Assistant Principal

Strengthening Our Response to Bullying: What’s Changing in NSW and at St Aloysius College

The NSW Government has introduced significant, statewide changes to how all schools prevent, respond to and record bullying. These reforms are part of the new NSW Anti‑Bullying Framework, a sector‑wide approach that now applies to every government, Catholic and independent school in the state.

Under the new requirements, schools must:

• Follow a common, evidence‑based approach to preventing and responding to bullying, built around four pillars: prevention, response, implementation and community partnerships.

   

• Support affected students quickly, typically within two school days, with urgent cases triaged immediately to ensure student safety.

   

• Record all bullying incidents and actions taken, ensuring transparency and accountability.

   

• Publish their anti‑bullying policy and align it with the new Framework by 2027, with NESA conducting spot checks from Term 1, 2027.

These changes follow extensive consultation with parents, students, teachers and international experts, led by Professor Donna Cross OAM.

Our Approach at St Aloysius College

St Aloysius College fully supports this strengthened, evidence‑based direction for NSW schools. Our approach is grounded in the St Aloysius Way—respect for Self, Others and Community—and aligns closely with the new Framework.

Our commitment includes:

• Clear prevention strategies, including explicit teaching of respectful relationships, digital citizenship and positive behaviour expectations.

   

• A structured response process, ensuring all reports of bullying are taken seriously, triaged appropriately and addressed within the required timeframes.

   

• Strong partnerships with families, recognising that open communication between home and school is essential to supporting student wellbeing.

   

• Consistent documentation, ensuring all incidents and follow‑up actions are recorded in line with the new statewide standards.

   

• Ongoing staff training, supported by resources from NESA and Catholic Schools NSW, to ensure our practices remain aligned with best‑practice research.

Working Together

Bullying has no place in our community. These new statewide requirements strengthen the systems that protect students, and St Aloysius College is committed to implementing them with care, consistency and transparency.

If parents or carers have concerns about bullying, we encourage early contact with the College so we can work together to support your child.

Parent Evenings

Thank You to Dr Jaimie Northam.

We extend our sincere thanks to Dr Jaimie Northam, Clinical Psychologist, for presenting to our parent community earlier this month in the College Learning Centre. Her session on recognising mental health distress in young people offered families valuable insights into the signs, behaviours and patterns that may indicate a young person is struggling.

Dr Northam’s clear, compassionate and research‑informed approach equipped parents with practical strategies to support open communication, early identification and help‑seeking. Her expertise greatly enriched our shared commitment to promoting student wellbeing and strengthening the partnership between home and school.

We are grateful for the time Dr Northam dedicated to our community and for the meaningful contribution she has made to supporting the wellbeing of our young people. Please find her slides here and some useful links for parents and carers:

Raising Children's Network: https://raisingchildren.net.au/pre-teens/mental-health-physical-health

Cool Kids Online for younger children: https://coolkids.org.au/login

The BRAVE Program offers free, interactive online treatment for anxiety specifically tailored for kids and teens aged 3 to 17.

Emerging Minds: https://emergingminds.com.au/

Up next…

Building Resilience at Home

Following on from the success of the Youth Mental Health Talk, we warmly invite all parents and carers to join us for our upcoming Parent Night on Tuesday, 9 June at 6:30pm, hosted by The Resilience Project. This session will offer families an engaging and practical look into the wellbeing program delivered at St Aloysius and how its core GEM principles—Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness—can be strengthened in everyday family life.

Across the evening, presenters from The Resilience Project will guide parents through the key elements of the program, share insights into how students are developing emotional resilience at school, and provide simple, effective strategies to support wellbeing at home. The session is designed to help families build consistent language and routines that nurture positive mental health and strengthen connections within the household.

We encourage all families to attend this valuable event as we continue to work together to support safe, happy and resilient young people.

Please use this link to register and see the attached flyer for more information.

Understanding Teacher Workload and Our 48‑Hour Communication Window

At St Aloysius College, we are deeply committed to maintaining strong, respectful and timely communication between home and school. To support this, it is important for parents and carers to understand the teaching load carried by our staff each day.

Most of our teachers—including our wellbeing coordinators and KLA coordinators—teach classes for the majority of the school day. In addition to their teaching responsibilities, they plan lessons, assess student work, provide feedback, supervise playgrounds, attend meetings, and support the pastoral needs of students. Even our Assistant Principals continue to teach several classes while also carrying significant leadership responsibilities.

Because our staff spend most of the school day working directly with students, they are often unable to respond immediately to emails or phone calls. For this reason, the College asks parents and carers to allow up to 48 hours for a response to non‑urgent communication. This timeframe ensures teachers can reply thoughtfully and thoroughly, without compromising the learning and wellbeing support they provide in classrooms.

We appreciate your understanding and partnership as we work together to support every student’s growth and success. 

College Uniform – Purchasing Through Noone

A reminder to all parents and carers of the importance of purchasing the St Aloysius College uniform exclusively through our official supplier, Noone. Noone is the only provider authorised to supply our full and correct uniform range, ensuring consistency in quality, colour, fit and presentation across the College.

Purchasing items from other retailers often results in variations that do not meet College standards. Using our official supplier also supports accurate sizing, durability and long‑term value for families.

We appreciate your partnership in maintaining a consistent and professional uniform for all students.

NSW Health Free Flu Vaccination

 The New South Wales Government has expanded the eligibility for the free nasal spray flu vaccines to include all young people from 2 to 17 years of age and has asked schools to disseminate this information. 

Influenza (flu) is serious but isn’t as scary if you’re vaccinated. A flu vaccine offers young people the best protection from serious illness.

The nasal spray vaccine is gentle and painless and is now available for FREE for all young people from 2 to 17 years of age in NSW.

Vaccination remains the best protection against serious illness from influenza. Influenza vaccine is recommended annually for everyone aged six months and over.

Learn more www.health.nsw.gov.au/kidsfluvaccine

Book your child’s flu vaccine today. www.healthdirect.gov.au/nswfluvaccine