Leader of Student Wellbeing
Pastoral Care Activities
Last week Year 12 had a Careers presentation from Mrs Barrett. The Year 12 Google Classroom has useful links on careers and year group activities from Mrs O’Neill. There are further announcements in the Careers section of this newsletter and on the daily notices (for the students).
Year 7 will begin their Peer Support Program with Year 10 Peer Leaders this term. After a course refresher with the leaders in early week 7, the first session will be on Wednesday during Year 7 Academic Pastoral Care. Groups of 8-10 students will meet with 2 Peer Leaders and work through a range of activities that focus on resilience. Meeting in small groups allows meaningful connections to form, assisting students with the transition to secondary school. Over a period of 8 sessions, Year 7 students will acknowledge their strengths and achievements, identify people who support them and learn how to view challenges as opportunity for growth.
Year 9 - Future Finders - Personal Management sessions on communication will take place Monday 15 June during periods 1-3. Year 9 will work in small groups with a member of the Pastoral Care Team. The emphasis of the program is on practical activities involving role plays, team building, discussion and reflection, based on examples and scenarios that can be transferred to the workplace. Year 9 are requested to wear Sports Uniform on the day.
Year Group Camps
We are continually in contact with camp providers regarding dates for the postponed Year 8 outdoor education camp (originally scheduled for March) and for the upcoming Year 10 ski trip. The Year 9 camp is still scheduled for Term 4, Week 9. We are awaiting State Government guidelines on resuming day and overnight excursions for students. We will inform parents/carers of the arrangements as soon as we practically can.
Uniform
Most students by now have transitioned to full winter uniform. Lowes is experiencing some supply issues with some parts of the winter uniform, hopefully stocks will be replenished in the next few weeks. The Clothing Pool has some supplies of the old winter uniform as well as some woollen jumpers and boys’ trousers. The opening hours are:
If these hours are not convenient, please contact me on sstuart@arm.catholic.edu.au and alternative arrangements can be made.
A reminder that school ties are to be worn as part of winter uniform. Please continue to contact the College office if your child is unable to be in correct uniform on
mccadmin@arm.catholic.edu.au or please write a note for your child.
Vaccinations
We have been notified byHunter New England of new schedules for vaccinations.
- Year 10 - Tuesday 28 July - Meningococcal
- Year 7 - Wednesday 9 September - Continued program, no date change
Students are requested to wear Sports Uniform on the day.
eSafety Commissioner
The eSafety Commissioner has some excellent resources for families on how to stay safe online during the COVID -19 pandemic, and developing a family tech agreement, which could be useful for guidelines on the use of technology in the home.
The link is:
School TV
At times, the amount of information in various media on issues relating to adolescent wellbeing can be overwhelming. The Pastoral Care Team will often refer parents and students to the highly acclaimed resource School TV, which provides comprehensive, evidence based information and advice on a variety of wellbeing issues. I have provided a link parents may find useful on students returning to school after home learning:
https://mccarthy.nsw.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news
Mr McManus launched this program resource a few weeks ago on a Compass announcement. CSO Armidale is providing the funding for this valuable resource.
Pastoral Care Contacts
Please contact your child’s Leader of Student Care as your first port of call for communication on pastoral and wellbeing issues:
Year 7 - Mr Jonathan Dean jdean1@arm.catholic.edu.au (acting)
Year 8 - Mrs Melissa Bearup mbearup@arm.catholic.edu.au
Year 9 - Mr Bernie Williams bwilliams1@arm.catholic.edu.au
Year 10 - Mr Andrew Davy adavy@arm.catholic.edu.au
Year 11 - Mrs Melissa Lees mlees@arm.catholic.edu.au
Year 12 - Mrs Fiona O’Neill foneill@arm.catholic.edu.au
College Counsellors - mccthrive@arm.catholic.edu.au
Mrs Sharon Stuart - Leader of Student Wellbeing
sstuart@arm.catholic.edu.au