Life Matters.

The SMG Life Matters team present creative, thought-provoking and educational seminars and workshops to students across South Australia. Our school seminars and workshops create a safe and inclusive space for young people to discover their story and are all linked to the Australian Curriculum. We invite students to think about the choices they make and the impact they can have on their friends, school, community and world.

shows and seminars.

Most of the SMG Life Matters presentations are aligned to Australian Curriculum v9 Content.

Christmas Matters 2024

Limited  Season - Book Now!

Christmas is an exciting time of the year and many of us have a favourite part of the celebration. For some of us, it might be seeing family that we haven’t seen in a long time, for some the food, for some of us it is the excitement of giving or receiving gifts.

Sometimes we might open a gift and feel a bit disappointed. It wasn’t what we’d hoped for. It wasn’t what we wanted. We really don’t like it and we wish we’d gotten something else. On the very first Christmas, over 2,000 years ago, a gift was given to all the people of the earth. Some thought the gift wasn’t important or special. It wasn’t what they wanted, but it was just what they needed. It was a gift that is probably the most important and special gift ever to be given. It truly was Treasure.

This Christmas season we want to challenge young people all over South Australia to not only remember Christmas and the story that started it all, but also see how we can be ‘treasure’, to family, friends, schoolmates, and themselves.

This interactive presentation offers an educational perspective on Christianity and the foundational story of Christmas. It is shared in a non-judgemental and sensitive way, created for a diverse audience.

Dates: 11th November – 12th December 2024
Running Time: 50 mins
Group Size: up to 250 per session
Age Groups: F-6 or F-2 and 3-6
Key Learnings: Christian Education / Diversity in Religious Belief / Positive Impact / Positive Mental Health / Character Strengths

Health Matters (Alcohol)

Alcohol is the most widely used drug in Australia. Research confirms that drinking alcohol truly is entrenched in almost every part of our lives in Australia. Drinking is seen as a way to relax, a way to connect with people, a way to celebrate our achievements, and a way to enjoy life. But alcohol can cause harm to the person who drinks and sometimes to others around them. Alcohol affects your whole body – how you think, how you feel and how you behave. Drinking too much alcohol can affect your health and disrupt your life.

Through story, discussion, videos, and activities, we aim to assist your students to build resilience, make informed decisions and to take personal responsibility for their own health in relation to alcohol. We explore Australia’s alcohol culture, the impact of alcohol on the body – especially the teen brain, Standard Drinks, BAC, guidelines for alcohol consumption, how to keep you and your mates safe, blacking out vs passing out, alcohol and energy drinks and the impact of drink driving.


Age Group:
Secondary School Year 9 – 12
Running Time: 150 mins (divided into two 1-hour sessions plus a 15-30 min break)
Price:
From $570
Topics include: Drug Education/ Alcohol / Safety / Physical Health

Legacy Matters

Each student has a different mindset going into their final years of high school. For some the possibilities are endless; these possibilities fuel and form dreams of a life that is just waiting to be grasped. For others, possibilities are not so much endless but signify the end, with hopes of just getting the year over and done with. And still others, the thought of finishing high school might seem an impossible task. We challenge students to think about what they want to get out of their final years of school, and inspire them to dream big, by offering relevant, practical advice.

Age Group
: High School Year 11-12
Running Time: 90 mins
Price: From $570
Topics include: Study Habits / Personality Types / Procrastination / Stress / Motivation / Balancing Study and Social Life

Transition Matters

The Transition from primary school to high school is one that fills students with excitement, anticipation, anxiety, and for some, even terror. The fears and worries students have about this change range from, increased workload, new teachers, making friends, meeting new people, and getting lost. All valid concerns, but this workshop aims to build resilience in the face of new challenges. The three major themes are: Change, Challenge, Choice.   

Age Group
: Year 6
Running Time: 90 mins
Price: From $570
Topics include: Understanding and coping with change / Resilience in challenges / Making positive choices / Growth Mindset

Friendship Matters

How we get along with others is an important part of school and life. Having good friends is a fun part of growing up but we also know that sometimes things happen in friendships that cause us to feel sad, hurt, and lonely. Through story, discussion, activities, and videos, we encourage young people to reflect on how to be a good friend, how to get along with others, how to fix things when you make a mistake in your friendships and why forgiveness is super important. We aim to help them understand that friendship really does matter.

Age Group:
Primary School Year 3–6
Running Time: 75 mins
Price: From $570
Topics include: Friendships / Forgiveness / Conflict Resolution / Relationships / Getting along

Nobility Matters

The world needs men whose actions are fuelled by a confidence in their identity, who understand emotions and have freedom to express their feelings. The world needs men who are gentle and strong, compassionate and brave, respectful and bold. The world needs men who are captured by the responsibility to help and serve others.

Age Group
: High School Year 9-10
Running Time: 90 mins
Price: From $570
Topics include: Gender stereotypes / Understanding emotions / Mental health / Relationships / Responsibilities / Role models

Safety Matters

We all want our students to be safe, know how to keep themselves safe and know who the safe people are in their lives. Through story, discussion, activities, and videos, and based on the Keeping Safe : Child Protection Curriculum, we explore how to identify safe and unsafe feelings, how to understand our bodies warning signs, how to create a safe network of trusted adults and the difference between safe/unsafe touching and secrets.
This show also features our Kimochis character, Bug!

Age Group: Primary School Year R-2
Running Time: 50-60 mins
Price: From $570
Topics include: Protective Behaviours / Safe Networks / Trust / Being Brave / Relationships / Respect

Flourishing Matters

This workshop is Part 1 of our 2-part series addressing mental health challenges that young people are facing in South Australia. It focuses on an age-old concept of what is known around the world, as The Heroes Journey. As we take students on a practical trip through The Heroes Journey, they’ll discover that the journey itself is all about helping us move from “languishing” to “flourishing”, helping us to move from just “surviving” to ultimately, “thriving”!
Through story, discussion, videos, and activities, we aim to assist students to build resilience, increase their ability to enhance their mental health and ultimately equip them with ideas, concepts, and strategies to flourish in life.

Flourishing Matters can be delivered as a stand-alone workshop or combined with the Wellbeing Matters workshop.

Age Group:
Secondary School Year 9 – 12
Running Time: 150 mins (divided into two 1-hour sessions plus a 15-30 min break)
Price: From $570
Topics include:
Mental Health / Resilience / Coping strategies / Overcoming challenges

Safety Matters (Online)

We all want our students to be safe, know how to keep themselves safe and know who the safe people are in their lives. How we interact with one another in the online world can be risky as well as rewarding. We aim is to raise awareness about potential risks and equip upper primary and lower secondary students to navigate the online world in a wise and discerning manner to keep themselves and their mates safe. We address concepts such as our digital reputation, online safety, online gaming and the impact of social media on our mental health.

Through story, discussion, activities, and videos, and based on the new, updated Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum (5-6, 7-8), we equip students with ideas, tips and strategies, backed up by evidence-based research, to keep themselves and their mates safe online.

Age Group: Upper Primary / Lower Secondary Year 5 - 8
Running Time:
75 mins
Price: From $570
Topics include: Protective Behaviours / Online Safety / Digital Reputation / Relationships

Identity Matters

We live in a world where we are constantly bombarded with thousands of images. These images communicate something to us, about who we are expected to be – our value, our worth, our identity. Through story, discussion, activities, and videos, we look at our culture, critique it, and see if the messages we hear are helpful or harmful. We take the opportunity to get honest and talk real about body image, worth and value and consider how our individual perspective plays a role in how we view our identity.

Age Group:
High School Year 7–12
Running Time: 75 mins
Price: From $570
Topics include: Identity / Body Image / Worth / Value / Relationships / Mental Health

Reputation Matters

How we interact with one another in the online world impacts our reputation. Through story, discussion, activities, and videos, we aim is to raise awareness about potential risks and equip secondary students to navigate the online world in a wise and discerning manner to keep themselves and their mates safe. We address concepts such as our digital reputation, online safety, sending nudes and the impact of social media on our mental health. Our message is that your reputation really does matter – both in the physical world and the online world, and that discernment and wisdom are your biggest weapons in the online world.

Age Group:
High School Year 7–12
Running Time: 90 mins
Price: From $570
Topics include: Digital Reputation / Social Media / Online Safety / Sexting / Relationships / Mental Health

Diversity Matters

We live in a diverse world where people identify themselves with a variety of different faiths, cultures, ethnicities, genders and sexualities. So, how do we have respectful conversations with people who are “different” to us? Through story, discussion, video and games we explore with students how to recognise diversity and developing respect, how to interact and empathise with others and how to reflect on intercultural/diverse experiences and how to take responsibility for our choices.

Age Group
: High School Year 7–12
Running Time: 90 mins
Price: From $570
Topics include: Identity / Diversity / Respect / Compassion / Relationships / Empathy

Dignity Matters

The world needs women who are empowered to fulfil their potential, and who can use their spark to make an impact. The world needs women who are confident and brave, vulnerable and strong, empathetic and bold. The world needs women who aren’t afraid to fail, who love and care for themselves and who foster healthy relationships, who lead and serve with passion and creativity.

Age Group
: High School Year 9-10
Running Time: 90 mins
Price: From $570
Topics include: Gender stereotypes / Leadership / Mental health / Relationships / Body image / Purpose

Respect Matters

Approximately one in four Year 4 to Year 9 Australian students (27%) reported being bullied every few weeks or more often. In 85% of bullying interactions, peers are present as onlookers, and play a central role in the bullying process. 32% of Year 5s and 29% of Year 8s reported frequent school bullying (bullyingnowway.gov.au). Through story, discussion, videos, and activities, we aim to assist your students to build resilience, understand the impacts of bullying and to grasp the Golden Rule of treating others how we would like to be treated. We explore how to support others experiencing bullying and how kindness and respect are the key values in creating a safe space for all students in a school community.
Age Group: Primary School Year 3–6
Running Time: 75 mins
Price: From $570
Topics include: Bullying / Bystanders / Respect / Resilience

Wellbeing Matters

This workshop is Part 2 of our 2-part series addressing mental health challenges that young people are facing in South Australia. It is designed to help students enhance and maintain resilience and psychological wellbeing by building their social and emotional skills.

Research shows that young people who possess sound social and emotional skills are generally better able to cope with the stressors of daily life, tend to have better relationships with parents, teachers, and peers, and often perform better academically. Importantly, it has also been shown that having these skills makes it less likely that a young person will experience significant mental health problems in the future.

Through story, discussion, videos, and activities, we aim to assist students to build resilience, increase their ability to enhance their mental health and ultimately equip them with ideas, concepts, and strategies to flourish in life.

Wellbeing Matters can be delivered as a stand-alone workshop or combined with the Flourishing Matters workshop.

Age Group:
Secondary School Year 9 – 12
Running Time: 150 mins (divided into two 1-hour sessions plus a 15-30 min break)
Price: From $570
Topics include:
Mental Health / Resilience / Coping strategies / Overcoming challenges

Heart Matters

Loss and grief are something that we all go through in our lives. Be it moving homes, moving schools, a family separation, the loss of a pet or the death of a loved one, we all, at some stage, manage navigating through some, or all, of these changes. While it may not be easy to get through these tough times, there are some tips and ideas that can help us cope with the changes and grow through the changes. Aimed at upper primary, this show aims to help students gain some understanding on how to cope with change, worry, grief and loss, family separation, the loss of a pet and the loss of a loved one. Through story, discussion and videos, we share some ideas on how to cope with these big changes including finding reasons to still be thankful in our lives.

Age Group:
Primary School Year 4 – 6
Running Time: 75 mins
Price:
From $570
Topics include: Managing change/ Loss and Grief / Family separation / Resilience

Failure Matters

Failure is something that most of us try to avoid at all costs. But what if we challenged students to see that failure can be one of the most valuable experiences in life? In this seminar, we discuss the importance of failure and how to turn it into a valuable lesson.
Failure is inevitable, it’s a learning opportunity and it builds resilience and grit. Fear of failure can hold us back from taking risks and reaching our full potential. It’s important to recognize this fear and find ways to overcome it.

Through story, discussion, videos, and activities, we aim to assist students to build resilience, increase their ability to enhance their mental health and ultimately equip them with ideas, concepts, and strategies to embrace and overcome failures in their life.

Age Group: Secondary School Year 7 - 12
Running Time: 90 mins
Price: From $570
Topics include: Dealing with failure / Grit / Resilience / Relationships / Mental Health

Consent Matters

Consent is a crucial aspect of respectful and healthy relationships. This seminar is designed to help secondary students develop skills to navigate shared decisions in a way that is consistently fair and respectful. Through story, discussion, activities, and videos, we encourage young people to put in place some positive steps in their life. This seminar explores consent in two key areas - Image sharing/image-based abuse as well as the act of willingly agreeing to engage in sexual activity with another person.

Age Group:
High School Year 7–12 Running Time: 90 mins
Price: From $570
Topics include: Image-based abuse / Sexual consent / Relationships / Impact of pornography on consent / Where to get help

Love Matters

The average age of first pornographic exposure is getting younger and younger. This seminar is designed to challenge secondary students to grasp the incredibly devastating impact that pornography is having on our world. Through story, discussion, activities, and videos, we encourage young people to reflect on the impact pornography is having in our world, develop skills to navigate their way through a world saturated by pornography and encourage them to understand that love really does matter!

Age Group:
 High School Year 7–12
Running Time: 90 mins
Price: From $570
Topics include: Pornography / Consent / Impact on the Brain / Relationships / Responsibilities / Impact on society / Where to get help

Health Matters (Vaping)

E-Cigarette use, or vaping, is an emerging drug issue amongst young people all over Australia, including here in South Australia. Through story, discussion, videos, and activities, we aim to assist your students to build resilience, make informed decisions and to take personal responsibility for their own health in relation to vaping. We explore what is in a vape, how vaping can affect them, how vapes are marketed and how to keep them self and their mates safe.

Age Group
: High School Year 7–12
Running Time: 75-80 mins
Price: From $570
Topics include: Drug Education/ Vaping / Safety / Physical Health

Emotions Matters

How to recognise and manage our emotions is an important part of life. We all feel emotions everyday of our lives. A common question that people ask each other is “How are you feeling?”. Through story, discussion, video and activities, we explore how to recognise our emotions, how different emotions make us feel, why we sometimes “lose control” and how we can better manage our emotions. Using the latest research, we aim to equip students to understand their emotions better within themselves and how to regulate them because we believe, emotions matter!

Age Group:
Primary School Year 3-6
Running Time: 60-70 mins
Price: From $570
Topics include: Emotion Recognition / Emotion Regulation / Relationships / Mental Health



Easter Matters (Seasonal)

Our Life Matters Easter show is an engaging retelling of the biblical story of Jesus' death, and resurrection offering an educational perspective on Christianity and the foundational story of Easter. It is shared in a non-judgmental and sensitive way, created for a diverse audience.

A fresh show each year means a new show is still in development, but you can pre-book your Easter show at any time of the year through our booking enquiry form.