Students at St Joseph’s had been busy this term, rehearsing for a theatre show that featured all the learnings about mental health in the school community.
The Year 9 drama students of St Joseph’s School wowed audiences last Friday with their performance of ‘Pink Floyd - The Wall’.
Under the direction of their teacher, Rebecca Doughty, the students developed, rehearsed and presented the production at the Northam Town Hall.
It was an enormous success with over 100 parents and community members attending.
Students worked on character development, design and planning of props, costumes, stagecraft and performance as they planned, designed and performed the story of Pink to the music from Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’.
One of the students, Jelena Manuel, said she thought that it was a great team building process.
“Everyone helped and supported each other and on the night we all encouraged each other from the sidelines,” said Jelena.
Ms Doughty said the students had a wonderful time and the performance was a huge success.
“I am immensely proud of our students," she said.
“They have worked hard to develop a fantastic performance and are to be commended on a fabulous achievement.”
The play was the final event for the Mental Health Awareness project the students had been undertaking.
Two students said the show came together so well because everyone worked together for the end goal.
“The success of this performance is defined by both the people on the stage and behind the scenes, all working together to raise mental health awareness,” said students James Sarre and Clancy Thompson.
All the events were funded by a Healthways grant sourced by Ms Doughty for this purpose.
The grant has enabled the coordination of activities throughout the year.
These included a presentation to secondary students by Craig Semple, a Black Dog Institute volunteer.
Additionally the Year 9 Health Class created mental health support cards which have been distributed to all secondary students.
There was also a Mental Health Poster Competition.
The posters were designed to promote a conversation around mental health and raise awareness of mental health issues in contemporary society.
The school received 72 entries from students in Year 7 to Year 11.
Ms Doughty said the school has been behind the project.
“All of our teachers have been extremely supportive and I have been impressed with the students’ enthusiasm and interest in gaining a greater understanding and raising awareness in others concerning mental health”, she said.
To see more pictures, go to the Avon Valley and Wheatbelt Advocate website.
