Remembrance Day

This year Remembrance Day was commemorated on Sunday and consequently the Cranbourne Campus marked this day on Monday with a ceremony for the 100th anniversary of the end of World War 1. It is important that students are given the opportunity to reflect on the contribution and sacrifice of young men and women, most of whom were not much older than our own senior students. This was supposedly the war to end all wars. Sadly, we know that this has not been the case and there has not been a day in the past 100 years where humans have not been victims of war and violence.

Our important learnings on a day like this is to pray for peace as if it all depends upon God and work for peace as if it all depends upon us. This work for peace begins in our own hearts first of all. If we embrace peace then we will work for it in our families, amongst our friends, within in our school, in our local community, in our nation and in our world. There are real opportunities every day to practise peace as we approach others in a non-confrontational way. We can choose to be assertive rather than aggressive in conflict situations or when we feel aggrieved. We can choose to forgive and restore relationships after we have been hurt by another’s actions or words. We can choose to welcome the refugee in our school and community who are escaping war and conflict rather than treat them with suspicion and as threats. We can choose peace and love over fear.

I am grateful that our students have had the opportunity to reflect on our history and join in prayer on this important anniversary of the end of World War 1. May they realise that the time to start building peace is now. The place to start building peace is here.

Lest we forget – the sacrifices of the past.

Lest we forget – peace begins with us.

Primary School Visits

Our Pastoral Care Leader, Miss Fiona McKenna took a number of Year 7 students out on visits to some of our feeder primary school over the last fortnight. The goal is to assist many of the current Grade 6 students to make a smooth transition into Year 7 at St. Peter’s College next year. The Year 7's talk about what a day is like in the life of a student at the Cranbourne Campus. They focus on what is new and different to their current school and assure the other students that all of them can not only step into the new school but thrive. The process is also a good opportunity for our Year 7 students to build their leadership and public speaking skills.

Thanks to the following students who over three separate days spoke about their own transition experience and what St Peter’s has to offer: Marc Asirot, Allen Bobby, Kyar Javier, Lewis Parker, Olivia Russo, Rakeah Shabani, Audrey Smith, Talia Unsworth and Ryan Warakagoda.

The 8 primary schools we visited were: St Agatha’s Primary School, St Therese’s, Cranbourne West, Cranbourne South, Lynbrook, Lyndhurst, Rangebank and Barton.

Valedictory Photos

A number of Year 12 students and their parents have been keen to know how to access photos of the wonderful final day of school for our Year 12 students. The assembly, mass and Valedictory Dinner were all significant celebrations and will want to be remembered. A shared Google Document has now been created and the link emailed to the students. On request they will be granted access to this document and be able to copy any photos

Visiting Students during School Hours

With the recent building of fast food outlets near the Cranbourne Campus, we are noting that there is an increase in attempts for students to either leave the College grounds or encourage delivery of this type of food. At St. Peter’s College we have a commitment to encourage healthy eating in addition to our contractual obligations to the school canteen operators. I have therefore reminded students that fast food deliveries during school hours is not permitted unless organised by staff members as a treat. Furthermore, it is in breach of our Child Safety Standards for students to attempt to meet visitors in car parks or at the fence lines to receive anything. Car parks and fence lines are out of bounds for this express purpose and students breaching these rules will receive after school detentions.

Parents and family member are asked to support these rules and not attempt to deliver fast food or anything directly to our students during school hours. If a student has forgotten their lunch or if something needs to be delivered to a student, then the appropriate course of action is to bring it to the front office. Our office staff will ensure that your child receives the item(s) to be delivered and we can ensure the safety of all our students. Thank you for your assistance in this matter.

Traffic Management on the Campus

I would ask parents entering the College grounds, particularly of an afternoon to pick up students, not to double park. This frequently can block parked cars from exiting the car park. As a two campus school, we rely on staff being able to leave under tight timelines to travel to the other campus for teaching commitments or meetings. This impacts on your child’s education. If the front car park is full, then parents and family members are asked to park outside the College to collect students. If parents do not self-manage this issue, then part of the traffic management solution may involve closing gates, boom gates or automatic gates that will restrict vehicular access to the College. Furthermore, if a staff member requests that you move your car so that they can exit or enter the car park, I would ask that you respectfully comply. It is unacceptable for staff to be treated disrespectfully in the course of simply trying to do their job. We seek your co-operation for the safe and smooth management of our workplace.

Keeping Safe Online

From time to time, students have a particularly nasty experience online and parents will often ask me what resources are available to our students and indeed to them as parents. While we periodically educate our students about safe use of the internet and the dangers of cyber bullying, it is important to provide parents with reliable resources to help you in your role. This newsletter will periodically point you in the direction of some useful tips to support your child’s wellbeing

The following website explains the benefits and risks of social networking sites and how you can support your child to stay safe online.

Raising Children

The key points for teenagers are:

Social media is vital to teenagers’ and children’s social and creative lives. It has many benefits but also some risks.
Talking about social media use with your child is the best way to help your child avoid risks and stay safe online.
Written guidelines about social media use can help your child learn to use social media responsibly, respectfully and safely.
Banning or blocking social media access usually doesn’t work.

Please have a look at this website for further guidance.

Mr David Hansen

Deputy Principal - West Campus

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