Having good mental health is key to the healthy development and wellbeing of every child. Children need good mental health — not only to be able to deal with challenges and adapt to change, but so they can feel good about themselves, build healthy relationships with others and enjoy life.

A child's mental health can be influenced by many things, like family circumstances, school life and life events. If your child, or a child you know, is having mental health issues, the best thing you can do is get them some help, before it gets worse. 

At St John's we have an onsite CatholicCare Counsellor three days per week. Please contact the school office on 4261 4611 to arrange a meeting with the School Counsellor.

Student Wellbeing Afternoons

The wellbeing of our students is a priority at St John’s. Wellbeing includes good physical health, feelings of happiness, satisfaction and successful social functioning. Feelings of wellbeing are fundamental to the overall health of children, enabling them to successfully overcome difficulties. Wellbeing influences how they interact in their environments and a strong sense of wellbeing provides children with confidence and optimism which maximises their learning potential. 

Each term students will be able to choose and participate in fun and engaging activities that promote their wellbeing. As part of these Wellbeing Afternoons, the students will be provided with a sausage sizzle for lunch and a packet of chips. 
 
To help make these afternoons even more enjoyable, students are once again encouraged to wear mufti clothes to school on the day their grade has their wellbeing afternoon.

On behalf of the school community, we would like to thank the Parents and Friends Association for their support of this initiative by funding the cost of the sausage sizzle and a packet of chips for the students.

Where to get help

If you’d like to find out more, or talk to someone, here are some organisations that can help:

• Beyond Blue
• Headspace
• Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (telephone and online counselling for ages 5-25)
• Lifeline 13 11 14
• Call Parentline 1300 1300 52 for free counselling and support for parents and carers
• SANE Australia (people living with a mental illness and their carers) — call 1800 18 7263
• ReachOut.com (youth mental health service) — visit the website for info or use the online forum

You can also ask your family doctor for advice or consult a psychologist if you would like more information or mental health resources for children.