Year 8 Wellbeing Day

This year our theme in Year 8 is, “We are all in this together – working with collaboration, curiosity and conviction”. The goal was to create an experience where this could be brought to life in an authentic way. So we worked with Sarah Fordham to help facilitate the Year 8 Wellbeing Day. Sarah is an experienced educator and facilitator with a passion for building resilience, teamwork, and strong communities. She has worked with young people to develop essential social and emotional skills. With her support and expertise, we were guided through activities that challenged the girls.

The goal for the day was to strengthen the bonds within the Year 8 Group and for there to be opportunities through the day where there was growth and connection. The activities helped to develop teamwork and problem-solving skills, while building a stronger and more supportive community. We hoped for the interactions throughout the day to encourage empathy and consideration of others to help with the long-term goal of promoting a strong sense of belonging. 

Ms Ashleigh Smith
Year 8 Co-ordinator

This is an account of the day from two students, Alice Cameron and Anna Slack

At first glance, Australia’s projected population in 2050 and the wellbeing of Year 8 students don’t seem to be topics that sit together. However, last Tuesday 1 April, the Year 8’s spent the day considering what society will look like and the features of suburbs in 2050 with Sarah Fordham.

Tasks conducted throughout the day included designing and building a house suitable for citizens in 2050 out of a cupboard box. Design features of the house had to take into consideration high-density living, smaller houses than current day and the impact of the house on the local environment. We then came together in large groups and designed a suburb suitable for 2050. This task not only made us think about the impact of higher populations on our own lifestyle but also the impact it will have on others and the broader community. Each group recognised the importance of public open spaces and amenities such as sports facilities, transport and healthcare.

To complete these tasks all of Year 8 had to work collaboratively, ensuring everyone’s views in the group were considered. There was a lot of compromise when designing the suburb of 2050, but everyone had to share their idea to successfully build a suburb that would be present in 2050.

Another positive aspect of the day had to be the delicious pizza lunch which we enjoyed together out in the sunshine.

Overall, we all enjoyed spending the day doing something different and working with girls across our form classes, and we came out of the day with stronger bonds and friendships that we will strengthen throughout Year 8.

Thank you to everyone who organised this fabulous event.

Anna Slack and Alice Cameron