This week is Men’s Health Week, which runs from June 12 to 18. The initiative focuses on improving and maintaining the health of our men, boys and their families. This year’s theme Healthy Body, Healthy Mind: Keeping the Balance explores the different ways men and boys are managing to keep healthy, physically and emotionally, in a busy and sometimes challenging world.

Please take the time to read the information below:

Men’s Health Week 2017 runs from June 12 to 18. The Assistant Director of the Men’s Health Centre, Dr Neil Hall, says “good health happens when we have a sense of balance in our lives and can juggle our obligations, while also taking time to enjoy family and friends, and most importantly ourselves.”

“Taking time to pursue simple activities that bring you joy is crucial in modern life, and for this year’s Men’s Health Week we’re urging men to take the time to think about how they’re managing the different areas of their lives.”

“Being healthy is more than exercising and eating well. It’s also about making the time to pursue the activities you enjoy, whether that’s connecting with mates, going to the park with the dog, or playing and watching sport.”

Men and boys face different health and wellbeing concerns than women and girls, and Men’s Health Week is an opportunity to both acknowledge their differences and look for ways to improve the health and wellbeing of men and boys throughout Australia.

In Australia and in several other countries, men and boys experience significantly higher rates of addiction, violence, crime, accident and premature death in comparison to their female counterparts. As well, men show significantly higher rates of death from cancer, heart disease, homicide and suicide.

Young men suffer some of the most serious mental health issues of any group in Australia, but tens of thousands are staying silent rather than seeking help. The nation-wide problem has led headspace to embark on a striking national campaign aimed at one of the most influential people for many young men: their fathers.

Adding significant strength to the campaign is NRL great Nathan Hindmarsh who is joining the headspace team in an attempt to breakdown the stigma. Hindmarsh said he is proudly lending his voice to the headspace Fathers campaign. “I look at my four boys and I want them to know that I will always be available to talk to them – day or night – whatever problem they might be facing,” he said.

If you are concerned about a man that you work with or a man in your personal life, here are some tips and suggestions:

• Normalise Emotion. Emotion is a natural part of the human condition and is neither good nor bad. If you have just received bad news or had a loss, for example, it is natural to feel sad or upset. Make sure you allow men in your life to experience and express emotions the same way that you would allow this for anyone else.
• Don’t Enable Substance Abuse. If a man you are concerned about is drinking heavily or taking drugs, make sure he knows you are worried about him and don’t join him in these activities. Suggest doing something other than going to the pub. Join him in a hobby; go for a walk or a run; watch a game or TV show. Encourage men to talk about what is happening and tell them help is available – it is not weak to ask for help.
• Take Threats to Himself Seriously. If he is getting aggressive or threatening harm to himself or others, get professional help. It can be easy to think “he won’t do it” or “he’s just letting off steam”. The statistics tell us he might just act on it.

As part of the campaign, headspace clinicians have designed a set of tools and tips to help fathers to support their sons through mental health challenges. For more information please see: https://www.headspace.org.au/dads/

Congratulations to Brain Walsh, late grandfather of Paddy Walsh in Year 7. Paddy is thrilled that his grandfather has just been awarded an OAM from the Governor General for his services to the community of Shellharbour. Well done and congratulations to the Walsh family.

http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/4721868/award-brings-tears-to-her-eyes/

With the long weekend almost here I just thought I would remind you all of the plan of attack. The boys will finish up tomorrow and be due to depart around 4pm pending the state of their areas. They do not need to take anything home they just need to leave their area tidy and organised. There have been plenty of questions as to whether or not the boys attend school on Friday and if they have sport on Saturday. The answer is NO to both.

The boarders are due back by 8pm Monday June 12 with classes resuming on Tuesday June 13.

13D

Paddy Lennon – 3 tries

13G

Xavier Dalton – 3 tries

On Tuesday May 23^rd,  16 students from Years 7 and 8 travelled to Knox College to represent the school at the da Vinci Decathlon. This a rigorous academic competition

where students compete in teams of eight across 10 disciplines; Engineering, Mathematics, Code Breaking, Art and Poetry, Science, English, Ideation, Creative Producers, Cartography and General Knowledge. 

64 schools attended with a total of 1300 participants.

The selected boys were excellent ambassadors of the College. They worked hard throughout the day, demonstrating good teamwork and  interest and ability across all areas. .

Tom Summers:

The Da Vinci Decathlon was very, very mentally exhausting as we had to sit several tests. It was good though, as we got to meet many new people our age from different schools. The one thing that got to the team was time management, we had not very good time management and we missed out on a lot of questions. The good thing was that we came third in the general knowledge, which was led by Darcy Rogers, so he did a very good job. I think that is all and it was overall a good day at Knox.

Noah Klugsburger:

This was a day where I had to wake up extra early to represent my school with pride at the Da Vinci Decathlon. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of people there and we had thought, How do we compete with that? However, our team did very well and it was lots of fun and very enjoyable. We all had a great time and it was a great honour to represent our school and to be recognised for all our efforts.

This Sunday, June 4, we celebrate the Feast of St Marcellin Champagnat with our second Family Mass for the year in the Br Emilian Hall. The Mass will commence at 10am but the boys have been asked to be seated in the Hall by 9.45am. The Mass will conclude around 11am upon which the boys are dismissed.

The actual Feast Day of St Marcellin Champagnat is Tuesday June 6, but the Family Mass provides us with an excellent opportunity to come together and reflect on his life while also praying and celebrating as a community. If you have not attended a Family Mass yet, I encourage you to do so. They are beautiful occasions, bringing the College family together to pray as one.

Lost Property:

Lost Property continues to be an issue. Can you please double check your sons clothing to ensure that he has not taken another students clothing home. We are forever battling with the boys about cleanliness up here and it is no wonder that items ae going missing. Please discuss with your son the importance of putting clothing/items in his press and locking it with the lock that they were provided at the start of the year. We will be having a crackdown on this! If your son does not have a lock he will need to purchase a new one. The items of lost property have been taken to Mr Radziowsky (mradziowsky@joeys.org) and are no longer in the dorms. The boys had ample opportunity to go through this which was on the landing at the start of the term. The boys have also been encouraged to go to Mr Radziowsky but you may also wish to drop him an email to double check.

Photos:

This Friday the boys will have their Class Photos. This is just a reminder that the boys will need to wear their BLUES and have their shoes polished. Some are also in need of a haircut so please if this could all be addressed before Friday it would be appreciated.

Year 7 Dinner:

The Dinner is almost here but unfortunately some are still to RSVP for the event. If this is you can you please do so asap. The plan for the day is a follows;

• The boys have been asked to stay at school and shower and get ready here in the dorms. This makes it easier for both you and the boys. We will then head down to the Hall and meet you all there.
• Please do not come up to the dorms. It will be chaos up here. The boys will meet you outside the Hall at 6.15pm
• Those who live very close to the College can go home at 5pm but they do need to be back at the Hall by 6.15pm
• As the boys are in their BLUES throughout the day due to photos, they will all be asked to change into casual clothes at 3.30pm Please ensure that your son has a set of casual clothes to change into.
• It may also be worthwhile that your son brings a spare Blue shirt and puts this in his dorm press in the morning when he signs in.

The dinner will commence at 6.30pm and should finish around 10pm. Looking forward to seeing you all on the night.

The canteen’s, clothing pool and main oval dining room are operated by parents of the P&F and the funds raised go directly to the Joey’s P&F which funds additional facilities for our boys. This Saturday is Year 7’s duty day at the main ovals.  A roster has been compiled for you to consider volunteering your time in support of Year 7 duty day.  This Saturday is a trial games day against Knox in the Rugby calendar and there are also some football and tennis home games.

Please view the roster by clicking on the link:  http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0d49a8ac29a4ff2-year2

The dining room still has a number of vacancy’s.  Your help is greatly appreciated and the dining room is a fun opportunity to meet other parents, staff and students.  If you can’t do two hours, perhaps note you can make it for an hour.  Any help is appreciated.

13s Age Group

Rugby

13G

Darcy Woodbridge – 2 tries

Football

13A

Antony Tziolis – 2 goals