DEPUTY PRINCIPAL'S REPORT 

Social Media 

Most of our students would be regularly using social media, whether it be Instagram, TikTok or Snapchat, perhaps there are students who even still use Facebook. It is a fast moving technology and continues to present both opportunities and challenges for all of us and for young people in particular. Undeniably there are many wonderful things about social media, it can connect us, it can keep us up to date, it can entertain and engage us and it can be a way for us to express ourselves. However because it can also provide anonymity and is quite pervasive in nature, it also presents many risks for young people. Along with obvious problems like online bullying, young people can sometimes underestimate the consequences of posting photos and comments online. Even when someone thinks something has been deleted, it can be impossible to completely erase it. Screenshots can be taken and passed on again and again. 

Our young people have had plenty of education and support with cyber safety however we continue to see them getting caught up in instances of online bullying or making really poor choices about how they use social media. It needs to be a shared approach in terms of educating our young people about safe and respectful use of technology and also supporting them if they find themselves harmed by their own use or by others' targeted actions. 

There are a number of resources to support families in addressing concerns stemming from social media. For parents, the eSafety Commission has a site that includes advice, webinars and downloadable resources that are informative and helpful.  https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents

If something goes wrong there are ways to address it with the providers:

Report offensive Snapchat accounts here:

https://support.snapchat.com/en-GB/a/report-abuse-in-app

Report offensive Instagram accounts here:

https://help.instagram.com/165828726894770

Report offensive TikTok accounts here:

https://support.tiktok.com/en/safety-hc/report-a-problem

Phones at School

St Mary MacKillop College has a policy whereby we expect students to have their phones locked in their lockers during the day. It is apparent that students are not always adhering to  this rule. We ask for parent support in encouraging their children to either leave their phone at home or follow the school rules. There are far too many students who are ringing their parents during the day or receiving phone calls during school hours when the phone should be in the locker. Parents are encouraged to contact their children via the Pastoral Care Centre by using the school phone.

One of the benefits of having no phones in the classroom or the yard is the reduction in opportunity for students to misuse their phones and so we would appreciate all members of our community supporting this.