Year 9
This week in Luminary, Year 9 continued to engage with the Black Dog Institute’s ‘Teens and Screens’ program. The focus this week: exploring the links between screen time and wellbeing. Students discussed how spending lots of time online (especially late at night) can be linked to low mood and sleep problems. Together, with their Luminary teacher, they unpacked why sleep is so important and were reminded that, according to research, teenagers need 8–10 hours of sleep each night to thrive!
A new wellbeing initiative – My Mind Check
During Year meeting, Andrew Taylor spoke with Year 9 about My Mind Check – a new wellbeing initiative that we are implementing this year.
My Mind Check was developed by youth mental health experts at Macquarie University (Sydney) with input from educators and students across Australia, and meets strict Commonwealth privacy and security standards.
Students will be invited to participate in a 20-minute check-in session here at MLC School, under the supervision of a staff member. They will use a computer or tablet to respond to age-appropriate questions about how they’re feeling and can skip any questions they don’t want to answer.
My Mind Check is not a clinical assessment of mental health, but instead offers insights to help us better understand the wellbeing of each student and our collective school community. We’ll follow up if your daughter reports any areas of need and invite you to explore helpful information and resources at mymindcheck.org.au any time. You may also visit the website to learn more about My Mind Check, or watch this video.
Check-in sessions for students in Year 9 will commence in Week 1 of Term 4. We will be meeting with Year 9 regarding this new tool over the next few weeks.
A reminder to please complete the online consent to participate in My Mind Check found here, if you have not done so already.
Your support is appreciated. More details can be found in last week’s newsletter. Please reach out to Andrew Taylor with any questions.
Athletics Carnival
The following will be in place for any student requiring adjustments to support their participation in the Athletics Carnival. Please refer to this article for more details on transportation.
- A quiet room near the Nurse’s station will be available for students needing an alternate space to take a break. This will be staffed by the Learning Enhancement Department.
- A staff member from the Learning Enhancement Department will be actively visible throughout the event to support students to participate if required.
- Students will also have access to First Aid if needed
- Students should notify their Head of Year before the event if an alternative form of participation needs to be considered. This information will be communicated to the Learning Enhancement Department.
– Emily Marsh
Head of Year 9