[On-screen text: Melissa Drum — Principal – St Mary’s School]
Melissa: Donald is situated in Northwest Victoria, a small rural town. We have 28 enrolled in our school. I moved to St. Mary's in 2021, term four. I looked at the attendance data of our school and we found that students were just struggling socially, which indicated to me that mental health needed to be addressed around our students. The Mental Health in Primary Schools was one of the options that we had to do that.
[On-screen text: Liz McIntyre — Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader, St Mary’s School]
Liz: This is my first year as a Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader at St. Mary's in Donald. The MHiPS initiative is very much focused on how students have a voice in their agency and so I think when you're in a small school and you're coming from long distances to come to school, that it's really important that you do have a voice in that.
[On-screen text: Joshua — Grade 6 Student, St Mary’s School]
Joshua: Our Mental Health Leader is Ms. McIntyre, and she's usually walking around, see how everyone's feeling.
[On-screen text: Alexis — Grade 6 Student, St Mary’s School]
Alexis: People think that like adults have bad mental health, but it impacts kids as well.
Joshua: She's a person who we can talk to whenever we want. She talks about our class about being kind and about our emotions when each day we come in school. It makes me feel great because I have someone to talk to.
Melissa: Elizabeth comes into our staff meetings and talks to us around what she observes in the class or in the yard, and that helps us to put together some data. Elizabeth is that connector to our teachers of resources.
Liz: Every week I'm able to bring resources to the staff meeting. We talk about how we are approaching mental health and wellbeing, and then how effective it's been. When families come into the school, I engage them in learning about mental health and wellbeing. The conversations that we now have between parents, families, and teachers and the staff is really important and imperative so that we can give the children the best opportunity to reach their potential in the fullness of life. That protected time for my own professional learning and the training that comes with the MHiPS role, Melissa has been really supportive of that, and that brings current contemporary ideas around mental health and wellbeing, and to have that support from the Melbourne University and the learning leaders has been really important.
Melissa: The Victorian Catholic Education Authority have been very supportive to know where to go, who to talk to, and how the funding really works and evolves for a small school. We've seen that students are really loving coming to school and that their attitudes are much better and their whole wellbeing has improved.
Liz: The big change that I've seen is the language that we use. Reaching out for help is a really big part of mental health and wellbeing, and the children are really becoming good at being able to share that, and then being able to problem-solve.
Melissa: I am very grateful for the MHiPS program. It certainly has had a huge impact on the wellbeing of all our students, and certainly all our staff. I'm incredibly proud of how the MHiPS program has supported our students to be able to stand up and say if they're struggling, or if they need some help, so it really is a positive flow through our school. We are a family, we're connected, we look out for each other, and that's the beauty of the small school.
[End of Transcript][On-screen text: Melissa Drum — Principal – St Mary’s School]
Melissa: Donald is situated in Northwest Victoria, a small rural town. We have 28 enrolled in our school. I moved to St. Mary's in 2021, term four. I looked at the attendance data of our school and we found that students were just struggling socially, which indicated to me that mental health needed to be addressed around our students. The Mental Health in Primary Schools was one of the options that we had to do that.
[On-screen text: Liz McIntyre — Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader, St Mary’s School]
Liz: This is my first year as a Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader at St. Mary's in Donald. The MHiPS initiative is very much focused on how students have a voice in their agency and so I think when you're in a small school and you're coming from long distances to come to school, that it's really important that you do have a voice in that.
[On-screen text: Joshua — Grade 6 Student, St Mary’s School]
Joshua: Our Mental Health Leader is Ms. McIntyre, and she's usually walking around, see how everyone's feeling.
[On-screen text: Alexis — Grade 6 Student, St Mary’s School]
Alexis: People think that like adults have bad mental health, but it impacts kids as well.
Joshua: She's a person who we can talk to whenever we want. She talks about our class about being kind and about our emotions when each day we come in school. It makes me feel great because I have someone to talk to.
Melissa: Elizabeth comes into our staff meetings and talks to us around what she observes in the class or in the yard, and that helps us to put together some data. Elizabeth is that connector to our teachers of resources.
Liz: Every week I'm able to bring resources to the staff meeting. We talk about how we are approaching mental health and wellbeing, and then how effective it's been. When families come into the school, I engage them in learning about mental health and wellbeing. The conversations that we now have between parents, families, and teachers and the staff is really important and imperative so that we can give the children the best opportunity to reach their potential in the fullness of life. That protected time for my own professional learning and the training that comes with the MHiPS role, Melissa has been really supportive of that, and that brings current contemporary ideas around mental health and wellbeing, and to have that support from the Melbourne University and the learning leaders has been really important.
Melissa: The Victorian Catholic Education Authority have been very supportive to know where to go, who to talk to, and how the funding really works and evolves for a small school. We've seen that students are really loving coming to school and that their attitudes are much better and their whole wellbeing has improved.
Liz: The big change that I've seen is the language that we use. Reaching out for help is a really big part of mental health and wellbeing, and the children are really becoming good at being able to share that, and then being able to problem-solve.
Melissa: I am very grateful for the MHiPS program. It certainly has had a huge impact on the wellbeing of all our students, and certainly all our staff. I'm incredibly proud of how the MHiPS program has supported our students to be able to stand up and say if they're struggling, or if they need some help, so it really is a positive flow through our school. We are a family, we're connected, we look out for each other, and that's the beauty of the small school.
[End of Transcript]
Updated