From the Principal
Today is R U OK? Day, with students across the College encouraged to “Stay cool and have a chat” over a Zooper Dooper in the Junior School or “Enjoy a Kit Kat and have a chit chat” in the Secondary School. Our Year 12 Wellbeing Prefects Emily Rothery and Alex Stansell, along with their Wellbeing Leadership team, also hosted a lunchtime event for students with mindfulness activities, friendly faces and good listeners to talk to, along with an opportunity to connect with our psychologists and counsellors in a relaxed environment.
If there’s one take-home message from R U OK? Day, it’s this: if you see something, say something.
There’s no right way to have a conversation about mental health. There’s no wrong way, either. The important thing is to simply start the conversation. Our Lead Psychologist, Mr Andrew Scott, offers the following advice for parents:
“Life is busy, so take a moment to slow things down by asking your daughter or son how they really are, right here, right now. Your aim is not to fix things but to be prepared to listen and understand. Don’t let the worry of saying the wrong thing stop you from trying. If anything you hear raises concerns, just call us, as we are always here to help.”
By “us” and “we”, Mr Scott is referring to Pymble’s Wellbeing team, including nine clinical psychologists who, as of next year, will work side-by-side with our five registered nurses in our new Wellbeing Centre in the Grey House Precinct. By co-locating our healthcare and psychology teams, we are intentionally creating a space where students can seek mental health support conveniently and discreetly, without worrying about any stigma associated with “going to the psychologists’ offices”. This will also allow for greater collaboration between the two teams, which is so important when treating co-existing physical and psychological health concerns.
Below is an artist’s impression of the welcoming space our girls will enjoy in just a few months. Our staff are super-keen to move into the GHP, too, as you can tell from this beautiful note sent to me by our Health Care Centre Manager, Mrs Lauren Green, following a recent site visit with the team:
“How incredibly grateful and fortunate we are! GHP is absolutely brilliant! We are so, so excited!😊”.
In other wellbeing news, we are delighted to welcome a dedicated Sports Dietitian to our Allied Health team from Term 4.
Our new Sports Dietitian will work closely with our Sports Medicine Physician, Dr Nicole Sly, two physiotherapists and our Health and Fitness Co-ordinator, Mr Jack Pennington, who also manages our athletes’ return to sport following injury. Available for onsite appointments, she will support students to build healthy nutritional habits that promote wellbeing and enhance performance.
By bringing these allied health professionals together onsite, we are making expert care more accessible for all and, most importantly, supporting the holistic health and wellbeing of our girls. This, above all else, is our aim for each student, every day at Pymble.
