Wellbeing

Numurkah Secondary College places a strong emphasis on the overall wellbeing of our students and has a
dedicated non teaching Student Welfare Coordinator role. The Welfare Coordinator works closely with our Student Engagement team in supporting students and family with issues that arise during the adolescent years. Additionally, the Student Welfare Coordinator works with other welfare professionals and community agencies to address student needs.
As a school, our focus is on primary prevention and early intervention as the most effective means of enhancing the resilience of young people. Strength-based programs are facilitated for both male and female students so that they may develop skills and strategies to best manage the various challenges in life. We work closely with local health care providers, law enforcement, and alter-native learning settings in order to best address individual identified needs. Here at Numurkah Secondary College we strive to empower young people to attend to issues in a clear and responsible way through informed decision making.
We have implemented a whole school Restorative Practices Approach at NSC. Restorative Practices involve the building of positive relationships and establishing a supportive environment that is fair, consistent and democratic.

Therefore when an incident occurs we:

focus on the harm to a relationship rather than what rule has been broken
encourage students to appreciate the consequences of their actions for others
enable students to make amends where their actions have harmed others
require students to be accountable for their actions
encourage respect for all concerned and the development of empathy for others

Stan Thomas
Wellbeing Leader

Steve Forrester
School Nurse

Drumbeat:
Numurkah Secondary College runs a program called DrumBeat every morning for a wide range of students. Using 15 recently purchased Djembes, the sessions run for approximately 10 minutes at the beginning of each school day. Participation is on a voluntary basis, along with some encouragement from our Student Wellbeing Officer or our Year Level Leaders who feel particular students would benefit from the program.
DrumBeat is a music-based activity, engaging students in a physical activity and focusing on concentration and team- work before formal classes begin. It allows those students who may be feeling upset or angry from an incident the night before or in the morning a chance to release tension before going to class. It assists students in being able to concentrate on one particular activity at a time, and this quite often sets up how their day is going to look for them.
Students who have been participating in DrumBeat say that their focus towards their schoolwork has improved, and they are liking the routine that comes from an orderly start to their day.
We are pleased to have deemed this program a great success, with students having a more positive outlook on their education and less behaviour/ social issues in and out of the classroom. These students have also been offered leadership opportunities by being able to ‘lead’ the group for sessions, being in charge of changing the rhythms and tempos the group plays. Their confidence levels in themselves, as well as how they deal with situations has become far more positive