Assistant Principal's Report

This week’s e-safe topic: What Parents and Carers Need to Know About Discord

We are seeing an increase in issues between students that stem from communication on social media and online platforms. These interactions often take place outside of school hours but can impact relationships and wellbeing at school.

One platform that has recently come to our attention is Discord. Originally developed for gamers, Discord has evolved into a broader chat platform that presents a number of risks for young users.

• Age Requirement: According to Discord’s terms of service, users must be 13 years or older.
• App Store Rating: Apple’s App Store rates Discord 17+ due to reasons including Frequent/Intense Mature/Suggestive Themes and Infrequent/Mild Sexual Content and Nudity.
• Online Safety: Discord is known to be a platform where predatory behaviour can occur, particularly when children use public or unmoderated servers.

We strongly encourage families to talk with their children about their online activity, check which apps they are using, and ensure they are accessing only age-appropriate and safe content.

Please see the attached parent guide for more information about Discord and how to support your child’s online safety.

If you have any concerns or would like support, feel free to contact the school.

Sickbay

When a student is brought to the sickbay, they are cared for by a staff member, usually Wendy, Rachael or Sonia. Entries into sickbay are recorded on Compass, which automatically triggers an alert to the family. Phone calls to parents are only made if our concerns about the injury warrant this or if the child has received a knock to the head. Informing families about any head knock, even if only minor, is important due to the risk of a delayed concussion.