Tractor tyres have their uses but Year 10 Whangārei Boys' High School social studies students spent yesterday flipping these dead weights in a bid to raise awareness for mental health services for young people.
This week marks Mental Health Awareness Week and Whangārei Boys' High School (WBHS) social studies teacher Jay Warren partnered with I AM HOPE for the 'Flipping our way through the day' project.
"Year 10 social studies students always do a social action. In the past, we have raised funds for Beyond Water – a non-profit that builds toilets in Kenyan schools. This year we recognised that there will be a need to localise our efforts and, also that there will be people doing it tough in our immediate school community and wider community of Whangarei and Northland.
"We wanted to raise awareness, during mental health awareness week, for an organisation that provides free counselling services for young people I AM HOPE. Many of the boys wanted to make the connection between physical and mental challenges - when someone is struggling mentally, it can feel physically exhausting - and thus 'flipping our way through the day' was born."
Three classes of 85 boys each had a role to play in bringing together the carnival-type event which largely comprised working together in reaching goals flipping huge tyres relay-style.
"The tyre is a symbol for depression," explained Warren. "A big, dirty, dark dead weight one has to drag around with them. Some of the boys have to carry that weight around with them all day at school - hence 'flipping our way through the day', and it feels impossible but, with support, anything is achievable."
Keegan Townsend did just that, stepping in from his role in health and wellbeing (in charge of food and water) to lend a hand to classmates Jack Barton-Smith and Hamish Clinch who were nearing exhaustion flipping a tyre together.
"I just wanted to support them and help them reach their goal of 1000 flips," he said.
"We've been learning about when people are getting tired and we can see that they are struggling, to step in and help them and that's what Keegan did," said Jack, adding that they had enjoyed the day.
Hamish said a highlight of the day had been the teamwork and completing the challenge, Keegan said 'courage', and all three said they would sleep well that night.
Confirmed Warren: "There are some pretty shattered and sore young men but they reached their targets well before we anticipated."
Throughout the tyre flipping, there was music, spot prize giveaways, a sausage sizzle and other games.
The day finished with a relay-style challenge between the first XV school rugby team and teachers, with the younger squad winning by a mile amid much raucous cheering from fellow students who descended on the scene.
Year 10 social studies has a unit where students are required to individually participate in a social action and critically analyse and explain their involvement. As well as a month's weight training and practising flip technique in the lead-up, Warren said they had been taking part in some 'very honest and open conversations' around the topic of mental health and what it means.
"We have looked at identifying body language/emotive states, such as what does emotional exhaustion look like. How can you, as an individual, support someone displaying said body language. We have looked at what the causes of major stress in young people could be and refined that to discuss what this looks like in a 'Covid–climate'.
"Everyone talked about how (the Covid fall-out) was going to have an impact on young people and their wellbeing – we decided that we would not just talk about it, but be about it and how this weight is transferred to our young people. When there are difficulties in the adult world, young people absorb that, as much as we want to shield them from it, we can't. They pick up more than we realise, and often this is a weight that is too much for one person to carry on their own.
"Understanding the anxiety and uncertainty and how that is presented has been really important."
Warren said he has, in turn, been learning from the boys.
"I learned a lot about the boys. Knowing when they are taxed and delicately scaling back expectations around deadlines and work output. They have been very honest and candid about how depression, anxiety and mental fatigue presents itself in their life and in how they 'are'."
Warren was delighted by the community support contributing shirts, food, publicity and, of course, the tyres. He said, while the event was to raise awareness, any money raised was a positive by-product. Donations can be made to the Givealittle page or people can text the keyword 'flip' to 2256 to make an automatic $3 donation to I AM HOPE.
"This has been a very thought-provoking and enlightening journey and we were all really pumped to get into this mahi. The boys have jumped in feet first and really taken hold of the concept, the message. There is, and has been from day one, a genuine desire to make a difference and do something that matters.
"We wanted to let the community know that when they are struggling mentally, they are not alone. Their brothers, teammates, classmates, teachers and community are there for them, we are behind them and will travel that road alongside them."
