From the Deputy Principal 

ySafe, Child Safe and Traffic Safe

A reminder that we are hosting a cyber safety education session titledEmpowering Parents and Carers in the Digital Age for all parents and carers in the Echuca-Moama and wider community. 

This event is being presented by ySafe in our school Hall at 7pm on September 12. Please register using the link: https://bit.ly/moama-ps 

Attendance is free of charge.

Please share this invite with your friends inside and outside of the MAG community. It is in sharing knowledge and working together that parents and carers of the whole Echuca-Moama and wider community can support our young people best. 

Thank you to the families who have alerted us to their concerns about cars banking up in Kirchhofer St waiting to drive into the front of the school during school pick up. We have noted that the banking up of cars seems to happen when parents and carers arrive prior to 3:05pm to pick up their children. We ask that, if possible, families who are picking up their children outside the front of the main school office, arrive after 3:05pm. This would help the flow of traffic as students would be ready and waiting for their ride rather than the cars banking up waiting for the students. We have also noted that while cars are queuing up at the south end of the pick-up entry, there are spaces available up the north end. It is worth driving right into the north end as there is often a spot to park further along and if not, it is easy to do a loop back out onto Kirchhofer and back in again. Our review of parking at pickup time is ongoing and we will continue to consider options to further support our families at this busy time of day with student safety at the forefront of our considerations. 

The safety and well-being of children in schools (and other settings) is paramount and we take both the psychological and physical safety of our students here at Moama Anglican Grammar very seriously. To this end, and in response to the Royal Commission, NSW implemented a set of Child Safe Standards in September 2021. The Standards provide clear guidance for schools (and other organisations) to drive a child safe culture and act to put the interests of children first, to keep them safe from harm. Once the Standards have been embedded into school culture there is an ongoing review process to make sure we are living the Standards in everything we do here at school.

The ten NSW Child Safe Standards are listed below:

Standard 1: Child Safety is embedded in organisational leadership, governance and culture.

Standard 2: Children participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously.

Standard 3: Families and communities are informed and involved.

Standard 4: Equity is upheld and diverse needs are taken into account.

Standard 5: People working with children are suitable and supported.

Standard 6: Processes to respond to complaints of child abuse (or other concerns) are child-focussed.

Standard 7: Staff are equipped with the knowledge, skills and awareness to keep children safe, through continual education and training.

Standard 8: Physical and online environments minimise the opportunity for abuse or other kinds of harm to occur.

Standard 9: Implementation of the Child Safe Standards is continuously reviewed and improved.

Standard 10: Policies and procedures document how the organisation is child safe.

The specific requirements and guidelines for Child Safe Standards will evolve over time so part of our process is to regularly refer to the latest official documents and resources provided by the relevant authorities in NSW to ensure we are not only compliant but more importantly doing everything we can to keep our students safe.

As we head into the last week of term there is the Springtime Concert to look forward to – this and the Young Performers Concert held earlier in the year are two of my favourite events of the school year. We also honour RUOK Day next Thursday. RUOK Day gives us all an opportunity to remind ourselves that in our busy lives we need to remember to check in on each other and take the time to listen, connect and lend support. Friday sees us farewelling our Year 12 students on their official last day of school before their examinations during October and the start of November.

Wishing all our Moama Anglican Grammar students a lovely break over the September holidays and we especially will be thinking of our Year 12 students as they spend their last holiday break (that is actually a “study break” for them!) as school students.

Kathleen Kemp

Deputy Principal