Wade High School students helped break a Guinness World Record when they took part in the largest mental health awareness lesson ever.
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The record-breaking Year 9 students were part of the 10,000 people live-streaming the event, which took place in Sydney Olympic Park.
A further 2000 students were at the lesson itself, smashing the previous world which was set in June this year with 857 people in attendance.
Wade High’s PDHPE teacher Kate Millson co-ordinated about 100 Year 9 students, who discussed strategies to deal with the tough times in life.
Ms Millson has been covering mental health with her students, who are learning about different mental health illnesses, how to access support, and how to help friends in their time of need.
“Mental health is something we all need to be aware of,” Ms Millson said. “We need to break down stigmas and talk about it, because it’s a big issue in our society.”
Some of the suggested strategies involved talking to a friend, seeking support from organisations like headspace, or turning to a teacher.
“I think students find us approachable when it comes to their mental health problems,” Ms Millson said.
“We have a pretty good rapport with our students and they can approach us at any time.”
Students will take part in a 40 minute interactive mental health lesson developed as part of the new K-10 PDHPE syllabus.
NSW Department of Education secretary Mark Scott said the event promoted the importance of positive mental health education.
“This mental health lesson has been designed to give students the resilience and skills they need to cope with stressful situations while letting them know it’s OK to ask for help,” Mr Scott said.
“Mental fitness is just as important as our physical health, because it helps improve mindfulness, enhance resilience and build optimism.
“Being mentally fit doesn’t mean things won’t go wrong, but the more mentally fit we are, the better we are at coping with life’s challenges and enjoying life.”