Ashne Amoils – Wellbeing Madricha

Last Monday (30 October), Emanuel hosted a Parent Wellbeing Night, where parents heard from a range of engaging speakers who visit the school annually to speak to the students about various topics, ranging from gender to partying to sleep. After parents grabbed their gift bags and a healthy dinner prepared by the canteen, they had the pleasure of listening to five professional wellbeing speakers: James Isles from headspace on mental health for teens, Lisa Maltman from Sleep Connection on the importance of sleep, Brent Sanders on teenage sexual crime awareness, Police Liaison Officer Darren Cairnes on drugs, alcohol and partying and Matt Friedman from 2 Birds 1 Bee on gender, sexuality and pornography.

Additionally, school staff spoke about the internal programs on offer; Deputy Principal, Margaret Lowe spoke about the need to plant seeds in the minds of students about wellbeing as a lifelong concern and the reasons behind the types of wellbeing programs at Emanuel; Acting Head of Rabin Adam Ezekiel spoke about the various topics introduced to students in Tutor Programs and school counsellor Kim Slender spoke about the ‘.b’ mental awareness meditational program and introduced several staff involved in caring for Emanuel students. Parents also saw a powerful video created by Year 9 Art students about body image.

The lucky door prize, drawn after the presentations, saw 15 audience members win one of three incredible books; Hello Gen Z by Claire Madden, The Making of Men by Dr Arne Rubinstein or Loveabilty by Dannielle Miller and Nina Funnell. Afterwards, each of the speakers formed a Q & A panel led by Maxine Chopard where audience members had a chance for their questions to be answered. All in all, the Parent Wellbeing Night proved to be an enjoyable and informative night.

There will be a night for Year 12 parents and any other interested parties on 27 November 2017 run by Dani Klein on Parenting during the HSC.

Here are some links and resources from the speakers:

Further information to support both questions during the presentation and information requested post presentation can be found below. This includes information on child/ adolescent sleep health as well as information to support adults.

Websites:

•  The Sleep Connection ⟶ Information, Resources and Videos (visit the solutions page for tips and where to get professional help from
• SleepShack ⟶ Online program for sleep problems in preteens and teens
• Woolcock Medical Institute ⟶ Support information, specialists, sleep lab
• National Sleep Foundation ⟶ Sleep Research and Education
• The Sleep Health Foundation ⟶ Key Australian website on most sleep topics
• Blue Blockers ⟶ Products to reduce your blue light exposure 
• Sleepio ⟶ Sleepio is a tailored online program for adults to help improve poor sleep. Sleepio-Expert articles & guides are highly recommended reading
• Headspace ⟶ www.headspace.org.au/

Brochures:

• Woolcock ⟶ Tips for Healthy Sleep Brochure
• Woolcock ⟶ Insomnia Brochure
• Woolcock ⟶ Snoring and Obstructive Sleep Apnea Brochure
• Woolcock ⟶ Sleep Problems in Children Brochure

Videos:

• SBS Insight ⟶ Are we getting enough Sleep
• ABC BTN ⟶ The effect of electronic devices on our sleep

E-books:

• How to Sleep Better: The Secrets of Sleep from the World’s Leading Sleep Experts (this provides a link to an ebook that can be downloaded and includes great detail regarding suggestions for help with insomnia)

Sleep Psychologists:

Both Dianne Richards and Delwyn Bartlett are adult sleep psychologists who work at The Woolcock Institute as well as locations closer by.

• Dianne Richards⟶ best contact for appointments is 0488 260 043 and 8937 0948
• Delwyn Bartlett⟶ best contact is at the Woolcock 9114 0000