COMMITMENT: NSW Minister for Mental Health Kevin Humphries presents Tamworth High School students Kayla Jeffery and Ryan Higgins with an award for the school’s commitment to making students aware about their mental health and wellbeing.
TAMWORTH High School has won an award for maintaining students awareness of their mental health and wellbeing.
State Minister for Mental Health Kevin Humphries, presented THS students with the Mental Health Matters Award.
As part of the school’s ongoing to commitment to student welfare it will host a Mindzone Fair Day on Friday to promote positive mental health among students.
District guidance officer at Tamworth High School, Guy Porter, said the school’s mental health program, which included the Mindzone Fair Day had been designed to break down the stigma around mental health, provide quality information and encourage students to seek help when they need it.
“The whole school will be involved in celebrating positive mental health on Mindzone Fair Day,” he said.
“The winners of our Mental Health Month poster competition will have their entries integrated into the Mindzone space which provides all students with a range of quality resources to support the health and wellbeing of the community.”
Mr Porter said a partnership with Hunter New England Mental Health had resulted in a range of mental health resources being made available to the whole of the student community at Tamworth High.
CEO of the Mental Health Association NSW, Elizabeth Priestley, said around one in four young Australians was living with a mental illness.
“It’s vital we encourage teens to make time for things at the ‘prevention’ end of the spectrum; things that will enhance social and emotional wellbeing and build up our personal resilience,” she said.
“Events like Tamworth High’s Mindzone Fair Day, are important because they get young people talking more openly about mental health and this helps to dispel the stigma around mental illness.”
Tamworth High students Ryan Higgins and Karla Jeffrey, accepted the Mental Health Matters Award for the Mindzone resource.