Dear Parents and Carers,

A warm welcome to all our community, to the 2025 new school year! A special welcome to all of our new families and all new staff members. We look forward to seeing all that we can accomplish together throughout 2025.

Attendance... every school day counts!

Every day of attendance adds to a student’s academic achievement and success at school and conversely, every absence can impact their learning and progress. Consistent attendance not only improves student outcomes but helps students build relationships and confidence.

Please note that as communicated via compass, in line with the NSW Education Act 1990 and the Sydney Catholic Schools Attendance Policy, the process for submitting absence explainations will change from the beginning of 2025. Going forward, parents and carers will have up to 7 days following an absence to provide an explanation. After this period, any unexplained absence will automatically be recorded as such.

If there are rare and extenuating circumstances requiring an explanation beyond this timeframe, a designated school staff member may update the absence code where appropriate.

Mobile Phone Safety for Teenagers: A Guide for Parents

In today's digital age, mobile phones are an integral part of our teenagers' lives. While theyoffer numerous benefits, they also come with risks, particularly when it comes to sharingpersonal images. Here are some tips to help you guide your teenagers towards safer mobilephone use.

Understanding the Risks

1. Privacy Concerns: Once a photo is shared, it can be difficult to control who seesit. Even if shared privately, it can be forwarded or saved without consent.

2. Legal Implications: Sharing nude pictures, especially of minors, can haveserious legal consequences. It's important for teenagers to understand the laws surrounding this.

3. Emotional Impact: The sharing of intimate images can lead to bullying, shaming,and emotional distress.

Tips for Parents

1. Open Communication: Encourage open and honest conversations about thedangers of sharing personal images. Make sure your teenager feels comfortablecoming to you with any concerns.

2. Set Clear Boundaries: Establish rules about what is and isn't appropriate toshare online. Make sure your teenager understands the importance of theseboundaries.

3. Educate About Privacy Settings: Teach your teenager how to use privacysettings on social media and messaging apps to control who can see their postsand messages.

4. Monitor Usage: Keep an eye on your teenager's phone usage. This doesn't meaninvading their privacy, but rather ensuring they are using their devices responsibly.

5. Lead by Example: Model good digital behaviour. Show your teenager how to use technology responsibly and respectfully.

If you'd like more resources to read through please look at the below sites:

National Online Safety: Offers guides and resources for parents and childrenabout online safety.

Cyberbullying Research Center: Provides information and resources to help prevent and respond to cyberbullying.

Common Sense Media: Reviews and advice on apps, games, and social mediaplatforms.

Catholic Schools Guide Treasure Hunt

The Catholic Schools Guide is giving one lucky entrant the opportunity to win 2 amazing prizes worth over $2,000!

Every student attending a Catholic school in Australia is invited to enter this competition to win:

Prize 1 is for your Family: $2,000 worth of School Fees paid directly to your school

Prize 2 is for You: $100 Roblox Robux voucher.

One entry per student. Winner takes all! 20 runner-up entries will aslo receive a $20 Roblox Robux voucher.

Simple Steps to Enter:

1. Go to Catholic Schools Guide website www.catholicschoolsguide.com.au

2. Follow the clues to find the 3 treasures.

Clue 1: Go to the School Open Day Calendar and find the Treasure Hunt Open Day Event and click on it.
Clue 2: Click on the Corporate Partners link for your next treasure.
Clue 3: Click on the News and Media link to find an article about this treasure hunt, click the article.

3. Now that you have found all 3 treasures, complete the entry form and tell us in 50 words or less how you, your family, or your school are making a positive impact as Change Makers in your community.

Competition closes 5.00pm Friday 5 September, 2024.

We are delighted to share with you that one of our talented new students will be acting in the below musical coming up in April. If you'd like to go along and support Piper Rainford from Year 5 Blue please click on this link.

Please note that late last year an Apple Watch was dropped at the office and has not been collected. Please come and collect this if it is yours, or touch base with us if you may know who owns it.

Mrs Louise Fairhall

Assistant Principal

Library

From the Library Coordinator