Term Four began with UHC celebrating Mental Health Awareness Week with a huge range of activities - each with a purpose to help student mental health. 10LB took the lead with the week, and student Emily Blackadder runs through the action packed week.

10LB started Term 4 with a bang! We took on the responsibility of organising Upper Hutt College's first Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW) with the theme of mā te kōrero, ka ora - take a little time to kōrero - as a small chat with a mate can go a long way.

Throughout MHAW many different events were organised and conducted, all of which aimed to create opportunities for students to equally benefit from mental health by removing social barriers in order to create a stigma-free environment.

10LB fundraised through green wristbands and crafted green mental health ribbons, that were sold for a gold coin donation on the first two days of the Week. The money raised was then donated to the Mental Health Foundation, so change could be created on a national scale. However, on a community scale these wristbands and ribbons were worn with pride around school and promoted mental health advocacy, creating a deep sense of companionship.

During Ako Time, 10LB handed out gift envelopes to random students around the school. Envelopes, made by 10LB, were filled with inspirational quotes, a gel pen, a MHAW sticker, a voucher to the school's cafe along with a Freddo frog, which caused much excitement from recipients. The inspiration behind these envelopes was to let students who may feel ‘left behind’ or ‘forgotten', that someone is thinking of them, they are cared for, and their unique identity is valued within our school.

On one of the days, a panel of three mental health professionals were invited to the school for a lunchtime question-and-answer session. The questions about mental health, were provided by different Ako classes. 

The panel consisted of Dr Corinne Glenn who works in wellbeing service at the Queen Street Medical, Karis Harland a nurse in wellbeing service at the Queen Street Medical and Abbey Busch a youth development and education coordinator at Wellington Youthline. 

Questions such as “How can you help someone struggling with mental health?”, “how do you deal with exam stress?”, “can you receive help without your parents knowing?” received very beneficial attention. 

Wanting help for wellbeing issues does not always guarantee help due to a number of societal factors. This mental health panel was a wonderful way to get rid of barriers around receiving help, offer a first experience to those unsure on the ability of professionals and was popular with students that attend.

Another activity during MHAW was a google form Quiz about aspects of mental health that was sent to all Ako classes. The Quiz contained 20 questions, and this allowed healthy conversations in Ako classes to naturally happen around the reality of mental health.

Talking about mental health, which was this year's MHAW theme, can have a great impacts and this Quiz was a great way for students to have conversations. 10MF and 13AW received prizes for being the junior and senior Ako classes to get the most questions correct.

A fun event that often takes place during the year was tied into MHAW - the UHC Colour Run. The Colour Run is a running course which included obstacles, where the participants get wet and have colour powder thrown at them. Food, drink and nail polish were provided to encourage those taking part. 

There are no winners in this event. It is inspired by the Hindu festival Holi, known as the Festival of Colours, celebrating spring, new life and most commonly love. Due to the colourful powder, and colour runs connection to love, in more recent times it has become connected to the LGBTQI+ community which is strongly supported in this school.

Movement has been proven to positively affect a person's mental health and the Colour Run was one of the most popular events throughout MHAW, with students from all year groups taking part. There is already an excited buzz for the Colour Run next year!

Similar to the wristbands and ribbons, an exciting New Zealand classic event also took place, Chip Butties and a Sausage sizzle. The Mental Health Awareness Foundation recognises that great conversations happen over food, and for this reason we chose to include food in our MHAW. No donation was required, meaning everyone could participate. Using chip butties and having a sausage sizzle connected this event to New Zealand creating a greater sense of community among the school.

The final event ran on MHAW was part of the House competition, the inaugural Gumboot Challenge. This Challenge was made up of two sections, competitive and social. It consisted of each House (Hillary, Jackson, Te Kanawa and Blake) going through a five step challenge completed by ten students, covering the different year groups. 

The Social section was more inclusive, with any student being able to throw a gumboot earning points. Students were also encouraged to wear gumboots on this day. Gumboots are a symbol for those who feel “stuck in the mud” due to mental health. 

Wearing gumboots and relating this day to gumboots shows you support and acknowledge people who feel stuck, when it comes to mental health. It also links with Mike King's famous Gumboot Friday, which many students in our school feel passionate about. This was a fun day for all students whether taking part or watching. 10LB felt very rewarded and proud seeing all the smiles and laughs during this event.

Blake House won this House competition event, with an impressive 40 points from Competitive and 32 points from Social. They were closely followed by Hillary (30, 27), Jackson (10, 26) and finally Te Kanawa (20, 22.)

10LB put a large amount of effort into organising the Mental Health Awareness Week, and this effort paid off, by creating a supported and friendly environment around Upper Hutt College through the various activities. 

10LB would like to thank all the staff and students around the school for their support, as it wouldn’t have been possible without you! We are excited to see what next year's Mental Health Awareness Week brings!