From the Assistant Principals...
Mrs Reinke & Mrs Cain
St Mary's Catholic Primary School
Social Media Issues
Over the past months, we have seen several social issues rear their heads amongst our (mostly older) students. Almost all of these have been started on or influenced by a social media platform namely Snapchat and TikTok.
While it is the responsibility and decision of parents to allow or not allow children to have access to these kinds of platforms, we would like to reiterate the fact that the age restriction for these apps is 13+. Common Sense Media rates Snapchat for teens 16 and up, mainly because of the exposure to age-inappropriate content and the marketing ploys, such as quizzes, that collect data. For more information on how you can adjust settings etc to attempt to make this app safer please see:
As for TikTok, Common Sense Media recommends the app for age 15+ mainly due to the privacy issues and mature content. TikTok requires that users be at least 13 years old to use the full TikTok experience, and anyone under the age of 18 must have approval of a parent or guardian.
There are many pressures put on parents by children to allow access to these apps, and most of the time, they are harmless and fun to use as a way of communicating and sharing. It is very important that you weigh up the pros and cons of allowing access and monitor children's usage. It is also important to instil in your children a knowledge that, if anything is making them feel uncomfortable or worried, they should seek adult help to help them to deal with it. Also to remind them that what they say online is always there, even if they think they have deleted it, someone may have taken a screen shot or a screen recording and it could be there for all to see.
LOUD SHIRT DAY
This Friday we will be participating in Loud Shirt Day. This is a fundraising day to support children who are deaf or hearing impaired. Children are asked to wear a loud shirt to school with their normal sports shorts/skort and sports shoes. Fundraising is all online. Parents are asked to use this link to donate on the St Mary's page on the Loud Shirt Day site. We have set a target of $500. The children will not need to bring money to school.
We are excited to see how loud we can go.
Let's Go Loud and Donate!!!!!!!