Term 2 is over – and that means we are half way through the Year

Term two was an eventful term – not least because we went into lockdown again and it was really tough for many of us. Despite many of us feeling anxious about what was going on in the world, we again adapted quickly and demonstrated our incredible capacity to adapt to online learning. Life is always changing, so being flexible is one of the most important life skills we can learn. Remember there are always people you can reach out to and people to support you.

Phone someone who loves you. Log on to ReachOut.org.au.

Call Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800.

Respectful Relationships - Learning For Life

We have been focusing on building respectful and positive relationships in our Learning for Life program in line with our school values of fairness & respect. Kim Wood has been coming into our Yr 7 classes to talk to students about tolerance, diversity, resilience & respectful relationships, and our Yr 7s have contributed to fantastic, and sometimes challenging, discussions with respect and maturity. Well done Yr 7s.

Ms. Halsall, our Student wellbeing coordinator, has been working with our Yr 8s in the Tuning in to Teens program that she developed with the University of Melbourne and they have been investigating emotions, wellbeing and emotional literacy. We know that being a teenager is like being on a rollercoaster, so we need to teach our students to be able to understand their emotions and how to manage them. Children who learn social and emotional skills in school develop a broader and more tolerant perception of the world around them and these skills can lead to an increase in personal wellbeing, confidence and mental health.

Our Yr 9s have been covering important areas around consent, gender and sexuality and the issue of gender, sexual assault and violence. Georgia Tziros, our Mental Health Practioner, has been working with Yr9 classes to provide excellent resources and support for our students and teachers in the classroom.

Why do we teach sexual consent to our students?

In 2021, brave voices raised the country’s consciousness about the alarming prevalence of sexual violence in Australia. The sexual assault and harassment allegations within Australia’s Parliament have highlighted that this is an issue occurring in the nation’s most powerful institutions and workplaces and in the broader community.

Over the past month, schools all across Australia have demonstrated that they are listening to the concerns of young people and are taking this issue seriously. Schools cannot, and should not, be solely responsible for teaching young people about consent and respectful relationships. Parents, and the wider community, also need to be very much involved in this process. However, schools can certainly play an important role in shifting the way that young people understand and think about sexual consent through a thoughtful and formal approach to consent education.

In working towards the prevention of sexual assault, consent education is crucial. Young people need to be equipped with information and skills that will enable them to navigate consent respectfully. The current prevalence of sexual violence experienced and perpetrated by young people is unacceptable.

Schools are uniquely placed to respond to the challenge of sexual violence among young people. While the burden of teaching young people about respectful relationships and consent does not fall to schools alone, the role of schools should not be underestimated. Providing consent education in schools has the potential to fundamentally shift attitudes and behaviours around gendered violence and we want to give our students the best opportunities to develop the skills and knowledge to make good choices in their lives and to become ethical, respectful and responsible young adults.

Colleen Hart

Year 7 and Positive Education

Coordinator

Student Voice - Letters to Mr. Moyle

Dear Mr. Moyle,

Homework should be banned because it is damaging to a student’s mental health and wellbeing, 7.1% of children aged around 3-17 {approximately 4.4 million} suffer from anxiety.

One of the main problems both students and parents have complained about is not being able to spend time with each other. Kids barely get to watch movies, go for walks, ride their bikes let alone visit other family members without having an assignment or tasks due to be completed. This makes kids feel isolated not being able to hang out with friends or family.

Ayla 7C

Dear Mr. Moyle,

I’m writing to you to in regard to us having a 4-day school week.

I believe a 4 day week would be a lot better for this reason.

I believe we would be a lot more rested so it would be easier to focus. It would also allow us to complete homework which in turn would help with hundreds of kids who suffer with stress and anxiety. This can sometimes turn into depression which can then rise the state of mental health.

Bryce 7C

Dear Mr Moyle,

I strongly believe that Epping should introduce a four - day school week from Monday to Thursday. It can be a lot of stress to put on kids to do all of their schoolwork on time and a four – day school week could be helpful.

If our school days are around 6 hours and a day is 24 hours, that means the school day takes up a quarter of our day. Add sleep to our schedule that should take up around 10 hours, that means we only have 8 hours of our day left, so school is nearly half our day! Along with homework and getting ready for school, we don’t have a lot of time to do things like going out to the park, or shopping, or hanging out with friends. So maybe we need to cut down the school week so we have more weekend time to do that because two days is NOT enough. Let’s check how many hours of the week we are missing out on. 24 times 7 is 168, that’s 168 hours in a week. 6 times 7 is 42. That’s 42 hours a week in school, which leaves us with 126 hours of the week left. Add sleep, so 7 times 10 is 70, that leaves us with 56 hours to meet up with friends, go out, focus on our health, clean up around our house, eat, organise ourselves, rest, etc. Way too many things for only 56 hours, especially if we do activities outside of school.

Jenna 7C

Dear Mr. Moyle,

I personally think Epping Secondary College (ESC) should introduce a four-day school week, considering these poor students deserve some time off school. This needs to be said because there are a number of children whose mental health have been impacted. I have two other evidential arguments about why ESC compulsively needs a four-day school week below.

First off, school gives us a colossal amount of work/homework each day so I think another day for resting would be beneficial. Furthermore, students can spend more time with their friends and families. An extra day for homework will be supplementary and could reduce students’ stress and apprehension because they may have a short holiday to be active with.

Not only that but teachers will not have to rush on planning lessons and do their homework. The less school days, the less assignments will be assigned for students to work on and teachers to plan on. If you were stressed and overwhelmed about school homework, would you like an extra day to work on them? A schoolwork that is due shortly will exhaust students to death! I know Mr. Moyle would want us to do as much work but we have 40 weeks to do work and I suppose that is enough time.

Madalin 7C

Dear Mr. Moyle,

Others agree that we should have a four-day school week BUT I disagree because I know that this will not help us with our future. My contention is that we need our five-day school week even if it’s just one more day. It’s one day every week we are missing out on our education if we have a four-day school week. Do you think we should miss out on our future, education and social community? I know that missing out on one day of school can change our habits because having a three-day weekend will make us lose focus on school because all will ever think about on a Thursday is that it’s the weekend the next day...the weeks go fast even though it might not feel like it but it is true. I didn’t even know that it was already week 6 term 2.

Don’t change our habits!

People think that having a break will help us, people think that having a three-day weekend will let us spend time with family, people think having a three-day weekend will help people in need. I agree with that but what I am trying to say is that we have made a five-day school week work for all these years, why does it have to change now? We can make it work like we have been doing. We can make timetables, have a good routine and set reminders to help us with the tough world. We have supported people all over, why should our education, future and habits change? Why does it have to change now? After everything we have been through with Covid-19, we need to keep the same routine and having a five-day school week that will help us to keep our habits the same!

Myron 7C

SRC Leadership

Environment and Sustainability Team

Well Done Martin and Kira!