Warrandyte High School

 

This is a very well developed and effective program that involves the training of Year 11 Peer Support Leaders with professional leadership training provided by Kate Wilde (Youth Worker). The Year 11 students volunteer their time and involvement and each year we train approximately 20-25% of Year 11 students. The leaders are responsible for the direction of the program each year. They work weekly with the Student Wellbeing Leader to develop activities for the Year 7 students to enjoy. They not only plan and run lunchtime activities but they develop workshops to run with whole classes that assist the Year 7 students in their transition from the primary school setting.

 

“The Peer Support Program has helped me to understand other people and get to know other students, not just my friends. I have particularly enjoyed the Music Quiz, Year 7 X-FACXTOR and the Classroom Activities” 

 

This program is run by the Youth workers from the YMCA in Manningham. It is a great program to run with Year 7 students in Term 1 as it helps them to develop skills in developing friendship and accepting others as they are. The program is interactive and engaging. Each year the program evaluations show very positive responses to all the activites that are presented.

 

This Whole- Day program has been running for the last 4 years and will remain a feature of the WHS curriculum. There is a ‘Clans Trophy’ that is awarded to the core group that wins the ‘Clans Challenge’. Trained youth workers and the Student Wellbeing Leader work with the Year 7 Class Captains to develop all the activities for the program. The activities promote skills in team-work, planning and collaboration. The program evaluations are very positive about this program and the students genuinely enjoy these unique opportunities to work with their peers, get messy and have some outdoor fun.

 

 

The Year 8 students participate in a very exciting and innovative program as part of the RELATE-8 Active Learning Program in Term 1. This leads into their camp which is held early in Term 2. Students are divided into 4 groups and they represent their class in undertaking a number of engaging, hands-on challenges (foods, art, science and sport) the class who collectively gains the greatest number of points from each of the 4 challenges, wins and their core group is engraved on the Teams-Challenge Trophy.

 

This program is a very intense and powerful workshop in which all the Year 8 students voluntarily share with their peers and the experienced youth workers, some of their personal thoughts and experiences. The aim of the programs is to further enhance and develop a positive dynamics within each cohort. The specially trained youth-workers make a lasting and very strong impression on the students and many students make connections with the REACH Foundation and become involved in future programs with this well respected youth organization.

 

The program is designed to present a range of workshops to the Year 8 students in and around the issues of Drug education and Sexual Health. The workshops are presented by teachers and outside provider such as Kate Wilde and the YMCA. The program is a very important part of the students personal learning process and has been very well received by the students.

 

During Term 1 WHS is given the opportunity to send 20 Student Leaders from Year 9 & 10 along with a teacher to the Collingwood headquarters of The Reach Foundation to participate in the Reach Leadership Program. The students explore the concept of leadership and the skills needed to become an effective leader. The students enjoy the opportunity to meet other students from other schools and explore other learning environments.

 

WHS was successful in receiving a small grant from the Manningham Council (Community Development Grant Program) to run a series of events for the Year 9 students. The events are partially subsidised by this funding and include the following:

 

During Term 2 the students participate in gender specific REACH workshops directly related to issues that face their gender. They explore what it is to be a man and a woman in today’s society and they are asked to challenge some misconceptions about these issues. It is a powerful and effective program that is very well received by the students

 

A Consultative Committee of student volunteers is established in Term 1. This team works with The Student Wellbeing Leader to plan, organise and deliver a special 1-day program about Respecting and Accepting Difference (RAD). The program involves students participating in a number of specially designed workshops about the issues facing minority groups in our community (eg refugees and people with mental health issues). The student leaders work together to develop their own workshop that they deliver with support from their teachers.

 

Youth worker, Kate Wilde, works each year with the Student Wellbeing Leader and a group of Year 10 student leaders to put together a 1-day program for all year 10 students. The program is a series of workshops that explore ideas around understanding mental health and improving students' mental health. The student leaders also deliver a workshop around mental health.

 

This is a volunteer committee of students who work with the Senior School Leader to run activities at lunchtime for the Year 12 students to participate in and enjoy such as Student/Teacher Sporting events and the Music Trivia Competition.