Student Wellbeing
The Wellbeing Team at Cranbourne Secondary College adopts a holistic model of health and wellbeing that focuses on the physical, mental, emotional and social functioning of students.
Some of the work we do includes:
- Health and mental health promotion and early intervention activities
- Support of social-emotional learning activities
- Provision of support to students and families
- Individual short-term counselling for students
- Group work
- Restorative Practices
- Consultation/advice and referral to external agencies for counselling and material aid
- Doctors in Secondary School Program (see tab below)
Referrals to the Wellbeing Team are accepted from various sources, including student self-referrals, parents and school staff.
Students requiring counselling can access brief, short-term counselling with the Wellbeing Team. When regular or longer-term counselling is needed, students will often be supported in accessing external services in the local community.
The Wellbeing Team consists of:
- Catherine Gilchriest (Assistant Principal)
- Melissa Bannister (Wellbeing Team Leader)
- Jessica Price (Psychologist)
- Helen Johansen (Psychologist)
- James Warner (Psychologist)
- Donna Davidson (Occupational Therapist)
- Neelam Singh (Counsellor)
- Sam Barta (Provisional Psychologist)
- Mona Gholami (Secondary School Lawyer)
- Sam Darvell (Wellbeing Administration)
- Benjamin Ratcliff (Secondary School Nurse)
- Rachel D’souza (Wellbeing Officer)
- Dale Poon (Psychologist – currently on leave)
Wellbeing Resources
It can sometimes feel challenging for parents to raise happy, healthy and resilient children and teens. What can help our families and schools are up-to-date resources that provide information on key topics related to parenting and the wellbeing of our young people.
SchoolTV provides schools with an extensive range of wellbeing resources for parents, enabling parents and teachers to work in partnership to improve wellbeing for all children. We encourage you to view the resources and share this link with other parents in your school community. SchoolTV streamlines and brings together information from many reputable sources, such as REACHOUT and beyondblue, the Australian Psychological Society, Nutrition Australia, headspace, and the eSafety Commission. This provides a very reliable and accessible resource, saving parents time and confusion searching online across multiple sites.
It is now available to our parents and families. Each topic or edition addresses key issues through brief interviews with experts, fact sheets, parent quizzes, recommended apps, books, and much more.
Doctors in Schools
The Doctors in Secondary School’s program operates on a Monday during the school term between 9am – 1pm.
Dr Wesley Ang (Doctor)
Qualifications: Dr Wesley Ang – MBBS, FRACGP, Advanced Diploma in Counselling & Family Therapy
Youth Health Clinic Narre Warren, Oakwood School – Noble Park: Doctors in Schools Program, Gleneagles Secondary College: Doctors in Schools Program
About: Dr Wes is a GP with an interest in mental health, working in Headspace, and participating in the Doctors In Schools Program. He completed his medical degree from the University of Melbourne in 1996 and the Fellowship of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners in 2005. At this time, he has completed a Diploma in Counselling and Family Therapy and is accredited in Focussed Psychological Strategies with Medicare. He practises with an emphasis in holistic and lifestyle medicine, incorporating several lifestyle approaches. He enjoys exercise, travel, listening to music and playing guitar.
Special Interests: Dr Wes is a qualified General Practitioner with a wide range of hospital and general practice experience. Throughout this time, Dr Wes has developed a keen interest in mental health.
Nurse Natasha Mukuni (Youth Health Nurse)
Cranbourne Secondary College GP in School Program Administrator: Melissa Bannister
Dr Wes and Nurse Natasha will also work collaboratively with the Student Wellbeing team regarding referrals and more ongoing support (however, importantly, all appointments are confidential, which means all discussions will be kept private).
What does the DiSS do?
- They can do physical assessments and refer to specialist services.
- They can do mental health assessments and provide Mental Health Treatment Plans to help you access external psychologists.
- They can organise blood tests and STI testing. They can also provide contraceptive options and sexual health education.
- They can answer COVID questions and help you access vaccination clinics.
- They can do eating disorder assessments and provide advice on healthy eating and activity.
- They can help with insomnia and sleep hygiene.
- They can help with alcohol and drug use education from a harm minimisation framework.
- They are great listeners and can be a good contact when you’re not quite sure who to ask.
Your child can see the DiSS for anything they would see their local GP for!
How can your child book an appointment with DiSS?
Students can book an appointment in several ways;
- They can speak to a Wellbeing staff member, either before school, during recess or lunchtime in W block, to book a GP appointment in person.
- Speak to Nurse Danneil in the Doctor’s building (next to W9) at recess on a Monday.
- Compass – they can find the online Doctor’s appointment request under the Community Icon, School Documentation and Student Wellbeing.
If you have further questions regarding the Doctors in Secondary Schools program, please contact Melissa Bannister, our Wellbeing Team Leader.
Free Legal Help at Cranbourne Secondary College – School Lawyer Program
The Peninsula Community Legal Centre is now offering a School Lawyer Program at Cranbourne Secondary College. Mona Gholami is available on-site every Monday and Wednesday to provide free and confidential legal advice to students. She can assist with a wide range of legal matters, including family, criminal, and civil law. Mona will also be delivering legal education talks in classrooms across all year levels.
To make an appointment, visit the Wellbeing Office or complete the referral form in Compass under School Documentation > Student Wellbeing > Student Lawyer Referral.
Therapeutic Martial Arts Program
“MAT Program: A therapeutic martial arts program”. The program aims to:
- Work on goal setting and problem solving
- Learn new skills to manage life challenges
- Engage young people in fun and fitness
- Improve communication and social skills
- Develop positive relationships
- Develop new skills for the mind and body
This program is designed to be a stimulating, challenging and fun experience. It uses elements of traditional martial arts to link in with life skills. It is designed to help the young people regulate their thoughts, actions and behaviours. The program content will cover topics such as feeling good about self, making good choices, respect and responsibility, managing strong emotions, managing anger and conflict, social skills training and growing positive futures. The program does not teach participants how to fight; there is no instruction in street fighting or weapons techniques.
RAISE – In School Mentoring Opportunity
We are very excited to introduce an evidence-based, best-practice mentoring program called Ismo (In School Mentoring Opportunity) within our school community, and we would like to extend the opportunity to students in Years 8 and 9.
The benefits of mentoring are many, with the primary one being that students often greatly benefit from having a neutral, positive role model to talk to who is an adult, but who is not connected to the school or family. Graduates of the Ismo program have appreciated and flourished under individualised support from Raise mentors, who are trained to help students identify and achieve goals that are meaningful to each student. Raise mentors are volunteers from the community and corporate partners who have been formally trained in mentoring through a TAFE-accredited training course. They visit our school as a group once a week during Term 2 and Term 3 for one hour of mentoring. Please note that all mentors have been screened through appropriate Working with Children Security Clearances.
Raise Foundation will undertake an evaluation of the Ismo Program, providing invaluable insight into how it influences positive outcomes for young people. We invite all Ismo program students to participate in this evaluation.
Useful Links & Contacts
- Headspace: Online and telephone mental health support (aged 12-25)
Phone: 1800 367 968
Web: www.headspace.org.au - Kids Help Line: Online and telephone support for young people (aged 0-24).
Phone: 1800 551 800 - Life Line: Telephone support for people of all ages.
Phone: 13 11 14 - Casey Youth Services: Offering support to students who reside or study in the City of Casey.
Phone: 0417347909
Web: https://www.casey.vic.gov.au/youth-services - Parent Line: Support for parents of young people (aged 0-18)
Phone: 13 22 89 - Beyond Blue: Supporting everyone to achieve their best possible mental health.
Phone: 1300 224 636
Web: www.beyondblue.org.au - Psychiatric Triage: Mental Health emergency support service.
Phone: 1300 369 012 - Online Resources for Young People
