Defence Student Parental Absence and Posting Workshop

This term has seen the introduction of the Defence Student Parental Absence and Posting workshop, ‘Go with The Flow’ 

The workshop aims to help Defence students to recognise the challenges that being part of a Defence family poses, and the possible impacts, both positive and negative, these challenges have on their education.

Through student led conversations, activities, and a sharing of their own personal experiences, students are provided with strategies and access to support within the college. This support can help them to cope with the absences their Defence parents are frequently subjected to, as part of their service.

Feedback from the workshop will also raise awareness and build capacity among the colleges’ staff to respond to the social and emotional needs of students from Defence Families.

As the DSM, I was heartened by the honesty and the willingness of the students to share their experiences with each other. Giving a voice to their feelings is an important step in the process of accepting situations which are out of their control (postings, deployments, frequent changes to schools, homes, friends etc) so that they can find constructive ways to respond in a positive manner.

I am looking forward to providing more workshops in the future. 

Coffee and Chat

Week 7 was the RVSSC Defence parent coffee catch up, held at The Little Piggy Café.  It was lovely to see parents come together for a hot drink and a chin wag.

Our college Senior Guidance Officer, Janet Ingram, attended the catch and was able to meet some of our parents, and to answer any questions around student support at RVSSC.

Kelly Keats, from Mates4Mates. also popped in.   Mate4Mates is an organisation that helps current and ex-serving Defence Force members who have been impacted by their military service.  Their areas of support are physical and mental injury, and social disconnection.  The Mates4Mates membership (which is free) has recently undergone some changes in response to member feedback, which now makes it easier to access their support.

Kelly will be our guest speaker in the Term 3 Coffee& Chat.

For more information about Mates4Mates, you can go to their website, https://mates4mates.org/whom-we-are/our-locations/online-services or better yet, come along to our next Coffee & Chat in Term 3, where you can have all of your questions answered in person.

D Day 80th Anniversary

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the D–Day landings in Normandy (Operation Neptune), France, on 6 June 1944. D–Day and the battle of Normandy marked the first step in the Allied liberation of Europe from Nazi occupation during the Second World War. 

Australians played a small but important role in the large Allied forces that participated in D–Day.

Approximately 3,200 Australians participated in the D–Day landings on 6 June. Thousands more would serve during the Normandy campaign and beyond. In the fleet some 500 members of the Royal Australian Navy served on attachment with the Royal Navy. A small number of Australian soldiers also served on the ground with the British Army. Our nation’s main contribution came in the air, where approximately 1,000 Australian airmen flew with Royal Australian Air Force squadrons, and a further 1,800 operated on attachment to the Royal Air Force. On top of this, 10,000 Australians waited in training and reserve pools, ready to join operational squadrons as the campaign’s casualties mounted. Thirteen Australians were killed on 6 June in Operation Overlord, and hundreds more were killed over the course of the campaign while flying in support of the ground forces in Normandy. In fact, in terms of total casualties June 1944 was the worst month in the history of the Royal Australian Air Force.

If you would like to learn more about D Day and Australia’s involvement, you can head to The Australian War Memorial website

https://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/D-day