Wellbeing Speaker Series

Our Wellbeing Speaker Series at Shore is a key component of our holistic school approach to education. We aim to support the boys in their educational journey by cultivating the right kinds of habits and social and emotional competencies. As the boys transition through Senior School, they face more complex social and emotional challenges, such as managing their feelings towards others, developing healthy relationships, and understanding their evolving rights and social responsibilities. Our goal is to equip them with the essential skills they need to navigate these challenges effectively and to function well under stress. We believe that developing social and emotional skills, including courage, confidence, principled decision-making, care for others, and a willingness to take risks, is crucial to the growth of our boys in becoming young men of character and integrity. Our speakers are experts in their field and share their insights to help develop the right habits of mind and to help the boys thrive in their academic, personal, and social lives.

Last Wednesday 22 February, a seminar was delivered by Your Choicez, with guest speaker David Kobler addressing the Year 9 cohort. The seminar focused on several key issues that are relevant and important for our boys to understand as they navigate their teenage years. These important issues were discussed over the course of three sessions, and the information shared will continue to be discussed and thought about by the students in the weeks to come.

The first session focused on the importance of having the courage and strength to ask for help when it is needed. David highlighted that the choices the boys make now can have a big impact on who they become in the future. The current pressures that teenage boys are facing around sex, body image, relationships, and dating were discussed. The Man Box study, conducted by the Jesuit Social Services, was introduced and examines how ideas about masculinity can impact men’s health and wellbeing. David stressed that a healthy version of masculinity is important and defined it as putting other people before yourself. This involves caring for the people around you, and it requires discipline, self-control, and self-denial. It is about living a life in which you know who you are, what matters to you, and who matters to you.

The second session focused on the negative impact of pornography. A discussion was had on how accessibility, affordability, and anonymity make pornography a very real challenge for our young people today. Research on the effects that pornography has on viewers was addressed, including a Sydney University study on pornography’s impact on Year 10 students throughout Australia. David offered tips on how to reduce and minimise exposure to pornography, and the importance of reaching out for help if students are struggling.

The final session focused on the importance of considering the person behind an explicit image. David discussed sexting and image-based abuse, as well as consent and boundaries in both digital and physical contexts. The new affirmative consent laws were outlined in detail. Coercion, catfishing, and sexual harassment examples and definitions were also shared.

As the Acting Deputy Head Pastoral Care, I reviewed the key information from these three discussions with the boys in this week’s Year 9 meeting. I made a point of connecting these topics to a broader understanding of what it means to live well and be a young man of good character. Hopefully, this seminar and subsequent discussions will provide the boys with valuable information and tools to navigate these topics more effectively. It is also hoped that the information shared will encourage them to have ongoing conversations with their peers, teachers, and families about these critical issues. You can find more information about the seminar by listening to the parent webinar that Your Choicez presented last week: Lampada – Your Choicez – Parent Seminar

Our upcoming speaker events focus on the topics of mental health literacy and stress management and will be presented to our Years 10 and 12 students, respectively. Our speakers are selected to help us engage the boys on a number of key wellbeing topics including respectful and healthy relationships, digital wellbeing and cyber safety, mental health literacy and safe celebrations.

Thank you to our guest speakers and to everyone involved.

Mr D Champion
Acting Deputy Head, Pastoral Care