Fifteen year 10 and 11 students from Park Ridge State High School have started a nine-week health and wellness program designed to provide them with better opportunities for the future.
The program launched in February as a result of donations from State Member for Algester Leeanne Enoch, Federal Member for Rankin Jim Chalmers, and the Rotary Club of Archerfield.
That inaugural program was so successful that a second round has now been funded by Transurban’s Community Grants Program.
Ms Enoch visited the students this week to talk about overcoming adversity, and said the program will help students get the most from their secondary schooling – ensuring they know where support can be found if they need it.
“As a former teacher and mother to two sons, I know how formative those teenage years can be. I also know how tough they can be,” Ms Enoch said.
“I want to see all our local students get the most out of their secondary school experience, and it’s joint initiatives like this wellness program that will open more doors for the next generation.
“By creating an additional support network for these students – one where questions can be asked about topics that perhaps aren’t covered in the standard school curriculum – we are ensuring these students a better future.”
Coordinator for the Aged and Carer Centre with FSG Australia Susan Tippett said, at its core, the program is about teaching students to make smarter choices in relation to health, employment, and the community in general.
“There was a gap FSG noticed regarding health and wellness, life and job skills, in addition to the opportunities being provided to students in the local region more generally,” Ms Tippett said.
“In response to this, FSG collaborated with Park Ridge State High School, community groups and organisations to devise the program from there.
“The first program went amazingly well. It ran over nine weeks and covered life, employability and health skills, to give students a taste of these topics.
“This allowed students to improve their knowledge on these topics, and also recognise where they can access help in the community should they need it,” she said.
Ms Tippett said the best thing she saw come out of the program was the peer support, personal growth and happiness it brought to participants.
“The students actually didn’t want the program to end. At the start of the program, even though students all came from the same school, many didn’t socialise in the same groups together, but by the end of the program some students were going through some difficult things at school and others would say ‘I don’t care what my friends think, you can come and sit with me’,” Ms Tippett said.
“It’s fantastic that we were successful in our grant application with Transurban, as this then allowed FSG to provide an additional program for term three.”
For more information on Transurban community grants, including selection criteria and eligibility, visit transurban.com/sustainability/community-grants.
ENDS
MEDIA: Louise Ryan 0413 722 656