This week we welcomed back to the College Claire Eaton, who ran a programme for the Year 7 students and their parents called ROC Into High School. ROC is a prevention-focused approach to adolescent Resilience, Optimism and Confidence.

Claire spoke with students and parents about:

• Tips to make the most of high school and how to tackle common challenges that may arise along the way
• Emotions and practical ways to reduce day-to-day stress and anxiety
• Mindset management tools and strategies to think wisely in good times and tougher times
• Tools to be more organised and use routines to boost confidence and productivity
• Communication skills, especially when high school doesn’t feel easy
• Tips for handling failure and the power of personal perspectives

Below are some quotes from Year 7 students summing up their experiences:

“The ROC session today was great. Students were able to relate and understand what it feels like to be normal and that comforted us. It was good to have someone to come in and talk to us about our emotions and feelings”.

“I learnt about how to control my emotions ‘above and below the line’”.

“An important thing we learnt from ROC is that we control our own thoughts and how we feel, not other people, or the things we have. We also learnt that almost everyone around us are thinking the same things like us, so we are not weird or different for thinking things such as ‘Who am I?’, or ‘Do they like me?’” 

“I learnt to never put yourself down, to be ‘above the line’ and if you are ‘below the line’ to put yourself back on top, also to keep on trying and have positive energy and a good mind set”.

“I thought it was good for students who are still trying to find their way around high school, and it taught me that it is okay to be stressed and having bad days is completely normal”.

We look forward to welcoming Claire back for our second session in Term 3.

Mr Nic Italiano
Head of Year 7