Assistant Principal's
Report
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
— Aristotle
As we begin this new term, I encourage everyone to be mindful of the opportunities that are available to build on our academic achievements and work towards our Semester Two goals. Earlier in Semester Two our girls were asked to set specific goals for the semester. As we enter Term 4 it is an ideal time for our girls to prioritise their goals and to stay motivated to achieve them. The following points will assist in ensuring that the semester goals are realised:
- Monitoring progress
- Seeking support from teachers and peers
- Staying healthy and maintaining a healthy lifestyle
- Remaining persistent
Uniform:
I would like to remind the community of the College’s uniform expectations. Students should remember that they are ambassadors for Brigidine and so by wearing the uniform correctly and neatly, they show pride in our school. The school uniform is also a sign of belonging to the College and the appropriate items are to be worn as required.
One specific issue worth highlighting is the use of the incorrect school bag in our school environment. Girls will be issued demerits for bringing incorrect bags to school.
Social Media Minimum Age
The Australian Government is taking world-leading action to reduce online harms experienced by young Australians by introducing a minimum age to access social media.
From 10 December (Wednesday of Week 9), the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024 comes into effect. This legislation places restrictions on individuals under 16 years from creating/using/keeping a social media account (such as TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, X, Facebook and YouTube, amongst others that may be added). To stay across the updates, you can access the e-safety commission here. The new law will require social media platforms to take reasonable steps to prevent Australians under 16 from having a social media account, and deactivate or freeze existing accounts held by people under 16.
Delaying access to social media accounts until the age of 16 will protect young Australians at a critical stage of their development, giving them three more years to build real world connections and online resilience.
This change will reduce access for young people to some of the harmful aspects of social media, such as algorithms that recommend content, infinite scrolling, and other features designed to keep users continuously engaged.
It won’t stop young people from staying in touch with friends online, playing games, learning new things, and being entertained. In fact, they will still be able to access messaging apps, online gaming, professional networking and development services, and services that are primarily for the purposes of education and health support.
This delay to social media will give young Australians more time to develop real world connections and digital literacy skills before they join global platforms.
More information can be found here. A list of webinars for parents/carers and educators can be found here.
Current and Upcoming Dates:
- Week 4 - Year 10 Assessment Block
- Week 5 - Year 9 Assessment Block
- Tuesday 18 Nov - Year 8 TAS Excursion
- Friday 21 November - Archbishop’s Student Leadership Forum
- Tuesday 25 November - College Swimming Carnival
- Friday 28 November - End of Year Showcase
- Friday 28 November to Wednesday 3 November - ACYF Melbourne
- Wednesday 3 December to Friday 5 December - Bronze Duke of Ed Camp
- Thursday 4 December to Friday 5 December - Year 9 Somerset Camp
- Friday 12 December - Presentation Day
- Monday 15 December - Community Day
Julie Norman
Assistant Principal