16 August 2019
Our annual Beyond Blue Week took place last week and again providing a very effective platform to highlight the prevalence of mental health issues within our community. It is estimated that 3 million Australians are living with anxiety or depression, and Beyond Blue provides information and support to help everyone in Australia achieve their best possible mental health, whatever their age and wherever they live.
School captains Hugo and David did an exceptional job facilitating a range of activities and speakers during the week. Muffins with your Mentor provided a chance for students to have breakfast with their mentors and talk about the importance of asking for support when required. Guest Speaker Liam Cobain (WDK ’13) spoke eloquently and powerfully to the Senior School students about his own mental health experiences and his subsequent work with Headspace in recent years. Friday’s barbeque and Battle of the Bands celebration contributed to the fundraising efforts for the week, and we thank all boys for their generosity in this regard. And the blue arm bands worn by our sports teams over the weekend helped us to raise awareness for the cause more broadly, instigating many conversations with our friends and contemporaries from other schools.
Next week we head into our final week of winter sports, highlighted by a number of intercol matches against PAC. The is always an exciting week for students and we wish all those involved in games the very best of luck. We are fortunate to have such a traditional and long-standing rivalry to be a part of, and the excitement and anticipation of the matches will be embraced. In this context it is also important that we keep perspective on these contests, prepare for games in the same way we do each week, and ensure that we compete and barrack in a manner which is respectful, fair and appropriate at all times.
We look forward to seeing many of you at matches over the course of the week.
James Tamblyn
Deputy Headmaster/Head of Senior School