Our New Wellbeing Services Structure

A Wellbeing Services Team has been designed to ensure students’ overall wellbeing is catered for in a wrap-around collaborative model of care.

The team is made up of a wellness consultant with experience in psychotherapy, two school counsellors, one of whom is experienced in clinical psychology, a Nurse Practice Manager who is a nurse prescriber, and two other nurses with experience in school nursing.

St Peter’s is grateful to the Trust Board for their support in increasing resourcing to enable us to offer a highly improved model of care to our students.

Director of Wellbeing
Dr. Micheal Brown

Micheal has worked in health and education for 20 years. He has a Bachelor of Consumer and Applied Sciences, a Masters of Indigenous Studies, and a Doctorate of Philosophy. In 2006 he was awarded the University of Waikato Doctoral Scholarship.
He has significant experience working with families who have a diverse range of needs and has a proven track record in working with youth and their wellbeing. He has led a range of health sector clinical and non-cinical projects across many district health boards and school-based health clinics.
Micheal will lead the newly developed Wellbeing Services Team.

Wellness Consultant
Stefanie Williamson

Stefanie has vast experience in counselling and social work. Since 2012 she has been providing one on one therapy sessions involving aspects of psychotherapy, mindfulness, cognitive behavioral therapy, internal family systems and interactive drawing therapy.

Stefanie has provided education in a classroom setting and has trained staff in numerous workshops, including delivering strategies that assist with anxiety, stress and burnout.

In her role as Wellness Consultant, Stefanie will assist in leading St Peter’s through a shift to capacity building and empowerment with a positive education and growth mindset approach. She will work collaboratively with students, contribute to the ongoing development of the wellbeing curriculum, and provide advice and guidance to staff and families.

Nurse Practice Manager
Karen Jones

Karen is joining us to develop, lead and manage a Health Centre Service to be effective and efficient in supporting student wellbeing. She has experience in long-term condition management and has worked with patients to improve their health and knowledge. She has also supported recently qualified nurses, mentoring them while they undertake prescribing pathways.

Karen completed her Diploma in Nursing in 1992 but has gained numerous other qualifications since then, including Nurse Prescriber in Primary Health Care in 2016.

She will be responsible for leading the implementation of the wellbeing model within the nursing team, use holistic assessment and diagnostics to form sound professional judgements, update the school procedures and policies to align with best practice, and support matrons in the health and wellbeing care of students.

School Counsellors

Two school counsellors have been appointed and will provide an effective and collaborative counselling service for students, contribute to the wellbeing curriculum and coordinate students in wellbeing activities. They will also lead and facilitate workshops in communication and social skills, problem solving, self-regulation, self-determination, and optimism to promote wellness and resilience.

Dominique du Plessis

Dominique has a clinical psychology background and has been working in the Child Development Centre in the Waikato District Health Board since 2014. She has experience in the education sector supporting and mentoring teachers and has collaborated with external agencies such as schools, the Ministry of Education, and various mental health services.

Anna Hill

Anna has been with us at St Peter’s since February 2017, providing ongoing individual counselling for students who are experiencing a variety of emotional issues. She liaises with teachers, parents and external agencies. Prior to working at the school, Anna worked as the Outreach Coordinator for Autism New Zealand in the Waikato branch. During this time she worked with teachers and other professionals in behavior management and professional development. Anna holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Clinical Psychology and Master of Social Sciences.

School Nurses

Two of our current school nurses, Jo Wright and Bridget Underwood, are staying with us as part of the Wellbeing Services Team. They will pursue all possible avenues to ensure each student has an optimum health status – physical, mental and social. They will handle emergencies and day-to-say enquiries, make referrals, and provide professional assistance to students and staff.

Jo Wright

Jo joined St Peter’s in April this year. She is a registered nurse with over 20 years’ experience at Starship Hospital in paediatrics and school nurse rolls. Jo has previously managed a school’s health care centre, focusing on enhancing the ability of young people to manage their own health and wellbeing, and educating them in accessing health services. She provides a personal holistic approach when caring for young people and their families.

Bridgit Underwood

Bridgit also joined us in April 2018. She is a registered nurse with a clinical background in Primary Health Care working as a Practice Nurse. She provides safe and effective nursing care by keeping up to date with current best practice research and developing her skills. In the past she has mentored and supervised new nursing staff, as well as contributed to meeting Practice Targets. Bridgit forms positive relationships with students and staff.

Wellbeing Curriculum Writer
Jessica Patrick

Jessica is a trained PE and Health teacher and has recently been the Assistant Head of Faculty in PE and Wellbeing at St Peter’s. As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, she was instrumental in bringing wellbeing to the forefront following the 2017 Pastoral Care Review. She led the initial roll out of the wellbeing curriculum into learning groups at the start of 2018 before going on maternity leave.

In her role as Wellbeing Curriculum Writer, Jessica will be preparing the resources to support teaching and learning in Learning Groups during 2019.

These people will work alongside our Deans, Director of Boarding Jed Rowlands, and our Chaplain Michael Bennett. This will make up the collaborative model of care.