Healthy School News
Healthy School News
Faith Field - Secondary School Nurse | Health, Wellbeing and Specialist Services
Active Schools
Active Schools aims to ensure that all Victorian students have the skills, confidence, and motivation to be active in life. North Geelong Secondary College is an Active School and encourages all students, families, and staff to be active.
Summer Sport:
It's that time of year when local community-based sports clubs in Geelong are taking registrations for the summer season. Young people have plenty of opportunities to participate in various sporting activities. Take a look at some of the local sports clubs and consider getting involved in local sports: Sports Clubs
The Get Active Kids Voucher Program is now open!
The Get Active Kids Voucher Program is now open! Get in quick as applications will remain open until the allocation is exhausted. If your family or child has a Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card, you may be eligible for up to $200 to put towards the cost of your child’s participation in sport and active recreation activities.
Important Dates:
Round 8 open to apply for a voucher or reimbursement: 10:00 am Wednesday, 9 October 2024 and will remain open until the allocation is exhausted.
Reimbursement expenditure dates: from 1 July 2024 until submission of application
Vouchers expiry date: Tuesday, 29 April 2025.
The Get Active Kids Voucher Program helps eligible families get their kids involved in organised sport and active recreation activities by providing financial support for the cost of membership and registration fees. Eligible children may be able to receive up to $200 each.
Special consideration also applies for children residing in care services, as well as temporary or provisional visa holders, undocumented migrants, or international students.
To find out if you are eligible, how to apply, what costs are covered and more, visit www.getactive.vic.gov.au/vouchers
You can find translated information about the Get Active Kids Voucher Program below:
Arabic poster – PDF
Hindi poster – PDF
Punjabi poster – PDF
Somali poster (PDF)
Vietnamese poster – PDF
Mandarin poster – PDF
Vaping Prevention
Vaping Fast Facts
About Vapes:
- ‘vapes’, are electronic devices that use batteries. They work by heating a liquid until it becomes an aerosol that the user breathes in.
What’s in e-liquid?
- e-liquid contains many different chemicals, many known to cause cancer and lung damage
- e-liquid usually contains highly addictive nicotine and a mix of flavouring chemicals.
The statistics:
Your young person might feel like everyone is vaping and, as a result, may feel pressure to give vaping a go. Try asking them “How many young people do you think in Australia have tried vaping?”. Be ready with the stats - roughly 3 in 10 Australian secondary school students have ever vaped. The key message is that despite what it looks like at school or on social media, most young people do not vape.
Laws in Australia:
Under the new laws:
- the way Australians can access vapes has changed
- vapes can only be sold in pharmacies, regardless of whether they have nicotine in them or not
- non-pharmacy retailers, such as tobacconists, vape shops and convenience stores, cannot sell any type of vape
- flavours in vapes are restricted to mint, menthol and tobacco
- there is a ban on the advertising or promotion of vapes.
For Support to quit vaping:
- Be_Smokefree_Final.pdf (barwonhealth.org.au), Barwon Health - Be Smokefree Clinics
- Quit Smoking & Vaping: Get Expert Cessation Tips & Help | Quit
For more information about vaping facts go to:
The ‘What you need to know about vaping’ information sheet is also available in languages other than English:
- نشرة معلومات عن التدخين الإلكتروني بين الشباب للوالدين ومقدمي الرعاية | Youth vaping | Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care (Arabic)
- 电子烟：吞云吐雾背后的真相 | Youth vaping | Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care (Chinese Simplified)
- 青少年與電子煙-給家長與照顧者的資料單張 | Youth vaping | Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care (Chinese Traditional)
- Ενημερωτικό φυλλάδιο σχετικά με το άτμισμα των νέων για γονείς και φροντιστές | Youth vaping | Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care (Greek)
- 부모와 보호자들을 위한 청소년 베이핑 관련 정보지 | Youth vaping | Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care (Korean)
- เอกสารสรุปสาระสำคัญเกี่ยวกับการสูบบุหรี่ไฟฟ้าของเด็กวัยรุ่นสำหรับพ่อแม่และผู้ดูแล | Youth vaping | Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care (Thai)
- Tờ thông tin về giới trẻ hút thuốc lá điện tử dành cho cha mẹ và người chăm sóc | Youth vaping | Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care (Vietnamese)
Respectful Relationships
At North Geelong Secondary College, we are dedicated to promoting healthy and respectful relationships among students, families, and staff. We use the Victorian Respectful Relationships whole school approach, including the Resilience, Rights & Respectful Relationships 7-12 Resources to help students learn and practice social skills that can positively impact their learning, life, and relationships. These resources cover eight social and emotional learning topics to support the delivery of the respectful relationships program. Additionally, North Geelong Secondary College encourages the entire school community to adopt equal and respectful attitudes, behaviours, structures, and practices. For more information click on the link Respectful Relationships | schools.vic.gov.au
