by Ryan Cox

Loves Me Not - Tuesday 5th March

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On Tuesday 5th March (Week 6 of Term 1) members of the police and local support agencies will deliver the Loves Me Not programme to our Year 12 students as part of a one-off, workshop day.

Loves Me Not is a ‘whole-school approach’ to prevent abusive behaviour in relationships. It is based on a student inquiry learning process, where students take action (personal action, effective bystander action and community action) to prevent harm from relationship abuse.

The programme itself was created by the Sophie Elliott Foundation. Sophie was a bright, vivacious 22-year-old who was gruesomely stabbed to death by her former boyfriend and ex-tutor, Clayton Weatherston. He was described as "the epitome of evil" but was recognised too late. Sophie’s mother, Leslie states "I firmly believe if Sophie had a programme like Loves Me Not in her final years at school she would have known when things went wrong in her relationship."

Loves Me Not is designed for Year 12 students as the appropriate age to discuss relationship abuse and to start to take action for change. During the educative journey of six focus areas in the Loves Me Not workshop, the students:

• explore qualities of good relationships

• recognise early signs of relationship abuse

• understand sexual consent, what it means, and why they need it

• apply critical thinking about who is advantaged by societal myths, and how these myths may perpetuate relationship abuse and acts of sexual abuse

• explore if, when and how to be an active bystander

• are encouraged to 'take action for change' for themselves, their friends and family, and the wider community to have safer communities together.

The workshop is based on The New Zealand Curriculum through incorporating its principles, values and key competencies and learning activities based on effective pedagogy.

Nigel Latta introduces a 10-minute video that explains how Loves Me Not teaches senior secondary school students about healthy relationships.

If you have any questions relating to this programme, or if you wish to withdraw your student from this presentation, please contact me via email.

rcox@hillcrest-high.school.nz

Ngaa mihi

Ryan Cox

Deputy Principal

Hillcrest High School