Article/Tips - Workplace Focus
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Gazette Spring 2024
Mental Health Week 5th - 13th October
Talking about our mental health can feel uncomfortable yet just like we all have physical health we all have mental health too.
The way we talk about mental health, including in our workplaces matters. Often when we are experiencing struggles with our mental health our family, friends and work colleagues are the first to notice and/or who we reach out to.
Safe, respectful and healthy conversations about mental health increase the likelihood that we will seek support when we need to. It aides in decreasing stigma and encourages and empowers us to talk about our own mental health, it reminds us that we are not alone and most importantly that healing is possible.
Mental Health Week is a National mental health promotion which is held in October each year to coincide with World Mental Health Day on the 10th of October.
The Mental Health Council of Tasmania is the peak body representing the mental health and wellbeing needs of all Tasmanians and the community organisations that work and support them.
The Mental Health Council states the purpose of Mental Health Week is to engage communities to promote mental health and wellbeing, increase understanding of and reduce stigma about mental illness and its impact on people in our communities.
There is always a theme attached to the week and this year the theme is – ‘Appreciate the little things’.
These are the things that are not likely to be earth shattering, make the news headlines or change our world greatly. These are the things that are likely to occur as part of our everyday life that we may have even forgotten to notice. For example, sharing a smile and a “good morning” with a stranger, having a belly laugh with a good friend, that slice of cake your work colleague shared with you, when your child gives you an extra tight hug at school drop off.
The aim is to be intentional and to notice and appreciate the little things that bring us joy.
We are excited to be participating this year and were successful with an application to the Mental Health Council for a grant to run activities throughout our Education and Care Services/Sites.
We will also be participating within our corporate spaces both at the IC and Glenora. There will be a series of activities and opportunities for people to engage in.
You can expect further information about what our Mental Health Week activities and ways of participating are right up to, and throughout the week. Please follow the link www.mhct.org to explore both the Mental Health Council website and Mental Health Week.
Further information about mental health can be found at:
Beyond blue www.beyondblue.org.au
The Employee Assistance Program is available by contacting Relationships Australia on 1300 364 277
Should you or someone you know wish to seek mental health support a great place to start is by talking with your GP.
Phone lifeline on 13 11 14 for 24 hour for crisis and suicide prevention support.
Staff News
Staff Profiles
Name:
Service/ Program:
What is your role?:
Question 1:
Question 2:
Question 3:
Celebrating Anniversaries
Since the last Gowrie Gazette was published, we extend a very warm welcome to the following new permanent full-time, part-time and contract staff who have commenced working for Lady Gowrie Tasmania:
5 Years
Alison Dowd, Alma Bartle, Angela Sands, Chloe Bernardis, Courtney Hobbs, Emily Godfrey, Emma Marshall, Ganiek Pulford, Kate Kean, Kathleen Uren, Liliarna Springfield, Lisa Cole, Olivia Jackson , Pauline Benson, Sam Wesson, Sharo Salter, Stacey Rodgers, Terri Murphy, Tiffany Barton-Kitchin, Xinrui (Bella) Song
10 Years
Brooke Harriss, Kate Beckett, Nakita Walker,
Tracey Munday
15 Years
Naomi Reynolds, Sarah Brumby, Tanya Cowen
*NB – Anniversary letters and vouchers will be distributed to staff at the end of each quarter of the anniversary date i.e. end of March, June, September and December.
Staff Births and Marriages
Congratulations to Katie (Finance Team) and her husband on the arrival of Zoe on the 20th April1 2024.
Congratulations to Alyse (Uni South) on the arrival of Miles, who was born 7lbs11oz on 12th April 2024 at 11:50pm.
‘He loves swimming, being in the water and have just leant how to roll over.’
Congratulations to Veronica (Pedder Road) and her husband, Jimmy, who exchanged vows on 28th June, 2024.
Congratulations to Olivia McKay (Acton) who married her partner, Dominic, on the 24th August, 2024.
Staff Qualifications
Since the last Gowrie Gazette was published, we extend a congratulations to the following staff who have completed there professional development in Early Childhood Education and Care:
CHC30121 Certificate III in Early Childhood
Education and Care
Somayeh Ebrahimkhani Ghazi (Battery Point), Veronica Creeley (Pedder), Shakira Robertson (Midway Point), Liliarna Springfield (Integrated)
CHC50121 Diploma of Early Childhood
Education and Care
Erin Brooks (Norwood), Taylah Gray (Swansea), Louise Webb (Swansea), Jemma Sullivan (Wellington Street), Kylie Bailey (Uni North)
Kylie Bailey has been studying with Lady Gowrie Training and has successfully completed her Diploma in Early Childhood Education. Kylie has showndedication and perseverance over this time and her Diploma iswell-deserved. We would like to congratulate Kylie on her achievement andthe positive influence she is having on young children’s lives.
Winnie Huang has recently completed her Bachelor of Education Early Childhood through UTAS. Winnie came to the centre on placement to complete a component of her Degree and is now a permanent part time educator.
We congratulate Winnie on her success and are happy to have her as part of our team.
People and Culture News
Creating a Supportive Work Environment For Each Other
There are many ways to show you care about your work colleagues and to let them know that they are important and that you are interested in them and their lives. We do this every day in many ways. It is likely that the most common way is the one we all do every day, with little consideration and quiet automatically by asking: how are you? how was your evening? How was your weekend? how are you going? This is a normal, natural healthy interaction that we can all engage in with ease (mostly).
However, we can find it a bit more challenging and uncomfortable when we notice a colleague doesn’t seem to be their ‘normal’ self and the ‘usual’ approaches you would take to engage with them don’t seem to be working.
Beyond Blues – Be You is a fabulous National Mental Health and Wellbeing Resource tailored for the Education including Early Childhood Education and Care Sector. They suggest that having a conversation with a colleague when they don’t appear their ‘normal’ self is a perfect way of showing you care.
They suggest having a Stop, Reflect, Act Conversation as a great way of showing you care and of demonstrating a willingness to provide support.
Stop: Make time to ask the person how they are going and Pause and Listen
Reflect: If there are concerns consider timing, space, policies, and professional boundaries before acting
Act: There are many ways to act, including – acknowledging feelings and experiences, offering practical support, encouraging self-care, promoting help seeking, following up and following through.
Life presents us all with bumps along the way and should we be experiencing one of those bumps how we cope can be influenced by our environments and the people in them. Having a workplace where you feel supported and where people show they care can make a tremendous difference to how we cope and how we recover.
Not being judged or made to feel ‘bad’ for what is happening for you and knowing your colleagues care about you, feeling supported and having a compassionate workplace can make a tremendous difference at a time when its likely to be needed the most.
Creating supportive workplaces where people know and feel supported is well known to be extremely valuable in maintaining positive mental health, recovery from a period of poor mental health and to our overall health and wellbeing.
We don’t need to have the answers, to be fixing or providing solutions for colleagues, yet by adopting the Stop, Reflect and Act Conversation approach and through building a caring, compassionate and empathetic working environment we can all make a huge difference at a time when a colleague might need it the most.
When supporting others please remember the importance of looking after yourself. You and your own self-care matter.
Beyond Blue – Be You Education is a National Program that provides Educators with knowledge, tools, and resources to enable people to achieve their best possible mental health. For more information on and to access the wonderful tools and resources from the Beyond Blue Be You Program please visit: www.beyou.edu.au
Don’t forget support is available via the Lady Gowrie Tas Employee Assistance Program provided by Relationships Australia by calling 1300 364 277 to make an appointment.
Beyond Blue: www.beyondblue.org.au
Lifeline: www.lifeline.org.au
For 24-hour crisis support and suicide prevention call 131 114
1800 RESPECT: www.1800respect.org.au
Employee Engagement and Wellbeing Survey
Just wanting to take a moment to provide a very brief update on where we are at with our LGT Employee Engagement and Wellbeing Survey.
We have met with SLT and provided an overview relating to the entire organisation, the Board have been provided with an overview. We have met with each GM and provided feedback and have attended staff meetings for each Division and provided feedback.
We have collated all the feedback provided from those who participated and with close to 500 comments there was a large amount of helpful feedback provided. There is an LGT Employee Engagement and Wellbeing Survey Action Plan that is very close to being finalised and will be presented to SLT prior to being shared with all LGT Employees.
We would once again like to thank every one who participated in the survey, for sharing your thoughts and feelings and for continuing to work with us on making LGT a great place to work.
Staff News
Celebrating 85 Years
This year sees a milestone achievement for Lady Gowrie Tasmania as we celebrate 85 years of the continuous provision of quality education and care programs to Tasmanian children, families, educators and communities.
Countless people have been part of the Lady Gowrie Tasmania story and I thank everyone, past and present, for their contribution to our special story. Stay tuned over the coming days and weeks as we share photos from our 85 year celebration event and stories from the past.
To learn more about Lady Gowrie Tasmania’s long and proud history please visit:
https://gowrie-tas.com.au/…/2020/06/LG-80th-Birthday.pdf
85 years is a significant milestone to reach, and we look forward to creating many more wonderful stories in the years to come.
Educators Day
Wednesday 4th September, is Early Childhood Educators’ Day which is celebrated nationally to say thank you to educators for the vital role they play in supporting children’s wellbeing, learning and development.
Educators care for and provide safe, play-based learning environments for children so that families can work, train, study and volunteer. This vital work of educators not only lays solid foundations for children’s lifelong development and learning, but also benefits families, communities and our economy.
At Lady Gowrie Tasmania, we broaden the focus of this special day for our educators to also include everyone in our team who support our educators in their vital work with children – our ancillary, administration, corporate, project, training, inclusion and management teams.
For more information about Early Childhood Educator’s Day 2024 please follow the link below:
https://earlychildhoodeducatorsday.org.au/
Thank you for making our educators and everyone in our team feel valued tomorrow and every day!
From the Archives: Who was Lady Gowrie?
Lady Zara Eileen Hore-Ruthven was a woman ahead of her time, renowned for her work in promoting the welfare of children in Australia. She was born in County Galway, Ireland in 1879. In June 1908, she married Alexander Hore-Ruthven (First Earl of Gowrie), who in 1928 became Governor of South Australia, in 1935 became Governor of New South Wales, and in 1936 became Governor-General.
Capitalising on the influence her position afforded her, Lady Gowrie strongly advocated for the establishment of child centres across Australia during the 1930s. She did much to bring about a quick approval of the scheme and due to this inspiration and foresight, it was decided that each of the six centres would bear her name – The Lady Gowrie Child Centre.
The Commonwealth Government then built Lady Gowrie Child Centres in each Australian capital city, choosing locations close to industrialised areas in an effort to improve the issues of overcrowding, poverty and poor health outcomes for the communities’ children in the years during, and following the Second World War.
The idea of giving disadvantaged children a good start in life, while universally accepted today, was radical for its time. Lady Gowrie’s speech, given at the opening of the Lady Gowrie Child Centre in Melbourne in 1939, just after the outbreak of World War II, gives an insight into her pioneering outlook:
‘Our children are our greatest hope, and anyone doing work for children these days is doing national work and giving splendid war service. Not only must we stand by our soldiers, but we must also stand by our soldiers’ children…Every thinking person must realise that when this bitter strife is over, we must build up a better world, and it is only through the children that this can be done.’
Lady Zara Gowrie, 1939.
Lady Gowrie personally opened each of the Lady Gowrie Child Centres, including our very own Lady Gowrie Child Centre in Battery Point in July 1939. Over the years the role of Lady Gowrie Tasmania has altered, however, the focus has always remained the same – supporting the wellbeing, education and care of Tasmanian children.
To learn more about Lady Gowrie and her achievements please visit:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zara_Hore-Ruthven,_Countess_of_Gowrie
To learn more about Lady Gowrie Tasmania’s long and proud history please visit:
From the CEO
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