Senior Years and Wellbeing
Dinner Dance
What a spectacular and elegant evening this was. Our Year 10s, 11s and 12s enjoyed a great night on Saturday and didn’t they all look wonderful! The Tim Murray Room looked stunning with masquerade the theme of the night. The hall was decorated in blacks and reds with candles, giant masks and roses transforming the room into a sophisticated and stylish dining area. We enjoyed a delicious meal compliments of Michelle and her amazing team of Year 9 wait staff. Mrs Guegan- Brown was also instrumental in ensuring over 200 guests were fed and 600 plates and glasses were all cleaned at the end.
Fred Williams with support from Jarman Oakley on lighting were the best DJ’s ever to perform at the College. Students, parents and staff danced the night away to a mix of current songs, ABBA and even a spot of ACDC. If students were not on the dance floor they enjoyed the opportunity to have a professional photo taken or to have some fun in the Photo Booth.
Co-ordinating a night like this is a huge team effort. My thanks to the School Captains Harry Musson and Emily James for their organisation and our House Captains, Prefects and Year 12s who did so much work behind the scenes both in setting up the evening and cleaning up on the Sunday. The night certainly wouldn’t have been the success it was without Miss Helen Reiher, Mr Ben Hunter and Mrs Guegan Brown.
Our students not only looked amazing but their behaviour and conduct on the evening could not be faulted. It was a pleasure to be a part of such a great night.
Pastoral Care
Internet Safety Tips for Teachers, Parents and Carers:-
• All internet enabled devices (iPad, phone, iPod, Xbox) SHOULD be in a common area of the house NOT
IN THE BEDROOM! Need an alarm - buy a clock radio!
• Parental monitoring is vital – walk past and see what your child is doing, who they are talking to and
what sites they are on....be aware if their mood changes. This is NOT invading their privacy at all...it is
parenting in the digital space
• Make sure there is no response to rude or harassing comments. (keep a record in case of further
investigation)
• Advise your student/child to immediately exit any site that makes them feel uncomfortable or worried.
Basic protective behaviour principles apply.
• If harassment continues….the current accounts can be deleted and a new one started. The new account
details should only be given to a selected few.
• If receiving harassing messages on social media - have the sender blocked & report to the site.
• If you have found inappropriate content about your child or one in your care on a website or are
informed about this situation please contact the ISP and or Police or advise the parent to do so a.s.a.p.
• Have a family internet contract and set house rules about what information your child can put onto
websites or share with others, where they go online and what they do. You (adult) need to be in charge.
• Be aware the majority of children WILL NOT tell a parent/teacher if bullied or harassed online for fear
that they will lose internet access!! NEVER threaten total disconnection!
• Make sure that your children understand that they will not get in trouble if they tell you about a problem.
• Parents must learn about the internet with their child – get students to share their knowledge of the
internet with their parents in a fun environment
• Spend time online with children, just as you would with many other activities such as sport, board games
and walking the dog - learn and explore together
• Install filters and other monitoring/blocking software to minimise dangers. This is already done in
schools but homes should have up to date filtering software installed at home.
• Know the sites they are accessing to ensure suitability. Filters CAN sometimes fail to protect and can be
bypassed by a ‘tech savvy’ child.
• Learn the lingo so that you can decipher some of the content if required. Advise parents to do the same.
• ABSOLUTELY NO EXCHANGE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION!
• Children Under 13 ARE NOT ALLOWED on Facbook, Instagram, Kik, SnapChat, iTunes and many
more. Don’t support your child to break the rules & they won't be the only one without these accounts.
Learn to say NO!
• Social Networking Profiles MUST BE SET TO PRIVATE. Use all the security settings available to
make the site as safe as possible.
• Social networking site friends should be people that your child knows in real life. This is one way to
reduce possible risks. Anyone can be anyone online.
• Teach children that information on the internet is not always reliable.
• Very close supervision for young children is recommended. There should be a limit to the number of
people kids talk to online and the parent/carer should know who they are too. approved.
• Whatever your children use, you must use as well. Set up accounts on the same sites to ensure that they
are suitable and the interactions appropriate. Engage with them online. This also allows you to know
how these applications work.
• If your child is playing online games it is YOUR responsibility to make sure that YOU know how to
play the game too in case of problems. Play online games together.
• Do not let young children ‘google’ aimlessly with no supervision. Children need to be taught about
search engines and how they work.
• The internet and the various applications are a lot of fun and a wonderful tool……maximize the benefits
and surf safely together!
Please note that this list is by no means exhaustive and that there is no guarantee that adherence to these tips
will provide 100% protection or safety for those using the various applications of the internet.
Susan MacLean Cyber Safety Solutions.
Miss Kristen Waldron