20 Sep 2017
On Monday, September 18th, Fairfield High School will be involved in promoting the very important message of R U OK Day. This follows our recent excursion to the R U OK DAY in the Gardens, where selected students accompanied Ms Coonan and Ms Hogan to a lovely day in Sydney's Royal Botanical Gardens with the R U OK Ambassadors and convoy which has been travelling right around the country sharing, educating and promoting the importance of looking out for one another. Our students participated in sporting activities, learning about Aboriginal culture and connection to the land, a lovely lunch in the park and spent the afternoon reflecting on their own stories and personal experiences. This was a valuable experience for our students to take back the important messages of the day and share with their fellow peers.
R U OK? Day is about raising awareness of mental health in society and how each individual can make a difference. It is about encouraging all people to look out for friends, family and teachers by asking them "are you ok?" This is the second year that students are being we encouraged to get involved in this event and help spread the message and offer support to one another.
Invited students will spend part of their day involved in activities at Ultimate Soccer and will also receive a nice lunch at the completion of the activities. FHS is lucky enough to have an ambassador from the R U OK Foundation coming out to speak with our students about their own personal experiences around mental health and seeking help and why they now spend their time promoting the R U OK message.
The day hopes to provide the students with a sense of belonging and to also focus on the importance of both their physical and mental wellbeing. We hope that this event will inspire our students to ask the simple question of "R U OK", to start the conversation and in some small way to help change the stigma and culture around mental health but also to let people around them know that it's okay to ask for help.
