Deputy Principal - Student Development
“If you dare nothing,
then when the day is over,
nothing is all you will have gained.”
― Neil Gaiman
This week’s Parent Corner encourages parents and carers to motivate their adolescent to ‘have a go’. Too often girls will rest on their laurels or be afraid of what their peers may think and then regret the step they didn’t take.
Every time we come to this time of the year, the Year 12 students will always speak to the younger students about taking chances, giving things a go, being involved, and taking every opportunity they can to be involved in the life of the College. They repeat the mantra: "Before too long your journey through secondary school will be over and you don’t want to live with regrets."
Sometimes the only way we can reach them is to share story. Your own personal experiences can be a trigger for your daughter to act. The words, "I regret …," or, "I wish I had …" are possible story starters to lead our young people to think about their own decisions.
So why is it important for our young people to take a chance and have a go?
While having a go may evoke feelings of fear of uncertainty, the experience itself will enable our adolescents to learn things about themselves and their abilities, and that of which they are capable. It is about learning new things and exploring unfamiliar territory.
Each of the Pastoral Guardians this week will make some suggestions for you to consider promoting with your daughter. The conversation starters in themselves will open an invitation for your daughter to be involved in activities such as the upcoming Cultural Festival.
From my experience, those students who jump in and have a go enjoy some of the happiest journeys through secondary school. They learn more about who they are through their connection with others and with their abilities. Whether it be auditioning for the Cultural Festival, trying out for a sporting team, following a cultural pursuit, joining a school committee, or learning new skills through the public speaking or conflict management workshops, your daughter will find out things about herself that she will not discover sitting down and not taking any action.
Enjoy reading the relevant messages from your Pastoral Guardians this week, and let’s inspire our young people to take a leap into the unknown.
Social Media Alert
It has come to our attention that a number of students in Francis School are using the online chat forum Omegle (in addition to a number of other forums). This is how Omegle describes itself:
https://www.omegle.com
Omegle (oh·meg·ull) is a great way to meet new friends. When you use Omegle, we pick someone else at random and let you talk one-on-one. To help you stay safe, chats are anonymous unless you tell someone who you are (not suggested!), and you can stop a chat at any time.
By using Omegle, you accept the terms at the bottom. You must be 18+ or 13+ with parental permission.
The concerns are obvious. Please take a moment to talk to your child about appropriate use of social media and how to stay safe. We will never be able to stay ahead of all the new avenues for young people to connect, but we can help to ensure that they value face-to-face relationships with known and trusted people over the words of an unknown on a screen. To do this they must first value who they are and not rely on the unknowns to boost their self-esteem. We all have a part to play in ensuring this happens.
Annette Butterworth