On Friday 21st March, we held a mufti day to support “Lifting the Lid” on youth suicide.

Our student's gold coin donation went towards this worthy cause and the Foxton Rotary Club provided a free sausage sizzle to all students who wrote encouraging messages to fellow students to be displayed in our counselling rooms.

In lieu of an Assembly (due to social distancing measures), Head Student Bayley Stella addressed the student body in House Meetings with the following talk:

Talk from Head Student Bayley Stella

New Zealand has the highest suicide rate between the ages of 10 to 24. And that's not okay. The main reason is that they don't speak up and lift the lid on the topic. Because who even likes to talk about suicide? Literally nobody. People hide from opening up and asking for help because it's considered taboo. Almost everyone suffers from some type of mental illness during their life, so it's not as uncommon as you might think. Because we feel that if we open up and talk about it we might be judged or not understood we shut off and hope that by not talking about it it might just go away, but those feelings won't and will only get worse.
We feel if we admit to people they won’t take us seriously or will think we are just looking for attention. But by talking we can show each other that these feelings are normal and so are we. It’s hard to show we care when we don’t know how people are feeling. But what isn’t so hard is showing a little kindness to someone who is struggling. Just walk up to them and ask ‘are you okay’. They might not tell you everything but at least they know someone cared enough to ask. One small gesture can do big things.
I’ll make you all a promise and I’m confident I’ll be right. Your life will change. If things are good now and you’re happy, you won’t always be and if things are tough now and you’re not so happy that will change too. It may take time but I promise it will change.
If you're going through some struggles, no matter how big or how small it might be, remember to speak up. I understand that it's not as easy as it sounds but once you take that first step, things will only start getting better. And for you boys especially, you're not weak for reaching out and it's okay to have a cry, it's normal, I swear.
So please, let’s be kind, let’s be caring and let’s be brave, but most of all, please, let’s talk.