SCHOOL LEADERSHIP MESSAGE

PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

As always it has been a busy start to the Term with a number of activities, especially for the Year 12s having taken place. As previously mentioned, this is an exciting but also stressful time for our Year 12s as they approach both celebrations and end of year assessments and final exams. On behalf of the entire school, we wish them all the very best for the end of year and their final assessments and/or exams. Although this year’s group have spent the entire year at school, in the lead up to their final year, the majority of their schooling was undertaken remotely. We know that this has not been easy for them.

Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Survey from last term

A huge thank you to everyone who completed this survey last term. We had the largest response we have had for a few years with 44 parents or carers completing this survey. Below is some initial data. I have chosen our three highest categories and our three lowest categories. As you can see, this data can provide us with excellent feedback about our strengths and areas for improvement. Once we receive the full data set (this is preliminary data), we will share the data further with our community.

Emotional regulation and how parents and carers can support their children

There is no doubt that COVID had has a significant impact on young people’s resilience and emotional regulation (Emotional regulation is the ability to respond to the ongoing demands of daily life with a range of emotions in a way which is socially appropriate whilst being flexible – i.e. responding immediately when required but being able to delay spontaneous reactions as needed, for example, outbursts.) There are many things which can be unhelpful to the developing adolescent brain when managing emotions – but the most notable are, excessive mobile phone use, vaping or ingesting any chemicals or drugs, poor diet/lack of nutrition, and poor sleep (phones and devices in bedrooms can interrupt a child’s normal sleep patterns). When students are using mobile phones to harass or bully other students, this can then impact on a range of other things in a child’s life – like their sleep, diet, and can lead them to want to use chemicals and to self-harm as a way to manage stress and/or mental illness. None of these things are healthy ways to cope with distress and generally make the situation worse.

How can parents help?

At school, mobile phones were banned from the first bell to the last bell for the reasons listed above. Teachers do not have the authority to search and check students’ behaviours on mobile devices, except if they are using these devices during the school day. We highly recommend that parents do the following:

• Ensure that students do not have mobile devices, especially phones in their bedrooms overnight
• Monitor the sites and apps their children are using – and consider using software which can limit their children’s ability to access inappropriate sites
• Put in place consequences when the school and/or other parents have informed you that your child has been using their phone to bully, harass, or intimidate another student
• Contact the school to let us know as soon as you feel there is a concern that we should be aware of
• Monitor that your child is getting enough sleep and appropriate nutrition
• Educate yourself and them about the dangers of vaping and the use of any substance which could be harmful to health.

It is common for young people to misuse social power as they learn how to manage adult relationships. Adolescents is a period of time when young people deeply desire social connections, and may seek to manipulate these, for example, by excluding one person so that their connection to another friend is stronger. As adults, we play an important role in helping them to navigate these pitfalls and to instil empathy and kindness in their behaviour towards others. In other words, just because you can do something, it doesn’t mean you should. Talking to your children about such matters can help improve their emotional literacy (their ability to understand and talk about what is happening for them emotionally). In turn this improves children’s emotional regulation.

Principal - Vaya Dauphin

Assistant Principal  -  John Wilson