School News

Awareness Days

On Tuesday the 2nd of May and Thursday 4th of May, Kurnai College hosted Awareness Days for Grade 5/6 students from the local feeder schools including Churchill P.S., Churchill North P.S., Hazelwood North P.S., Yinnar P.S., and Yinnar South P.S.

The students got a taste of Kurnai life by participating in Woodwork, Art, Drama and Music, and competitive Sports. Recess and lunchtime continued the energy with a snack, popular lunch, DJ music, dancing, footy, and basketball, making it a fun and exciting day filled with new experiences.

Moving from primary to secondary school is a big change. It can be exciting but can also be challenging or worrying for many students. These days are held to support students and ensure that the transition from primary to secondary school is as smooth as possible.

If you have a student commencing secondary school in 2024, for more information regarding Kurnai College's transition program please visit: https://kurnai.co/2024-year-7-parent-information

SOCIT Presentation

On Wednesday 3rd May a compelling presentation from the Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team (SOCIT) was given to students in the drama room. Two experts spoke about consent and online cyber safety to each year level at different times during the day.

Corey Thomson is a Detective Senior Constable at Central Gippsland SOCIT. Marnie Lyon is a Senior Digital Forensic Officer in the Cybercrime Squad. Corey and Marnie used real life examples and discussed the importance of staying on the right side of the law. They discussed a range of topics including online experiences, online child abuse, bullying, online grooming, sexual assault and alcohol consumption at parties.

Some of the facts included in the presentation were:

Over 40% of teens aged 13-14 and 50% of teens aged 14-17 have had at least one negative online experience.
In the past 12 months, ACCCE have intercepted more than 250,000 files relating to child sexual exploitation.
1 in 3 young people aged 14-17 reported having some experience with sexting.
It is illegal to share intimate, nude or sexual images without the consent of those in the image/video.
Online grooming can happen within hours or minutes and can take place on instant messaging apps, social media, gaming sites, emails and in chatrooms.

The Key Messages of the presentation were:

1. Don’t send nudes

2. Consent is everything (Consent can be withdrawn at any time)

3. Be respectful.

We would like to thank Corey and Marnie for taking the time to present this relevant information for teenagers and for helping us stay safe.

John de Souza