On September the 13th, the Year 9 girls participated in an event, which is a rite of passage in Middle School as our young women transition from Middle to Senior School. The Year 9 Girls’ Afternoon Tea provided the perfect opportunity for female students to gather with both their peers and significant women in their lives to be inspired and motivated by the story of a positive role model within the community.
This year, we had the privilege to share the afternoon with our guest speaker Ashlee Harrison, CEO and founder of zero2hero, an organisation committed to raising mental health awareness in young people and suicide prevention. Ashlee’s passion for raising awareness of mental health challenges started after she lost her stepfather to suicide in 2009. The first zero2hero event drew more than 270 guests and raised almost $40,000 for Suicide Prevention Australia. Since then, zero2hero has moved its focus to youth suicide prevention and raising awareness among both primary and high school students. Ashlee was the winner of the West Australian of the Year Youth Award in 2016.
Ashlee spoke of the benefits of developing resilience and overcoming challenges if we are to learn and grow from them. She spoke about the fact that ‘your vibe attracts your tribe’ and young people must surround themselves with like-minded people who share the same value set as they do, so that you always feel like you are being yourself, no matter what situation you find yourself in.
This afternoon was all the more enjoyable due to the efforts of the Café staff, who provided delicious bite-sized savouries and fancy cakes, which were thoroughly appreciated as well as presenting such a lovely looking room. In addition to this, we also give our thanks to Mr Frankish and Mr Deeg who helped set the room and organise Ashlee’s presentation.