Gratitude - Thank you for the year that was 2023
College Uniform and Price List 2024
Wellbeing - Loneliness and connection in a time of social media
Wellbeing - Special Report: Social Media Influencers
Gratitude - Thank you for the year that was 2023

In our College Assembly tomorrow led by Jericho House, we amplify the character strength of Gratitude.

Transcendence describes strengths that help you connect to the larger universe and provide meaning. The other strengths in Transcendence are appreciation of beauty & excellence, gratitude, hope, humor, and spirituality.

What is Gratitude?

Gratitude involves feeling and expressing a deep sense of thankfulness in life, and more specifically, taking the time to genuinely express thankfulness to others. This thankfulness can be for specific gifts or thoughtful acts. It could also more generally reflect recognition of what that person contributes to your life. We can be grateful for deliberate acts by others, such as a piece of art from a child, or for spontaneous treasures, such as a cool breeze on your face on a hot day.

What marks gratitude is the psychological response: the transcendent feeling of thankfulness, the sense of having been given a gift by that person or event. Grateful people experience a variety of positive emotions, and those emotions inspire them to act in more virtuous ways – humbler, more persistent, or kinder.

College Uniform and Price List 2024

To assist families with the preparations for the 2024 school year, please see the below College Uniform and Price List for 2024.

From the commencement of Term 1 2024, all students wearing the Summer shorts in Terms 1 and 4 or the Winter pants in Terms 2 and 3 are to wear the newer grey colour and style. The former taupe shorts and pants in 2024, will no longer be a College uniform item. The former green Rain Jacket will also cease as being a College uniform item. The only Rain Jacket to be worn by students with the College uniform is the new grey coloured Rain Jacket.

Wellbeing - Loneliness and connection in a time of social media

Today, we are connected via Facebook, Instagram, Microsoft Teams, FaceTime and text more so than ever. We are spending more time with our families and yet so many of us, young people and adults are feeling more alone than ever before.

Feeling lonely is more than just physically being distanced from our family, friends and colleagues.  After recently reading the book entitled ‘Together: The healing power of human connection in a sometimes lonely world’, the author Dr Vivek Murthy outlines three kinds of human connection that when missing lead to loneliness; (1) intimate, (2) relational and (3) collective. To sustain a life of happiness, we need all three types of human connection on a regularly basis. explains that to sustain life in our own way, we need all 3 types of these bonds.

Dr Murthy outlines the three types of human connection:

Intimate loneliness: the lack of connection with those people who really know you, with whom you feel you can be your true self. This is usually a close friend or partner.

Relational loneliness: the lack friendships and connection with those whom you would normally spend time several times a week. This would be friends within our immediate friendship group and class mates.

Collective loneliness: the lack a sense of community-based or shared identity, this could be found in the workplace, with colleagues or a sporting or charity group you are a part of.

Feelings and experiences of loneliness does not always manifest in ways that we may think. Sometimes, we can be surrounded by people and still feel a sense of loneliness. Sometimes, we can be immersed in a group chat and yet still feel alone. Some of our internal dialogue might reflect phrases like:

"I feel like I am doing this all on my own"

"No-one I know understands how I am feeling or what I am going through"

"I can't ask anyone for help, I just need to tough it out"

"Everyone is going through social distancing and isolation, but why am I the only one not coping?"

Such dialogue are the examples that loneliness is being felt and the connections we seek, especially Relational, are not as strong or prevalent as we need. Loneliness though hides behind our feelings of embarrassment and shame when we know we should reach out for help, yet stop ourselves. To seek help is a sign of strength and one of the very first steps towards a life of greater connections.

As a College community navigating through these unprecedented times, our Leadership Team, Curriculum and Pastoral Teams are all looking to enhance what we already have in place to ensure that students are able to connect with each other in meaningful ways centred on their learning but too, to facilitated opportunities for relation and collective connection in safe and supported environments. Whilst there are many methods and technologies supporting connection, it is not the mode or the number of ways that we can connect that matters. Rather it is the quality of these connections and the personalisation of our interactions that helps us to truly feel all three types of connection:  intimate, relational and collective.

Wellbeing - Social Media Influencers

Our young people are increasingly gaining information about the world through their use of social media. Social Media Influencers can have a significant negative impact on the mental health of children and adolescents. This week’s school TV article helps parents and caregivers navigate this challenging space and provides some practical information. Find out more about how you can support your young person by clicking on this SchoolTV Special Report

SPECIAL REPORT: Social Media Influencers | Marist-Sion College (schooltv.me)

Resource for Parents, Guardians and Carers

Advice for parents and carers to help kids stay safe online from the eSafety Commissioner.

https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents

Mrs Janelle Burgees

Deputy Principal: Wellbeing Partnerships and Safety

Wellbeing

Special Report: Social Media Influencers