From our Principal
Dear Parents, Students and Friends,
Our school assembly this week was an opportunity to reflect on some of the achievements this year, to acknowledge and install our new College leaders for 2024 and to say farewell to the academic year that was 2023 as we prepare with anticipation for the 2024 academic year starting this week. For many years now the Headstart program has been in operation and its value has been immense. Data sets and anecdotal reflections suggest that the benefits of a Headstart program include: greater levels of student engagement in learning for longer, greater attendance rates, reduced behaviour management issues and, for our VCE and VCE-VM students, an opportunity for preparatory holiday work to be provided in more meaningful ways.
New Beginnings – an Opportunity not a Threat
There is always going to be a level of anxiety in some that comes about with change. It might be due to being in a new class, or having a different teacher, or anticipating a greater workload or more difficult work to complete. Change, no matter how hard, is important to experience. How to cope with change is a life-skill. Everyone must learn to cope with change as it is part of our existence. Whatever the reason for a young person being anxious about a new beginning, as parents and as a school we must offer support. The best support we can be is to offer a listening ear or perhaps highlight the positives amongst the perceived negatives. One of the many outcomes from the COVID lockdown has been increased levels of anxiety and less resilient young people, especially when things seem not to go their way. As a parent myself and an educator my advice is to not step in and solve their problems (even though that is desperately what we want to do). Young people are going to experience some tough times on occasions, not get what they want or be sad that something hasn’t gone the way they wished. It is in these times that we can be support them by walking alongside them. I was reading an article recently which provided tips for building resiliency, I offer these here as support when the going gets tough:
1. Make connections - the importance of engaging and connecting with peers, including the skill of empathy and listening to others cannot be under-estimated.
2. Maintain a daily routine - sticking to a routine can be comforting to young people, especially those who crave structure in their lives.
3. Validate their feelings - in challenging times it is important to acknowledge that with your young person. Perhaps encourage them to focus on something that they can control or can act on.
4. Set Goals - breaking things down into reasonable goals and helping them to move toward them one step at a time can make a difference.
5. Nurture a positive self-view - help your young person remember ways they have successfully handled hardships in the past and help them understand that these past challenges help build the strength to handle future challenges.
6. Keep things in perspective - when your young person is facing difficult challenges, they can get caught in a rut of negative thinking about the problem which may seem insurmountable to them. Help them look at the situation in a broader context and keep a long-term perspective. Help them see that there is a future beyond the current situation and that the future can be good. An optimistic and positive outlook can enable them to see the good things in life and keep going even in the hardest times.
7. Positive interpretation of events - find positive meaning in obstacles. Help young people to normalise, rather than personalise or catastrophise, stressful events.
8. Active coping - help your young person discover ways to calm down when stressed. What helps them self soothe eg listening to music, going out for fresh air, resting, seeing friends, watching a movie.
We look forward with anticipation to what the new academic year will bring.
Installation of New Student College Leaders
I offer congratulations to all College student leaders who this week were installed as the student leaders for 2024. The list of leaders can be found below. Our leaders are charged with the responsibility of serving our community, their role is to be the best version of themselves in all they undertake. In being the best version of themselves they provide a source of inspiration to those around them. Our leaders were reminded today that it is a privilege and a significant responsibility to be the voice and to hear the voice of their community. As a student leader of St Peter’s College, they are called to be servant leaders, to serve the needs of students and the broader college and to be the role model for others to aspire to. It is a significant responsibility, and we wish these fine young people all the best for the work ahead.
Student Executive
Year 12 Retreat
Our Year 12 retreat is to occur next week. The retreat itself signals the commencement of our Year 12s final year of secondary schooling and is one of those important rites of passage. More than this, the Year 12 retreat offers one of those important points of difference between education in a Catholic school and other sectors. It offers students the opportunity to reflect on the role faith has played in their lives to date and the type of role it can into the future. Time away from the busyness of school and life and the opportunity to connect with the peers they are to travel with as they embark on their final year of schooling is incredibly valuable. My wish is that the opportunity presented here is one that provides all our Year 12s with great meaning, a time to reflect and a beginning point to establish a set of goals to guide them through the year ahead.
Finally
The season of Advent commences this weekend. It is a time of anticipation as we await the arrival of the infant Christ. May you find some time over the next four weeks to pause and to reflect on the true message of Christmas one founded on four key principles, love, hope, peace and joy.
All the best for the week ahead.
Mr Chris Black
Principal