Clyde North Campus News

Lunch with a difference

Last week a small group of Year 9 & 7 boys met with myself over lunch to discuss how to make lunchtimes more active and fun. They came up with a Year 9 Basketball competition for both boys and girls. The hope is that if successful, they could then run similar competitions for Years 7 & 8. The boys are set to draft a formal proposal which will be given to the Year 9 Teaching Team and the Year 9 Student Committee. The boys would like this to become an annual event for Year 9 students, therefore leaving a legacy for their peers. A great project, well done boys and let the competition begin.

Let’s Group Chat – or not! 

We know that ‘Group Chat’ can be a great way to catch up with each other with no travel time required.  Our young people are experts in WhatsApp, and Instagram Messenger just to name just a few. However, whilst these conversations can happen anywhere the growing concern is group chats are taking place with our young people all the time, day and night. Further to this is the preoccupation for our young people with FOMO (fear of missing out), which prioritises the place of group chat ahead of school, family and healthy activities. 

Group Chats can be helpful but can become a platform for bullying. Group Chats can quickly go beyond words to include screenshots which are then saved and forwarded to many others. This is when things can spiral into nasty and damaging online behaviour where one child is deliberately invited into the chat to see the nasty and hurtful comments. This leads to cyberbullying. 

Whilst Group chats mostly happen outside of school hours, schools are asked to manage the behaviours of the young people involved in the chat by parents and guardians. Remember more often than not, these chats are happening at home in the very late hours of the night. Parents and guardians need to help their children develop an intellectual muscle by teaching them the life skill of politely exiting a social situation that they feel uncomfortable in, online and off. It sounds simple, and it can be if we tackle this challenge together. 

Helping young people take control   

Leaving a group chat without warning can offend the remaining group members and become an awkward situation for this text-obsessed generation.

The key is getting young people to realise that being part of a Group Chat that is hurtful, by presence alone in the chat can be viewed as "guilty by association,". This is the virtual world’s version of being a bystander. Young people need skills and confidence to put boundaries around their friendships. It is time for our young people to reclaim the group chat as a positive, helpful and supportive platform. A platform that does not invade their every waking moment nor dictate their value and relevance as a human being.

It starts with teaching our young people how to leave the chat or chats. They need to give themselves permission to exit a chat if it is toxic, bullying or circulating damaging images and screenshots. Leave and talk to an adult. The smartest thing we as adults can do is to take charge of the amount of access our children have to their devices at night. Healthy sleep is critical to support good mental health. As a parent of teenagers, I know that restricting access to devices is incredibly difficult. So, let us start with a ‘group chat’ between parents/guardians and children together physically in one room talking and listening to each other to build our children’s intellectual muscle. 

‘10 minutes for Jesus’ provides us time for reflection during the Lenten season.

Quick messages of Appreciation

Year 7 Camp: a great adventure for all and our thanks are extended to Mr Brannan and Mrs Barratt and all staff who gave so generously of their time and energy to ensure our Year 7 students had a fabulous time on Camp.

Swimming Carnival: This fabulous event reinforced for all of us the joy and fun that is experienced when we have the opportunity to together to celebrate the House System and the talents of each other. Congratulations to Glowrey House for securing the win and to MacKillop House for winning House Spirit.

Thank you to Mr Samaranayake and his team for a first-class carnival.

I wish you all a safe and productive week.

Julie Banda

Deputy Principal - Head of Clyde North Campus