Wellbeing Coordinator
Reflecting on Year 10 Pastoral Day: Building Mental Fitness and Owning Our Stories
The recent Year 10 Pastoral Day was a powerful and uplifting experience focused on mental fitness and the significance of understanding the statistics behind personal wellbeing.
Students began the day by engaging with inspiring videos from FindyaFeet and Gotch4life, setting a positive tone around mental health awareness. They then explored graphs and statistics generated from their own responses to a Google form that measured their current mental, physical, and social wellbeing. This personalised insight sparked thoughtful reflection and conversation.
Embracing creativity and teamwork, students formed small groups and were challenged to create a 1-minute TikTok campaign within 10 minutes, promoting the importance of mental fitness for teens. The enthusiasm and positivity during this activity highlighted their commitment to spreading awareness in ways that resonate with their peers.
In the middle session, the boys participated in a meaningful discussion with Glenn Cotter from RU OK? learning how to reach out and support friends in need. Meanwhile, the girls enjoyed a calming yoga session led by Lulu Henley from Soul Tribe Yoga, emphasising mindfulness and physical wellbeing as vital components of mental health.
The day concluded with practical workshops where students rotated through two sessions, equipping themselves with valuable tools to protect and improve their mental fitness moving forward. This featured meditation, kindness rocks, deep breathing, exercise, art therapy and journalling.
Overall, the Year 10 Pastoral Day was an extremely valuable experience — empowering students to take ownership of their mental health journey with positivity, creativity, and practical strategies.
Thank you to Emily Borg and Josh Nguyen who delivered this powerful address to the families who attended our Year 7 Open House Information Evening in Week 2 this term. It reflects on their own experience of the College and provides advice for our future students.
Emily: Good evening everyone and welcome to our Year 7 Information Open Night for 2026. As mentioned I am Emily and this is Josh, your chool captains for 2025. It is our great pleasure to speak with you all tonight - to the nervous parents sending their child to high school for the first time and to the parents already familiar with our school - we welcome you. We will be sharing with you from our personal schooling experience what our amazing school has to offer.
Josh: Transitioning from primary school to high school is a major step in your academic journey, being renowned as the top of school to becoming fresh on the scene. At Carroll College, our responsibility is to ensure that each and every student feels welcomed and belongs to our fantastic community, with the help of our pastoral care team, making the transition as easy and smooth as possible. By doing this, individuals become more adaptive to the school environment and encouraging everyone to feel more respectful and valued.
Emily: Here at Carroll College, each student's experience is supported by a team of teachers dedicated to not only academic excellence but providing your child with a holistic education. Carroll’s emphasis on pastoral care considers the social, emotional and physical well-being of the greater school community. Ensuring each student feels safe, supported, and valued everyday. This is further reinforced by the values of our Broulee ABC's, teachings embedded within our school community: to be Christ-like, to Respect all, Aim high, Be proud and Celebrate Success. Together, these values and support network creates a nurturing environment where every student can thrive and reach their full potential.
Josh: As a student who has been at Carroll for 6 years, I have had the privilege of witnessing and experiencing firsthand the development and growth of the school, as well as my own personal growth. When I first arrived, the school was a place where I was eager to learn and explore, but over the years, I’ve seen it transform into something more vibrant, inclusive, and full of opportunities. From expanding the range of activities to the development of new facilities and spaces, it’s been incredible to see how the school has evolved in ways that truly support the needs and aspirations of students. Carroll has been a place where I’ve been challenged, supported, and encouraged, helping me become more extravagant in my passions and more mature in my outlook.
Emily: Here at Carroll College each student is met with an array of opportunities, from our rigorous academic and extracurricular programs. From sporting, music, drama and community service there is a pathway for everyone, where you will be supported and encouraged each step of the way. Opportunities and pathways such as the annual school musical, the famous wagga touch football carnival and Carroll’s Battle of the Bands. To have the privilege of these opportunities I thoroughly encourage you to venture out of your comfort zone and take advantage of them here at Carroll next year. Take me for example, before year nine I don’t think I’ve ever played a real game of basketball in my life, but now it is my most anticipated school event every year in term 2.
Josh: As we come to a close, we hope that this brief introduction to Carroll College has given you an insight into what makes our school so special. We understand that you have been given loads of information and so, if you have any questions please feel free to come up to us and ask, as we will be delighted to greet you. As it’s almost time to move off, we strongly encourage you to take the time to explore the different subject facilities located around the school, talk to our teachers and students, and experience firsthand the sense of community that we have here.
Ms Elle Boller
Wellbeing Coordinator
Wellbeing Coordinator