Pastoral Care and Wellbeing
Be brave! Let the little things be stepping stones for growth.
I was reading recently in the KEM newsletter about the core value of courage, from which this year’s theme stems. A key inference we make is that courageous people are brave and strong; people who persevere and fight for what they believe in and want. Whilst this is true, I was reminded that it takes a degree of vulnerability to be brave. You have to remember that if something is possibly out of reach at the moment, by being vulnerable you have a greater chance to achieve it.
Learning requires vulnerability (being brave). Students need to be brave to ask questions when they are stuck. We need to be brave to remind ourselves that learning takes time; rarely are we perfect at something, or remember everything, after one attempt or one revision session. Students need to be brave to accept help in the classroom. We all need to be brave to discuss topics with a desire to learn more, challenge our thinking and to debate issues in a manner that welcomes all viewpoints.
Our social interactions require us to be vulnerable. We need to be brave to talk to someone we might not know well. We need to be brave to say hello in the morning. We need to be brave to ask if someone is OK; because this requires us to stop what we are doing and to truly listen to their answer. We need to be brave to step away from our friends when they are doing something wrong. We need to be brave to treat all people with respect and to recognise the dignity in each and every member of our school and broader community.
Over the coming weeks our Yr 10s and 11s will be brave, as they make sacrifices to prepare for the exams and to sit each exam to the best of their ability. Our Yr 7s, along with staff and Mr Jarrod O’Brien will be brave as they venture out to Kildare Campus and start a brand new part of our story. Our Yr 10s will be brave when they venture into the workforce for a week of Work Experience at the end of the term. There are so many extra curricular activities students can be involved in; they just need to be brave enough to put their hand up and say “I will give that a go”.
There are two key concerns in our school at the moment that I would like to address here. The first is the treatment of our physical resources and the amount of rubbish in the yard and the second one is vaping.
Respect for property and school grounds
Over the course of the year, and in particular this term, there has been an element of vandalism occurring which we need to stop happening. Toilet doors have been removed (students are taking the screws out!) tiles broken in the bathroom, graffiti on the cubicle walls and on desks in the classroom and we are seeing an increasing amount of rubbish left in the yard - students simply leave it on the ground/tables waiting for someone else to clean up after them! This is not OK. All students are reminded that they need to clean up after themselves; we are not asking or expecting too much for students to put their rubbish in the bin. It would be even better if they recycled what they could and minimised the amount of rubbish in general waste, but it can’t be left for someone else to do. I think we would all be surprised by the volume of rubbish in the yard. Students need to do the right thing here; and be brave to hold their mates to account too.
Wilful damage will not be tolerated. Students found to be damaging school property will be required to pay for the repairs; this could be done through community service arrangements. In an ideal world our property and maintenance budget should be spent on improving our grounds and resources, not on repairing vandalised property or picking up rubbish. We can do better and we need to do better.
Vaping
There has been a lot of media attention of late in regard to vaping. This is a serious health concern and the government is slowly catching up to this fact.
It is illegal to sell vapes to people under 18 years of age. Despite this, many traders exploit the law to make money.
It is illegal to vape (and smoke cigarettes) on school grounds. Despite this, we have a small number of students who make our toilet area unsafe by vaping there.
Vaping is harmful to the body, especially the lungs, heart and brain. Despite the enticing flavours and scents, vapes contain a wide range of harmful chemicals that have been proven to cause serious harm to the lungs, heart and brain. The body of a teenager is still developing, so the harms are greater and longer lasting in young people. It was reported last week that two students from a school in Melbourne had to be rushed to hospital after vaping at school. Their hearts started racing and they both collapsed.
Vaping contains nicotine. Despite packaging stating there is no nicotine in these products they have been found to contain significantly more nicotine than cigarettes. One vape can have as much nicotine as 50 cigarettes. Nicotine is highly addictive; therefore it is imperative that young people break this habit, as hard as that may be.
At St Joseph’s College our policy on vaping/e-cigarettes reiterates that vaping is illegal and harmful. Students found to be vaping at school are given a one day external suspension and will be required to complete an education task with their parents so they can gain a greater understanding of the impacts vaping is having on them. Students need to be especially brave to not vape, to say no to friends when asked to vape, and to ask for help to break an addiction. They will need our help.
There are an abundance of resources available to educate, inform and support families in relation to this health issue. I have listed some here for you to check out:
St Joseph’s College Policy: Students smoking, vaping and e-cigarettes Policy
Factsheet-Vaping and Young People
Royal Childrens Hospital Melbourne - E cigarettes and teens
QUIT E-cigarettes and teens - what you need to know
School TV also has additional resources that we strongly encourage you to watch:
https://sje.vic.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-vaping-au
Geraldine Ryan
Brigidine Campus Director