DEPUTY PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

This week at our assembly I spoke to our students about the fact that we are starting to get reports about our students using racial slurs and racial language. The fact that this may not be directed at a person of another race is irrelevant. The racist language used as casual slang in a friendship group is still racist and unacceptable. As much as we would like to say this doesn’t happen, we cannot deny that these terms are being used at school by some students. Our school values are Respect, Compassion, Reverence, Forgiveness, Generosity and Dignity and for the most part, these are wonderfully upheld by our students. It is very clear that only some students are using this language, but even small groups can have a big impact.

We know the power that language has. It can make you feel wonderful, it can build you up but it can also make you feel small and hurt. It can stab and scratch and damage people’s self-esteem, self-image and wellbeing. Our students are encouraged to speak up against racism and to call it out for what it is - totally and completely unacceptable. In the past perhaps we could say that there was not as much understanding around racial terms. That is no longer the case - we have been educated. We can’t be passive, we can’t allow this to happen around us.

We have seen very upsetting examples in the wider community and media of late in regard to violence towards women and derogatory treatment of girls at school.  We all need to remember that the way we speak to each other and about each other should be respectful rather than demeaning and derogatory. Part of our responsibility as a school community is to ensure that all members of our school feel respected and safe. We all have a role to play in this. Gender based derogatory language and attitudes of course do not apply only to women and girls however given recent events it is a strong reminder for us to be vigilant. 

Every single person in this school has the right to be respected, to feel safe and to be shown respect and treated with dignity. Racism is the polar opposite of that - racist language is demeaning, offensive and intolerable. Gender based derogatory language is also in opposition to an environment of respect and dignity. As a school, we must continually and with complete dedication, strive to be people who give reverence to the relationships formed in our community and who treat each and every person with the respect and dignity they deserve as human beings made in the image and likeness of God.