Message from 

the Principal

Respectful Relationships and Consent

Respect and respectful relationships lie at the very core of our wellbeing and are founded upon our thoughtful consideration of one another and our connections with each other. We learn within our communities, be this at home with our families, at School with our peers or in other domains – but we learn respect through our interaction with others. Briony Scott, Head of Wenona recently commented:

“Young people learn by watching. They look for cues as to how to behave in situations where they have little experience. They listen to the words and they watch the finger pointing.”

Our young people observe adults and peers for cues about what constitutes appropriate behaviour and what constitutes friendly relationships. We must remember that when role models are scarce, or even when they are abundant, social media also has its own persuasive messages.

As I mentioned in my recent letter to families, serious issues around respectful relationships and consent exist across the full spectrum of society. They exist in the parliaments of the land, in the Arts, the media, sport, large international corporations and in the general workplace. These issues are found in all domains and we all must work together to achieve change.

At Kinross Wolaroi we are currently engaging in the process of delivering a proactive and measured message on consent with the wonderful support of our Year 12 Drama students who have arranged a performance using quotations from the Chanel Contos’ petition that reveals the harrowing experiences of many young girls.

The performance is being delivered to our Year 11 and Year 12 students and is accompanied by pre- and post-performance conversations with Mentors and peers in Mentor Groups.A number of our senior students have formed a Consent Action Group, and with the support of Mentors and our School Counsellors will speak with our students from Years 7 to 10 in their Mentor Groups. 

I encourage you to read the article in this bulletin by our Senior Years Coordinator, Mrs Claudia McCalman, that further elaborates upon these important initiatives.

Last week, six of our Prefects joined other student leaders in Sydney to meet the Moderator of the Uniting Church, Rev’d Simon Hansford to brainstorm strategies that could be implemented to combat many of these social concerns.

All school leaders whom I have spoken with strongly affirm that schools must be part of the solution in changing cultural attitudes around respectful relationships and consent but that this cannot be seen solely as a school issue. We must work together with parents and the whole community to instigate significant and lasting cultural change. We all play a role in bringing up young women and men who are safe, protected and respected.

Having conversations with your sons and daughters is most important. These can be very uncomfortable and awkward conversations to have, but they are part of the solution. 

Recently PLC Pymble staged an excellent Public Forum to support parents and carers in turning the tricky conversations about sexual consent, assault and explicit imagery into positive discussions with our daughters and sons. The forum was designed to provide parents and carers with relevant information to educate and empower their children about sex education and consent.

The Respect Matters Public Forum was delivered not just for PLC families but for the greater community and I am most grateful to the Principal of PLC, Dr Kate Hadwen for sharing this valuable resource with our KWS families.

I have included the link below to the Respect Matters Public Forum on Consent Education 2021 and I would encourage all our families to take some time to hear from the impressive line up of professionals in this area. 

Dr Arne Rubinstein from Rites of Passage Institute moderated the panel and started the proceedings by saying, “Yes we have a problem. But the problem didn’t just spring up in the last couple of months, the problem has been around for a very long time. Growing up as a teenager in Australia, my entire formal sex education came down to possibly one Science class. We had virtually nothing.

“This is an opportunity for us to open a conversation about a critical part of the lives of our children and support them to come to a place where sex is a healthy, pleasurable and positive part of their relationships,” said Dr Rubinstein.

Forum panellists included:

• Maree Crabbe from It’s time we talked – supporting young people in an era of explicit sexual imagery
• David Kobler from Your Choicez – Turning taboo topics into everyday conversations
• Dr Judith Locke from Confident and Capable – Clinical psychologist focusing on student wellbeing
• Dr Michael Salter from the School of Social Sciences at UNSW – Expert in child sexual exploitation and gendered violence
• Angie Wan from Consent Labs – Youth-led workshops on sexual consent, empowering young people to know their rights around sexual harassment and assault.

You may also find the recent article published in the Sydney Morning Herald by Michael Parker, a Headmaster and writer titled “Talk to your child about sexual consent” helpful in assisting you with conversations with your children. 

Another valuable resource on parents having open conversations about consent comes from Dr Michael Carr-Gregg, acclaimed child and teen psychologist who suggests parents begin by asking their children what consent means and that parents ensure their children have a clear understanding of the meaning. This can be viewed on the link HERE

Kinross Wolaroi is a School where every one of our students matters. The issues around consent and respectful relationships are not confined to schools but are significant cultural issues which must be addressed head on. We must endeavour to see, at the very least, that our students uphold the law, that they are protected and more importantly, that we develop young men and women who will respect the human dignity and worth of all people in our community.

Prioritising the building of respectful relationships and teaching consent – even to our youngest - is something we all need to do together. 

With very best wishes,

Dr Andrew Parry

Congratulations

Regional Youth Orchestra – Michelle Hayes and Max Bloomfield (Year 10)

Matilda and Max have been selected to participate in the Regional Youth Orchestra. The RYO is an audition-based orchestra for talented students from NSW Regional Conservatoriums. This year, the RYO will get the opportunity to work with the Australian World Orchestra in Sydney later in May.

Debating success – HICES Debating competition

Our KWS Debating teams performed extremely well in the second round of the HICES Debating competition held at Blue Mountains Grammar last week. Four debating teams represented the School and all of them won their debates. I have received reports that all students excelled in manners, appearance and speaking. 

Congratulations to all who participated and I look forward to the seeing our debating teams in action, soon.