There are many transitions in the life of a student at secondary school. From the initial transition into secondary school, moving between year levels and preparing to transition from senior years to further education or work, students experience many changes throughout their school life. Some students may find that these changes bring excitement, while others may find themselves feeling nervous or overwhelmed.

Students who experience positive transitions into their new school environment are more likely to feel comfortable and valued, feel excited and motivated to learn, form positive relationships with others and develop a sense of belonging within the school community.

Kolbe Catholic College’s transition program aims to promote confidence and relationship building with both peers and staff. The College is committed to working in partnership with families to ensure that students’ transition to secondary school is as easy and seamless as possible. To assist with this, students may access the Wellbeing team throughout the transition period as well as through the rest of their schooling at Kolbe Catholic College.

Each student at Kolbe Catholic College has access to support through counselling, as a key strategy underpinning local, state and federal student wellbeing initiatives. Please refer to the EXCEL framework, based on MACS strategies, on the following link:

https://www.cem.edu.au/Our-Sch...

College counsellors can assist students in navigating a range of challenges, with the aim of supporting the mental health and wellbeing of students in order to enhance their learning and engagement at school.

Services provided by the counselling team include intake assessment, short term individual counselling, crisis intervention and referrals where required. All students may access the wellbeing team at any time to receive immediate support. However, parental consent will be obtained for any student that is referred for ongoing support. Students can be referred for counselling by school staff, parents/guardians or can request counselling themselves. If you have questions about connecting your student with counselling services, please contact the school to speak with your relevant House Leader or Pastoral Care (PC) teacher.

As part of the College’s commitment to wellbeing, students also participate in wellbeing days which seek to address topics which target the developmental needs of individual year levels. This includes Mental Health Week which is celebrated in conjunction with the national R U OK day. There is also scope for small group work with the Wellbeing team, targeting specific student needs.

The Wellbeing team seeks to promote community connection by sharing information with families regarding community based events and support services. In line with this, college counsellors also liaise with our local Headspace to assist in supporting Kolbe students.

Kolbe Catholic College has committed to implementing the Respectful Relationships program at a whole school level. This program is one aspect of the Victorian Government response to the Royal Commission into Family Violence which identified that schools play a critical role in promoting a culture of respect that is crucial in addressing issues of family violence and gender inequality.

Respectful Relationships promotes the message that everyone in our community deserves to be respected, valued and treated equally and seeks to embed this message across the education community from staffrooms, to classrooms and beyond. Over the coming years, the influence of Respectful Relationships will be seen across curriculum, policy and practices at Kolbe Catholic College.

Should you require immediate support, please contact one of the services below or in the case of an emergency, call 000.

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