Talking about the elephant in the room
A focus on our students’ wellbeing was a strong theme throughout 2022, and 2023 will be no different. Let’s start by talking about the elephant in the room - the ‘elephant’ being sexuality education, consent and respectful relationships.
With the help of three leading Melbourne based organisations, Elsternwick’s Middle School students had the opportunity to do exactly that during Term 1. Sex Education Australia, Elephant Ed and Toolbox Education are all transforming the way that schools, parents, teachers and students communicate and learn about social emotional wellbeing and sexuality education.
Elephant Ed ran the first of three sessions with Years 7 to 9. Their core focus is to educate young people about sexual health, relationships and consent. Their lively and diverse facilitators engaged the students with relevant, age-appropriate and up-to-date videos, discussion prompts and activities. Their program makes learning about these sometimes tricky and confronting topics fun and informative.
In Years 4 and 5, the team from Sex Ed Australia delivered a range of workshops throughout Term 1, offering our young people age-appropriate lessons that go beyond puberty and anatomy. Through interactive activities and discussions, our students learnt about the protective behaviours that help them remain safe and respected in both real life and virtual relationships.
Talking about tricky and uncomfortable issues is one thing; knowing how to interpret and manage them is another. Toolbox Education recently lead Year 6 students in an Emotional Literacy workshop to raise their awareness of uncomfortable emotions, so when faced with an emotionally challenging situation, students will have the tools and strategies needed to address that elephant in the room!
