Dear parents / guardians / whanau

Zeinab Al-Hasani (11HC) and Leo He (12GN), on behalf of the Riccarton High School Student Wellbeing team. — May 25th, 2017

It has come to our attention that there recently has been a lot of talk surrounding a popular new Netflix series called 13 reasons why.

This series focuses on a teenage girl that commits suicide and leaves behind 13 tapes of reasons as to why she chose to kill herself.

The series involves multiple scenes that are very graphic, including a suicide scene, alcohol and drug usage, sexual assault (in two scenes), and extreme bullying all throughout the series.

All of these themes are very serious and can have an negative impact on people, which is why we think that it is important bring it to everyone’s attention.

One of the aims of the Student Wellbeing team is to promote wellbeing taking action, including increasing awareness about wellbeing matters.

We are aware that many students have watched or are watching the show as it has been a topic of discussion within many schools around not only New Zealand, but the world.

If your child is talking about the series or you know that they are watching it; ask them how they feel about it.

Talking with your children about this subject matter is very important as you can help to let them know that suicide is not a solution to problems and help is available. Discussing the other difficult topics that are shown within the series would also be helpful.

At one point in the series, the girl confides in her school's guidance counsellor, but he goes on to shut her down. Many of the adults in the series are portrayed as being useless or unhelpful. This portrays adults and counsellors to be unhelpful, which might drive our own students to not get help from their school counsellors or adults in general.

We know that most teenagers turn to the internet and social media for advice and support when facing wellbeing / mental health problems.

We want to assure you that not just our guidance counsellors, but the whole staff at Riccarton High School are fully supportive, and if any student is going through something they definitely will not shut them down.

Possible signs someone may be having thoughts of suicide:

Suicide threats, both direct, “I am going to kill myself.” “I need life to stop.” and indirect, “I need it to stop.” “I wish I could fall asleep and never wake up.” Threats can be verbal or written and are often found in online postings.
Giving away possessions.
Preoccupation with death in conversation, writing, drawing and social media.
Changes in behaviour, appearance/hygiene, thoughts and/or feelings. This can include someone who is typically sad who suddenly becomes extremely happy.
Emotional distress.
Withdrawing from friends and family.

If you feel something is not right with your child or notice any of the signs above, do not be afraid to ask them directly about thoughts of suicide.

This may be a tough conversation to have but it tells them that you are open to talking about suicide and increases the chances of your child seeking help.

Here are links to articles about 13 Reasons Why that might be helpful.

15 Teens Explain What They Really Think About "13 Reasons Why"

Youtube clip from Attitude about having conversations about 13 Reasons Why

An open letter to my four sons about 13 Reasons Why - www.stuff.co.nz

Controversial Netflix series 13 Reasons Why has been classified as RP18 by the New Zealand Classification Officer over concerns about graphic rape and suicide scenes.