Assistant Principal

Student Wellbeing

Doug Belton

Assistant Principal  | Student Wellbeing

I welcome Gillian Austin to St Mary’s taking the role of Responsible Thinking Process Officer. While there is plenty to learn as a new staff member at St Mary’s, she is settling in as a vital component of the Responsible Thinking Process and is already having a positive impact on a small group of students who have been referred to the Responsible Thinking Classroom over the last few weeks.

The process is something the College has used for many years and is an important process to protect the rights of students to learn and teachers to teach in the event of disruption caused by an individual or two. We also aim to support the students causing disruption in helping them to reflect upon their behaviours, referring to counsellors if needed and sometimes escalating consequences to more punitive means to encourage change in behaviour. 

The process centres around student choices. In the classroom, the teacher aims to use language that  directs students’ thinking towards the choices they are making in relation to the rules, so if a referral to the Responsible Thinking Classroom occurs, a student is hopefully connecting that consequence with the choices he or she made. In the Responsible Thinking Classroom, Gillian will help students connect their actions to the consequence and support students in writing a plan for return to class. Usually at a break time, the teacher and student will discuss the issue again to promote the choices that will align with the class rules and the student’s ability to learn in harmony with the rest of the class. 

At home, I ask parents to continue with the focus on the student’s choices. Asking questions gives you the ability to cleverly steer your child towards resolving an issue, but their answers mean that they are doing the thinking – they are making the decisions. Questions that might help include: What were you doing? What are the rules? What do you think is going to happen if you do that again? Do you need the teacher to tell you the rules? Did the teacher ask you any questions before the referral? Could you have done something differently? Do you need to ask the teacher if you can move seats? Do you think you disturbed anyone else? If there’s nothing you can do differently, how are you going to avoid the RTC next Lesson?

For students who have difficulty accepting responsibility, you may want to contact the teacher to get more information or even arrange a time to meet. Part of the process includes an automated email alert so that you will know who the teacher was and what lesson a child was referred. Sometimes, students do not see a situation in the same way as a teacher, they may feel something is not fare and emotions can flare. As parents, it is very easy to go into protection mode and feel the need to defend your child. Please keep in mind that teachers are professional people who do not target students, but they do respond to behaviours. Help steer your child towards resolving their issues with the only thing they can control, their choices of behaviour.

Best regards