#macrobcoping

Hi,

Self harm is not the only way to find that euphoria. There are other things that you can do to replicate that feeling. To feel so negative about yourself and your body is very hard to deal with, the response to self harm is then tempting. Does the self harm though change the way you feel about yourself for any longer than the immediate feeling of euphoria? If it does not last then it is not actually offering you a solution. It is just adding to your already existing problems. Please try and find an alternative to this that will have long term benefits. Being with other people is very powerful as is walking or running. Please go and talk with a counselor or Kids Help Line for more advice on feeling better about yourself. We’re sorry for the late reply. You can email/ talk to any one of us anytime.

Hope this helps.

Love,

Hey there! 

I think we all struggle with this - well I for one definitely understand. Let’s say there are about 4 hours a day to study. You dedicate half of that time to your ¾ and the other half to your other subjects. A thing about VCE is that many teachers don’t set you homework and expect you to do your own thing and kinda help yourself to keep up with the content and do your own work. Another thing I do is to maximise class time. If you do a maths subject, try to finish the exercise in class. Sometimes I ALMOST finish in class and finish it during lunch.

You’ll notice that between SACs there’s kinda a little lull in stress. Like when there are no SACs or assessments coming up, rather than using that time to procrastinate, you could get ahead in the content. For me, the UMAT was coming up and I knew I was solely going to study for it for a week, so during the holidays and the first week of school I tried really hard to complete as many spesh exercises as possible so I wouldn’t fall behind. It’s also good to have a timeline of your ¾ course. Usually they’re very accurate so you can tell when a SAC is coming even if your teacher doesn’t tell you. If you see it coming up in 3 weeks, rather than waiting until 1 week before to fully study, you could start your revision earlier and do a little bit everyday. By the time it comes to 1 week beforehand you’ve cut down so much of the workload and can focus on really solidifying your knowledge.

Every subject is different. You know yourself better than anybody else and should know which subjects require more effort/practise/attention.One tip my teacher taught me was to have 3 levels of intensity. High level - such as doing a practice sac/essay/exam/etc. Medium level - Writing/finalising notes. Low level - revising flash cards/notes. These are just a few examples and could vary depending on subject. But you should do the lower intensity activities later at night cos you’ll be tired. There are also heaps of articles on how to manage your time and be more productive.

Hope this helps!

Hey there,

FAM Member 1: In my experience, although it’s a seemingly big jump from year 10 to year 11, you’re integrated quite smoothly into VCE and you quickly adapt to your situations.

Reflecting on Year 9 and 10, I was a major stress-head so moving into VCE was incredibly daunting for me just as I feel like it is for you. The reality is that a lot of people will be feeling this way and that it’s normal to be nervous. Just know that you’re not alone in it.

I realised after a little while that, whilst there were seemingly more things to stress about in VCE, my level of stress over four years seemed to be relatively the same. This obviously isn’t the best thing but what I want to share with you is that the reason I didn’t feel more stress was because with time I was able to cope better with it. So whilst there might’ve been more to stress about, I was also better at dealing with it and whilst the level of stress may have remained at a similar point in previous years, I definitely felt much better about it despite all the things around me that could’ve stressed me out.

Hey there,

We hate to hear that you’re feeling this way, but also know that it is extremely common and that you’re not alone.

VCE is a learning experience and in saying that, it is a different experience for everyone. Please know that you are so much more capable than you think you are and although the thought of VCE is incredibly daunting, you absolutely can take it! Sometimes it’ll require a bit of trial and error to figure out what’s best for you – that’s totally okay!

Remember that everyone around you is there to help; Mac.Rob is a very special community in that sense. Don’t be afraid to approach your teachers for help if you feel like you need it because there is no shame in asking for and needing help as this is your education and you need to be getting the most out of it. Also, sometimes teachers don’t notice where every student is at because they’ve got so many students to keep an eye on so definitely call out if you need it. Also remember that we have a most supportive wellbeing centre and that, again, there is absolutely no shame in needing help. It’s also what FAM is here for! And we greatly encourage you to reach out.

We have full faith in you, remember to have full faith in yourself too.

Hey lovely,

Thank you for all your kind wishes and best thoughts – we all will keep them in mind in the lead up to exams and as FAM, it’s been a pleasure and a privilege to serve you and give back to the community in the way that we hope we have done.

Here are some tips and perspectives that’ll hopefully give you a bit of hindsight and help you out for the rest of your schooling journey!

FAM Member 1: I have an awful memory at times so I’m going to try my best to give advice based on my personal experience for each year level and also anything else I can think of!

For Year 9s: When people say ‘get involved’, don’t just nod along and think ‘ye ok whatever we get it GeT inVoLvEd’, actually get involved!!! You won’t regret it I promise. It may sound cliche and common but it really is a great way to meet new people and it helps to build relationships like no other that you’ll experience. Making friends in classes is fantastic, but getting involved in house activities, sports, and other co-curriculars really makes a difference and you get to experience Mac.Rob on a whole different level. Also, if you don’t settle into a friendship group straightaway, don’t stress too much about it. Friendships fluctuate a LOT over the years.

Hey,

We’re sorry to hear this and can imagine how annoying this must be. The silent treatment is not really productive to get your point of view across and although we’re sure you’ve tried this already, try talking to your mum about how you feel. Don’t give up on communicating with her. Why don’t you change this into a personal challenge? Go out there and amaze the world with your contribution. Your own feelings of satisfaction and the appreciation of others might replace the need for acknowledgement from your mum. Eventually your mum may begin to see what are fantastic individual you are, and value you equally with your siblings.

Hey,

Every day you skip school just makes it harder to cope, but you know this already! Coming to school each day means that you can get to go home and hopefully feel satisfied that you made it through another day, and it takes away the feelings of guilt of missing a day of school.

If you have depression it is really hard to do the things that you know you need to do. Even small activities become really challenging. Are you getting help for your depression? Even though your family do not understand what depression means you can still get assistance without their involvement. Please talk to one of the school counsellors to help with both these issues as they are truly lovely people and want nothing more but to help you.

Hey there,

First off, choosing to stand with your culture and language as opposed to doing what everyone tells you to takes amazing courage and resilience. It’s hard to go against the norm but it may be even more difficult to give up a part of your identity which is completely understandable.

Unfortunately, Cantonese is one of the languages some people are averse to and is in particular harder to learn because of the lesser amount of resources available to students since it’s one of the less popular languages. If you need help regarding learning the language, approach one of the senior school teachers to see if they may be able to direct you to where you may receive assistance. Perhaps talk with your parents about how you’re learning Cantonese and maybe you’ll be able to find better learning environments for yourself.

Even so, what those Chinese teachers say do not change who you are or what an amazing language Cantonese is. You are strong enough to stand above their negative opinions. A good thing about this school is the large number of Cantonese speaking students. If you have any Cantonese-speaking friends (I know a surprising amount of people who do speak), you could practise speaking or get them to test you on various things.