Principal's Report

Dear St John's Community,

In recent newsletters, you will notice that I have spent a good bit of time talking about what is currently emerging in research across the world as a leading cause of the mental health distress and anxiety we are seeing in young people. Some of the following may be shocking for some to even consider and is not meant to frighten or persuade but simply to inform everyone about what is happening so we can make more informed decisions about what our children do online and how they are given access to online content.

Recently, had the benefit of listening to Dr Jonathan Haidt (social psychologist) give a talk about the volumes of latest research on this topic and his current work with American and UK lawmakers around the use of technology, the internet and social media in children under the age of 16.

In the data emerging from the research, there is now an undeniable volume of evidence that in the years of 2012-2015 when smartphones became readily available, depression, anxiety and sadly, youth suicides doubled in average for boys and was even higher in girls. Which is simply a horrific thing to consider.

Dr Haidt outlined that the biggest reason this occurred was because now children had the world in their pocket and anyone in the world could contact them at any time they wanted.

In his talk, he outlined how boys are 'usually' psychologically drawn to war and sex. At home, these things can be controlled and guided by parents and relatives and social connections to support healthy habits and processes to develop healthy relationships with others. Online however, they are exposed to far more than is appropriate. Each time they engage in either a 'war' game or a 'sexual' activity i.e. pornography, they receive a dopamine hit in the brain. However, repeated exposure means they have higher lows when that dopamine withdraws and so they seek opportunities for longer or more physical, violent encounters in order to get the same hit of dopamine. It also means they are not learning proper social etiquette, how to develop positive relationships with boundaries and potentially, with prolonged exposure they may never be able to have a positive meaningful let alone a respectful physical relationship with others.

While boys are drawn to the quick dopamine hit activities girls are 'usually' more socially oriented, this means they want to know what others think about them, they want to know more about relationships and unfortunately, the culture fostered on many social media spaces is negative and you can be ostracised very quickly and shamed and humiliated relentlessly.  Sadly, the higher rates of girls taking their own lives due to these influences is a clear indication that something needs to be done at a fundamental level to arrest this.

Already in American and the UK lawmakers are working to decide what is the appropriate measures to take.

Dr Haidt recommends the following:

1. No child should have a personal device under the age of 11/12. There is no problem with them having an iPad or a computer, etc that they use in the kitchen or loungeroom when 'responsible' adults are present. Dr Haidt states that we can't just ban kids from technology, that would be irresponsible, but we do need to support them, moderate for them and monitor them to ensure they are online safely and appropriately. If you give a child a device and they take it to their room, you need to realise that you have just given them access to the world and the world to them without any restrictions in place. Is that appropriate?
2. Parents should try and think of devices in the same way the majority of people see cigarettes today. When you give your child a device, imagine you are giving them a cigarette with the same levels of danger and addiction a cigarette can cause. in other words....really think about what you are giving them, be aware of the dangers, put safety first.
3. Know the risks that the evidence is now showing us, unfettered online access, unsupervised online access, and excessive and inappropriate social media access is having a detrimental effect on the mental health and anxiety of children and adults alike.
4. Trauma is an adverse event that can forever change how a brain responds to certain situations. Unrestricted access to online and social media can lead to seeing or experiencing horrific events and circumstances, often without any context, that can have an indelible impact on a developing brain. We have to consider at what age is it okay to risk someone being exposed to something like that? Dr Haidt gives an example of a Tik Tok video link that was a 'challenge' - Can you watch all the videos? In the challenge, people watched increasingly more violent videos until the last video was too terrible to even mention here. Children as young as 7 were identified as watching those videos which even many adults could not watch. 
5. The internet can be a powerful tool if treated correctly and respectfully, but children under the ago of 16 whose brains are changing so much have the most to lose if this is not the case. 

I firmly believe this is not something just to think about and move on from. If only one family thinks about this and changes their child online habits it won't do much. This needs to be a societal shift. I am sorry for beating this drum and I do love technology and working online but I am also worried about what we are seeing in schools and the impact social media in particular is having on these kids.

First Holy Communion Candidates

A great big congratulations to all our First Communion candidates. The Mass was extremely well attended and we are grateful for the community turning out to share this special day with the children.

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  

Blessed are the meek: for they shall God possess the land. 

Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted.  

Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill.  

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.   

Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God.  

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.  

Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

Indigenous Perspectives

During the last week of this term, I will be attending the Southern Region Peninsula Principals Conference in Darwin. We will be traveling to remote Indigenous Communities and to Bathurst Island to see what remote schools are doing for those children. We will learn about building culture, assessing needs, allocating resources effectively and a variety of other areas of leadership over our time there. I hope to bring back lots of photos and useful information for us to apply to our own community.

Production Update

The main cast members had their first Table Read last week and it went very well and developed a lot of excitement amongst the students.

Remember your umbrella this weekend!

Kind regards,

Derek Bruitzman

Principal

Helping your child understand traumatic events in the media

Mr B's Fun Facts & Trivia

1. Australia is almost the same size as the main land area of the USA!
2. Anyone know what 'Canberra' means in Aborigine? Here's a clue...the city is nestled between two mountains...
3. Australia’s richest woman Gina Rinehart earns $1 million every 2 hours. Not bad...(The Sultan of Brunei earns the same every 8 minutes!!!)
4. Vegemite is made from yeast left over from beer brewing.

Something funny!

Q: I wanted to build a huge telescope at my house...

A: But the cost was astronomical!

Q: Why was Mr LeFebvre sitting sadly at his computer?

A: Because he was pressing the 'space' bar and he was still on Earth!

Q: It seems Mrs Summers is currently obsessed with the moon?

A: I'm hoping its just a phase?

Q: Why did the star go to school?

A: It wanted to get brighter.