McKinnon Secondary College
Comprised of dedicated counsellors, mental health practitioners, psychologists, family therapists, and youth workers, the Student Wellbeing Team at McKinnon Secondary College operates with outstanding professionalism to deliver programs and services that support improvement in staff and students’ wellbeing.
Dedicated to fostering a supportive, responsive, and inclusive environment, the team managed 415 student referrals in 2023. Responding to critical incidents as they occur is balanced by pro-active engagement with staff, students, parents, and community services to ensure wellbeing programs are meeting students’ needs.
Initiatives such as the Wellbeing Staff Advisory Group, Student-Led Wellbeing Focus Groups, and the school-wide wellbeing survey have empowered students and community members to actively shape wellbeing initiatives at the college.
The team exemplify the highest standards of professionalism, applying evidence-based practices with creativity, compassion, and skill. Their collective expertise, coupled with a genuine passion for nurturing students' growth and potential, make them a formidable and effective force for wellbeing at the college.
Hampton Park Secondary College
Hampton Park Secondary College’s Wellbeing Team has increased student wellbeing by focusing their collective expertise on building engagement and a culturally safe community.
Over 5 years, the team has grown to include a diverse range of professionals that have increased student engagement with wellbeing services from 3% to 24%. Situated in a socioeconomically challenged area, the team has fostered an open-door environment with no barriers to disadvantage.
Working to remove the deep cultural stigma regarding mental illness and help-seeking, the Wellbeing Team educate, encourage, and support students to access appropriate care and services.
Establishing initiatives such as ‘Parent Connect’, ‘Doctor's in secondary schools’, and the student-led ‘Mindfulness Club’, the team has brought together multiple initiatives and partner providers in a college ‘community hub’ of wellbeing services.
The team’s purpose-built wellness centre is connecting with young people and ensuring safe, streamlined, on-site services where adolescents and families can access the wellbeing support they need.
Cranbourne West Secondary College
Pese Mai (Samoan for ‘sing out’) is a performance-based engagement initiative for Pasifika youth in Victorian government schools, focusing on celebrating Pacific cultures through contemporary performance.
Led by the exceptional Pese Mai team at Cranbourne West Secondary College and developed in partnership with the Victorian State Schools Spectacular, the program involves students working collaboratively to design and rehearse a performance, culminating in their feature as an independent performing group in the Victorian State Schools Spectacular each year.
The Pese Mai initiative offers students numerous opportunities to celebrate Pasifika culture through large-scale performances, including participation in the 2023 Moomba Festival and the City of Melbourne’s Choirs at Christmas series at Federation Square.
Pasifika students’ involvement in Pese Mai is fostering deeper connections between the college and students across Victoria, and between the college and Pasifika families. Increased levels of cultural pride, wellbeing, and student engagement with the college are improving students’ academic outcomes.
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