Year 5 and 6 teacher Matthew Saunders brought the idea from a previous school he had worked at and got other male staff members Travis Johnson, Matthew Saunders, Kyle Armstrong, Ben Homefield, Mitchell Hewes, Josh Molluso, Jye Warren, Mark Van Poeteren and Jeff Millard to participate.
So far, the group has raised $500 since the start of November towards The Movember Foundation, with their goal currently set at $1000.
“I thought it would be a nice way to bring everyone together here, and we had many guys jump on board really quick,” Mr Saunders said.
“Everyone thought it was a great idea, and all of our male staff are involved so that is pretty cool.
“I set $1000 as a total to begin with, and we are already at $500 and it's super early, so we will reassess that, it’ll be good to raise twice as much, but we’ll see how we go.”
The school will hold a breakfast barbecue at the end of November at one of the school assemblies to discuss how much the group has raised and start the conversation around men’s mental health.
Mr Saunders emphasised that the group wants the students of Echuca East Primary School to be involved in the process and to teach them the importance of looking out for each other.
“We did a quick speech at school assembly with all the kids, so we want to get them involved in one way or another because they’ll be asking questions when they see all the guys with moustaches,” he said.
“The initiative is around men’s mental health, but it is also vital for our kids to understand that we all need to be looking after each other and that self-care is critical.
“I think in one way or another, everyone has been touched by that idea of struggles with mental health before, so everybody has a connection to it and has perhaps struggled with it in the past, so it’s good for everyone to be thinking about.”
If you would like to donate to the Echuca East Primary School Movember cause, visit https://au.movember.com/team/2473474
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