HAUORA COMMITTEE
Back Row : Lucy Ward , Jeremy Bradshaw ( Teacher ), Megan Hayes Front Row : Sophie Lumb , Saige Lindsay , Angela Leijen
Mental Health can affect how people act , think , and feel . It has become an increasingly important issue that has required sparking awareness of mental health problems and encouraging people to take care of themselves .
The Hauora Committee focuses on helping students manage their mental health by supplying helpful tips and managing events . Our main objective this year has been to provide valuable resources and information to students that are easily accessible around the school to spark the conversation , and create a place where students feel safe to prioritise their wellbeing .
One of the biggest events that the Hauora Committee ran was Pink Shirt Day . Pink Shirt Day is a global event in which people band together and wear pink shirts to symbolize a stand against bullying . To help promote the event , the Hauora Committee organised events in the quad including a photo wall , chalk drawing , and handing out treats .
One of the long-term things the Hauora Committee has been working on is making a start to the Mental Health Wall in the 100 block . Here we have begun to hang up posters giving advice on how to handle stress and look after your mental health . The Hauora Committee will continue to add more posters to this wall .
Providing a place for students to talk , get advice , or share problems is always important . To help let people know that our committee is there if anyone has anything they want to share , we held an m & m stacking challenge . The record for most m & ms stacked on top of each other is five . We encouraged students to join us to try to beat this record as well as share anything they wanted to get off their chest .
Mental Health Awareness week was between the 27th of September and the 3rd of October . During this week , we used Schoology to post facts and advice about mental health in order to bring some more awareness to it .
Mental Health is an epidemic that has caused mental wellbeing advice and resources to become an integral part of the education system . Herein lies the importance of our committee to do what we can to help the students at Havelock North High School by continuing to encourage and push students , and teachers to spark the conversation and normalise taking control of our minds , which we hope will continue in the coming years .
Angela Leijen and Saige Lindsay
As well as this , we have created posters to hang up in bathroom stalls with numbers and places to go to when you need to talk or need some advice .
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