April 22, 2020

Mr. Mark Watkins

Principal Holsworthy High School

Huon Cres, Holsworthy

NSW, 2173

Dear Mr Watkins,

My name is Kayla Lowe and I am a Bachelor of Education (Primary) student at Curtin University. I am
currently undertaking a STEM unit on social issues, in relation to the United Nation’s Sustainable
Development Goals. I am completing an assessment that involves identifying an issue in the local
community relating to the Sustainable Development Goals, conducting research, and developing a
solution/improvement. I have focussed on Goal 3, Good Health and Wellbeing, “Ensure healthy lives
and promote well-being for all ages” (United Nations, n.d.-a).

I write to you today to address the need for a breakthrough in suicide rates, the basis of the UN’S
Target Goal 3.4, which is of concern in Australia. Suicide is an important cause of death for young
people, particularly men (SDG TAP, n.d.-a). I was alarmed when researching the local health profile
of South Western Sydney, as it revealed youth aged 16 years and over reported very high
psychological stress, with the number of suicides being the second highest reported in metropolitan
Sydney (NSW Government, 2019, p. 2). In 2015 alone, suicide rates accounted for 10% of the state’s
total suicide deaths (NSW Government, 2019, p. 98)! Growing up in South West Sydney, these
figures were alarming, and I felt something needed to be done. I decided to examine the mental
health of students at your school, Holsworthy High School.

After completing the Google form survey with 54 of your Year 10 students, it was revealed that only
34% indicated they do not experience feelings of anxiety or depression, 77.4% stating exam and
assessment periods to be the most stressful and only 42.6% believe their mental health is well
supported by the school. Students are aware a school counsellor exists, but expressed the need for
mental health workshops, support groups, and time away from the stresses of the classroom. These
results aligned with views from your Year 10 Co-Ordinator, Ashleigh Fenech, who suggested that
more awareness and ways to prevent issues arising would improve the current approach of
counsellor referrals and fortnightly well-being classes, which can be very reactive approaches. This
data combined revealed that the school’s current approach may not be enough, with room for some
improvement.

From this, I have determined that a proactive approach, focusing on prevention and awareness is
needed. I propose Mindful Mental Health weekly sessions for students in Year 10-12. The sessions
should focus on raising awareness, identifying risk factors and developing coping strategies for
stress, anxiety and depression. Meditation and breathing techniques, knowledge of mental health
issues, and support and self-management activities could be completed, in a calm and safe
environment. Fortnightly catch ups with a teacher of student choice to monitor mental health and
provide individualised support could also enhance the solution. By doing so, a prevention and early
intervention approach could address the need for students to seek further outside of school help,
especially for those that may not be comfortable doing so. I am aware that issues may arise from a
teacher point of view, as this involves additional time for teachers to plan and implement. However,
this could be overcome by a rotating timetable for each teacher to take turns in running a session.

I am aware that there is plenty of room for improvement with this solution. It is simply an idea based
on research that aims to improve the mental health of students at your school, especially in the
intention of enabling them to cope better with the stresses of exams and assessments. The solution
is not perfect and will require clearer guidelines for teachers. It will be something that can evolve
and improve with time, if given the opportunity to do so.

If the program is to be successful, I would hope that there would be clear evidence of students
reporting less feelings of stress, anxiety and depression and for teachers to notice a positive change
in their students’ mental health. I ask you to please consider the solution I am proposing and give it a
chance to be successful in your school. Holsworthy High School is only one small school in the big
scheme of things, but every small step can make a difference towards a reduction in suicide rates,
and that is what I hope to achieve from this proposed solution.

I would appreciate if you could please consider contacting me to be further discuss how this
proposal could be implemented.

Thank you for your time.

Kind Regards,

Kayla Lowe

0450273776

kayla.lowe@student.curtin.edu.au