In an Enlighten Education workshop on Wednesday students were encouraged to discuss issues such as friendship, fashion and personal achievement.

Religious education co-ordinator Janice Drew said she invited Enlighten Education Victoria program director Sonia Lyne to come to the school as a positive, enthusiastic role model.

Mrs Lyne spent a day with the students in a series of workshops to empower and encourage different ways of thinking and behaving.

She said the workshops aim to “build self-esteem and teach them to deconstruct the media and ignite the flame within them so they can start becoming more critically aware”.

Mrs Lyne uses her background in fashion design and teaching to help students be critical of current fashions and learn to foster their own individual styles.

“I have had quite an enormous journey and I wanted to go back into teaching and share what I have learned with girls,” she said.

“Girls are saturated with an endless amount of advertising, marketing and products and they are feeling overwhelmed. I want to ensure that they are able to deconstruct that.”

Mrs Lyne grew up in Wagga before teaching and working in the fashion industry in the UK and Australia before joining the Enlighten Education team in Melbourne.