Yellow took over Inverell High School last Thursday as teachers and students were reminded of the value of a simple conversation for R U OK? Day.
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Support unit students sold colourful cupcakes to fund their end of year excursion and the school library was transformed with yellow decorations.
Rachel Downie led a series of empowerment workshops with girls throughout the week, and talked about Stymie, a website she invented to help students anonymously report bullying and harm when they are concerned about their classmates.
“The reason why I invented it is because I’ve been a teacher for a long time and one of my year nine boys killed himself. What we found out after he died was all of this really bloody important information that actually, if we had it, I think we would be able to save him,” Ms Downie explained.
“The reason they didn’t come forward with the information before he died was because they were petrified. I had to recognise that and go ‘how are we going to fix it?’”
Hundreds of schools all over Australia are registered with Stymie, and students make notifications about a wide range of concerns, including their friends’ home lives, indications of depression and self harm, and screenshots of social media bullying.
“We know Australia-wide it’s saved lives,” Ms Downie said.
Principal Penny Colley said Stymie has helped the school reach out to struggling students, and that many were unaware of the reports until approached. She said many students felt relieved that their problems were out in the open and someone could help them.
“It’s fantastic,” she said.
“Students who won’t come and talk to us face to face are happy to actually do it by online.”