the girls identified ways to inspire their classmates. The goal of the session was to promote collaboration, strengthen the year group’s bond and shift the perception that leaders can only be senior students or individuals bearing a badge. These are just a few examples of the many wellbeing initiatives that our girls enjoyed throughout Semester 1. They also participated in several empowering educational sessions. Our Year 8 girls attended two Respectful Relationships seminars alongside boys from our brother school, Hale, while Year 10, 11 and 12 students relished an opportunity to hear from the always engaging Paul Dillon, founder and director of Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia (DARTA). St Mary’s staff have also benefitted from the School’s wellbeing initiatives. They started the year in high spirits after participating in a wellness day that had them trying their hand at a raft of challenging but rewarding activities, including cooking and gardening workshops, Japanese drumming, juggling, tai chi and much more. We have also been committed to providing our parents and guardians with a range of educational opportunities this year. In March, School Nurse Kathryn Flesher delivered an informative Protective Behaviours Education workshop to more than 50 Junior School parents and St Mary’s parents Wendy Hughes (’99), Magistrate of the Children’s Court, and Martyn Clancy-Lowe, Executive Manager of the Sex Offender Registry and Chair of the National Child Protection Register Unit, provided a compelling presentation on consent to a packed Lady Wardle Performing Arts Centre. Melinda Tankard Reist, one of Australia’s foremost experts in sexualisation, objectification, sexual exploitation and violence against women, addressed parents in April; Maree Crabbe, Co-founder and Director of the Australian violence prevention project, It’s time we talked, delivered a thought-provoking presentation in May; and Madonna King, an award-winning journalist, author and leader of public debate, delivered a live virtual talk on her latest book, Ten-Ager, to Junior School families in June.