"You must be cheerful and happy, animating all around you." Catherine McAuley

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL STUDENTS

The college welcomed back all students on Friday October 22, and it is exciting to have everyone back. There is a real positive energy both in classes and in the yard, and it is great to see students socialising and enjoying being with their peers and teachers again. I thank all the staff, students and parents for all your efforts and resilience through the extended lockdown period. While a few may have enjoyed the online learning experience, for the majority it was a real challenge – one which we hope that we do not have to face for extended periods in the future. We also appreciate that students may find the transition back to face-to-face learning difficult, having to again study and concentrate for extended periods of time in the classroom environment. The staff have used a ‘connect before direct’ approach when engaging the students in the classroom, allowing the students to reconnect with their peers, before focusing on the academic learning. The college is currently allowing students to eat fruit in the classroom on a trial basis. The fruit, which is complimentary, is intended to support students’ concentration and stamina.

 

While we have just returned to school, we are also moving towards the end of the academic year. Our key message is to ‘finish strong’. It has been another challenging year, but we encourage our students to finish the year with the same energy and vigour which they started the year.

 

Our Year 12 students were fortunate to return a little earlier than the other students and are currently completing their Unit 3 and 4 examinations or completing their final work requirements to obtain their VCE or VCAL certificate. We wish our Year 12 students all the best with their exams and hope their results positively reflect the effort and application they have applied to their studies this year. With restrictions continuing to ease, we also look forward to celebrating their achievements together as a community, COVID restrictions permitting.

 

STUDENT LEADERSHIP 

The 2022 Year 12 Student Leaders – Specialist and House Captains - were recently announced to the staff and students. We have great confidence that these outstanding young men and women will lead with pride and enthusiasm. We trust they will be great role models for the community and live out the college core values of Spirituality, Excellence, Compassion, Justice, Hospitality, Community and Service.

 

FAITH CAPTAIN

Georgia Phillips

Homeroom: HXA01G

Homeroom Teacher: Mrs Jodie Noblet

 

 

 

 

MERCY ACTION CAPTAIN

Skye Kempton

Homeroom: HMC01A

Homeroom Teacher: Miss Taylor-Paige Wilkie

 

 

 

 

ARTS CAPTAIN

Olivia Nichols

Homeroom: HMC01D

Homeroom Teacher: Mr Andrew Greville

 

 

 

 

SPORTS CAPTAINS

Tess Matheson

Homeroom: HXA01B

Homeroom Teacher: Miss Katelin Anderson

 

 

 

Max Cirigliano

Homeroom: HMC01A

Homeroom Teacher: Miss Taylor-Paige Wilkie

 

 

 

 

ACADEMIC CAPTAINS

Nuzhat Mannan

Homeroom: HMC01F

Homeroom Teacher: Ms Sheryl Abraham/Mrs Andrea Minter

 

 

 

Ethan Prescott

Homeroom: HPA01C

Homeroom Teacher: Mrs Sonia Opie

 

 

 

The 2022 Year 11 students attended a Leadership Seminar on Thursday October 28 organised by Mr Dion Collins. The students heard from Mrs Blythman and also had the opportunity to hear from Independent MP for Mildura, Ms Ali Cupper, and the Mayor of Mildura, Mr Jason Modica. It was a great experience for the students to listen to the experiences of external presenters who discussed their leadership journeys, but also their passion for the Sunraysia community. We encourage these students to apply for the specialist leadership positions available and wish them the best in their leadership journeys.

 

UNIFORM 

Students are required to wear the full summer uniform in Term 4, including the college hat whenever outdoors. A reminder about expectations concerning the uniform:

  • Students must be in college uniform at all times when travelling to and from school, students will change into their PE uniform at the start of practical lessons.
  • The college summer dress must be at or below the knee.
  • Hair needs to be tied back off the face with discreet hair accessories in the college colours (navy, white, red or maroon).
  • The college socks must be worn, white with purple stripes for girls and grey with purple stripes for boys.
  • Students are required to use the college bag.
  • Only one sleeper or stud is permitted in each lower ear lobe. No plastic, gemstones (coloured or clear), pearl, hoop, huggie or disc earrings. Clear plastic plugs or Band-Aid coverings are not acceptable. One chain with a religious symbol may be worn (no other visible chains, cords or necklaces). No rings, wrist adornments such as bangles/bracelets or anklets. A wristwatch is allowed.
  • Coloured nail polish/nail extensions are not to be worn.

Students are required to wear a mask whilst indoors unless an exemption applies. Masks are longer required outside but are recommended if physical distancing cannot be maintained.

 

SQUID GAME 

A number of families may have seen news recently in relation to young people injuring themselves as a result of replicating challenges based on the Netflix series Squid Game. The following blog the eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant.

 

Squid Game shows the need to check what your child is watching

Julie Inman Grant eSafety Commissioner

28/10/21

Raise your hand if you’ve recently been confronted with a message on your TV screen saying “Are you still watching?” as you wait for the fifth episode of your current favourite program to load. I can’t be the only one, surely?

 

It’s safe to say we have all been spending a lot more time online through the pandemic. So, it’s no surprise that the streaming services have been one of the main draw cards to keep us entertained through these tough times. And it’s been hard to resist a binge of a good show!

 

That may be all well-and-good for us grown-ups using streaming services, but for children and young people it is easy to accidentally - or deliberately - encounter age-inappropriate content.

 

Of course, it’s normal for children to be curious, but they may be faced with material and concepts they are not ready for. Take Squid Game, for example. There are some things which really do not translate well from the small screen to the playground…

 

Shows such as Squid Game are intended for older audiences and contain scenes with strong themes and violence not suitable for younger people. Being exposed to this kind of content both directly through the streaming service - and indirectly through social media apps, games and pop-ups - can be distressing for children and young people.

 

It may also lead to them to imitating what they see through copycat acts, and behaviour that could put them, and their peers, at risk of physical or psychological harm.

 

Whilst this can be a challenging issue to deal with, there are things you can do to prevent or minimise the potential negative impacts of exposure to age-inappropriate content.

 

ADVICE FOR PARENTS AND CARERS 

  • Check the classification of the shows your child is watching. In Australia shows classified as Mature Accompanied (MA 15+) contain strong content and are meant for people over the age of 15. For more information see: What do the ratings mean?
  • Ensure any streaming services your child is using have appropriate parental controls in place. Services such as Netflix, Stan, Foxtel Now and Amazon Prime all provide parental controls for families to ensure children do not access inappropriate material.
  • Use parental controls on other apps or online games your child is using to minimise the risk of unintentional exposure to age-inappropriate content. Our eSafety Guide can support you to do this.
  • If your child is older and wanting to watch a show classified for older audiences, watch the show yourself first. You can then have a conversation with them about the content and themes before deciding if it is suitable for them to watch.
  • Support your child to seek additional help if they are feeling distressed about content they have watched online. A range of support services are available in every state and territory.

It’s important to have conversations with your child about what they are watching online and the games and apps they are using, particularly if you become aware of something new and popular.

 

Some tips to start those conversations could include:

  • Ask open-ended questions in a non-judgemental way about encountering inappropriate content and use it as an opportunity to talk about the issues the content may bring up.
  • Reassure your child that if they encounter any content that is concerning or upsetting you will be there to support them.
  • Make sure your child knows that copying violent language and behaviours they have seen online, in videos or on TV shows is never okay. That age-old adage of ‘Just because others may be doing it doesn’t mean you have to!’ still applies.

You can find more advice and tips for helping children and young people at the parents and educators pages of our online safety hub.

 

Mr Heath McClaer

Deputy Principal Students