From the Acting Principal 

Student Participation in Jess Wilson's First Speech to Parliament Competition

On Wednesday this week, seven of our students participated in Jess Wilson's First Speech to Parliament competition. The students crafted and delivered speeches about topics they are passionate about within our local community and shared their visions for the future. We are proud to congratulate the following students for their excellent speeches:

• Amelie Villani
• Nina Tyler
• Aston Marshall-Chung
• Liam O'Driscoll
• Pia Lunardello
• Lucas Brunton
• Damiano Argentino

Jess Wilson visited our school to judge the speeches and will announce the winner and two runners-up next term. These top three students will then advance in the competition. We extend our heartfelt thanks to Jess Wilson for her ongoing encouragement and support of our school.

Grade 5/6 Easter Season Re Enactment

During this term, the Grade 5/6 students have been deeply engaged in studying the Gospels of the six Sundays of the Easter Season. With each Gospel, the students explored the scriptures, examining their significance for the original audience and interpreting their relevance for us today.

The culmination of their studies was a performance where the children enacted each of these scriptures and led us in a reflection on their contemporary meanings. Their thoughtful interpretations provided a profound insight into how these Gospels can influence and guide our daily lives.

The children did a fantastic job leading us in the Catholic tradition, helping our community to think more deeply about how these scriptures can guide us in our daily lives. I extend my heartfelt thanks to the teachers and children for their efforts in bringing our Catholic tradition to life.

School Expectations on Language Use

This week, I have spoken with each of the classes from Grade 1 to Grade 6 about our school expectations regarding language use. It was explained to every child that swearing and inappropriate language will not be tolerated at St. Bede's. If a child swears or uses inappropriate language in the playground or classroom, they will be sent to the office and will spend time off the yard and out of the classroom.

We ask parents to please reinforce this code of conduct with their children to ensure a respectful and positive learning environment for all.

Mini Vinnies Winter Collection

This term, as part of our Catholic tradition, our Mini Vinnies group organized a winter collection. Each year, around the time of the Feast of the Sacred Heart, our young social justice group runs this collection to support people in our community who are experiencing difficulties.

We are delighted to share that, thanks to the generous response from our community, we have created 15 hampers that will be distributed next week.

We extend our thanks to everyone who contributed to this collection, demonstrating the spirit of compassion and generosity that is at the heart of our community.

Marwal Magic Basketball Teams

We are thrilled to announce that two of our five teams have made it to the basketball finals.

Our Grade 5/6 Girls team had a fantastic, well-played game on Monday against St. Clements. The girls played determinedly in a very competitive and hard-fought match, finishing just 1 goal behind. Well done on a great season, girls!

Our Grade 1/ 2 Boys came runners up last night after playing a very competitve match. Congratulations to all the players for their hard work and dedication. We are proud of your achievements and sportsmanship!

Parking for the Disabled

We are fortunate to have two designated parking spaces for the disabled. These spaces are located as follows:

• One in the car park across the road.
• The second is the first car park space down from the school crossing on Marwal Ave.                                      

We kindly ask that our community respects these spaces. We have families that need to use them to easily access the school, and they are unfortunately unable to do so when these spaces are occupied by vehicles without disabled parking permits.

Thank you for your cooperation and understanding in ensuring that these spaces are available for those who truly need them.

Weekly communication from MACs

In this week's edition of our newsletter, we are excited to share a recently published article about social media and young people. The article explores the profound impact of social media on today's youth, offering thought-provoking insights and valuable considerations for parents, educators, and students alike.

We believe this article is a crucial read for our community as it addresses a relevant and pressing issue in the lives of our students and families. We encourage everyone to take the time to read and reflect on its contents.

Phones, social media and teenagers

By Danielle Fitton, Education Officer, Learning Technologies, Education Excellence, at Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS).

For most parents today, how their teenagers use and are affected by social media is an ongoing concern. Perceived by some as a rite of passage that coincides with birthdays or when moving to secondary school, using phones and social media presents a raft of challenges for parents and schools (Weir 2023).

Making restrictive laws about teenagers using technology is seriously being considered to enforce positive behaviour changes at home and at school, and to protect all students from malicious intentions (Manfield 2024).

Currently, public figures are endorsing changes to minimum age restrictions for using social media, raising the age from 13 to 16 years of age in Australia (Grattan 2024). As of 20 June 2024, a petition on Change.org by 36 Months to raise the minimum age has amassed over 105,000 signatures.

For teenagers using social media, there are real risks that need to be mitigated and managed. MACS supports school communities and families to engage with eSafety Commissioner advice, training and school response strategies.

Risks for teenagers using social media

In the online world, students need to transfer their knowledge and skills for acceptable behaviours from the real world, and be as cautious about their personal safety as they would when crossing a road (even if it feels like a fun game with mates). If a student is given a phone and access to social media before they are ready and not supported with strategies, this can present serious risks.

Research from the United Kingdom and the United States shows that the number of children aged 8–12 using social media has increased from 31% in 2019 to 38% in 2021 (CSM 2021, p. 5). Parents are helping to create social media accounts for children under 13 without understanding the possible consequences (Schurgin O'Keeffe & Clarke-Pearson 2011) in order to compete with peer pressure or ‘fear of missing out’ (FOMO) (Sharma et al. 2023).

Young people report they value using social media for connection, with 70% citing they gain inspiration from others, as well as many using platforms to express themselves creatively (CSM 2024). However, what may appear as a harmless early introduction to social media is actually a contravention to the terms of use and has longer term implications. One study found that, ‘[g]reater social media use [in 14-year-olds] related to online harassment, poor sleep, low self-esteem and poor body image’ (Kelly et al. 2019).

Other research has linked social media use by young people with more exposure to online aggressions, including a correlation in an escalation of cyberbullying as ‘[r]epeated exposure to online aggression can make the behavior seem more acceptable through role modeling and reinforcement’ (Craig et al. 2020, p.s101).

Apart from the significant risks associated with social media use, the considerable distraction and time spent online replaces important in-person protective social activities. According to one study, a young person may experience, on average, more than 200 notifications on their smartphone, with over a quarter of those surveyed receiving in excess of 400 notifications daily (Radesky et al. 2023, p. 6). These distractions can be powerful interruptions to learning.

While young adults are more aware of the negative impacts of social media on their lives and more likely to enact interventions compared to teens (CSM 2024, pp. 30–31), younger students are not equipped developmentally with the appropriate protective factors required to engage safely.

These are just a sample of the strong research and serious evidence base about trends across young people that MACS draws on to inform policies, advice and guidance for eSafety Champions and school leaders.

Ways to support students to engage with social media safely

 Empowering and supporting parents, caregivers and teachers to cooperatively determine readiness for social media is paramount (Taylor 2023).

The eSafety Commissioner and the Trusted eSafety Provider program provides helpful resources for educators, parents and young people in navigating this space.

Digital citizenship

Just like a driver’s license grants the holder the permission to drive a car on our roads, a student must learn the rules, their rights and responsibilities of being a member of an online community. They should understand how their behaviours can have a powerful and significant impact on their peers and users in their community.

The role for caregivers in this space may involve establishing clear rules and supervision to scaffold safe and responsible use and this can also be modelled by the adults in the teens' life.

Dealing with negative experiences

The digital lives of Aussie teens (eSafety Commissioner 2021) reports 44% of Australian young people had a negative experience in the six-month survey period. Children need a roadmap of what they should do when they encounter problematic behaviour.

It is vital students know who they can speak to and how to filter, block and report in the application, as well as being encouraged to set their profiles to private. Cyberbullying, where there is exposure to harmful content, including violent material, child sexual abuse material and image-based abuse should be reported to the eSafety Commissioner.

Protecting privacy

Everyone has a right to privacy. Children should understand the importance and justifications for why caution should be exercised when sharing online. Information in a photo, such as school uniform, sporting clubs or location can provide personal information that could be used to identify them.

Turning off location services and actively setting privacy controls ensures that content being shared is not publicly viewable. Deselecting tagging in conversations and photos also helps protect from unwanted attention by strangers.

Even if the age limit for social media is not raised, everyone can consider the readiness of young people to capably manage the complicated space that is social media. MACS does not endorse the use of social media or applications outside the permitted age range.

Further resources

• eSafety Commissioner – Someone is threatening to share my nudes
• Kids Helpline – What you need to know about sexting
• headspace – tips for a healthy headspace
• SWISS – MACS Student Wellbeing Information Support Service
  Ph: 9367 0419 or email swb@macs.vic.edu.au

References

Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) n.d., Australian Professional Teacher Standards, AITSL, Melbourne, accessed 17 June 2024 www.aitsl.edu.au/standards.

Craig, W, Boniel-Nissim, M, King, N, Walsh, SD, Boer, M, Donnelly, PD, Harel-Fisch, Y, Malinowska-Cieślik, M, Gaspar de Matos, M, Cosma, A, Van den Eijnden, R, Vieno, A, Elgar, FJ, Molcho, M, Bjereld, Y & Pickett, W 2020, ‘Social Media Use and Cyber-Bullying: A Cross-National Analysis of Young People in 42 Countries’, Journal of Adolescent Health, 66: 6, S100–S108, accessed 3 June 2024 www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1054139X20301075.

Common Sense Media (CSM) 2024, A Double-Edged Sword: How Diverse Communities of Young People Think About the Multifaceted Relationship Between Social Media and Mental Health, CSM, USA, accessed 17 June 2024 www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/research/report/2024-double-edged-sword-hopelab-report_final-release-for-web-v2.pdf.

End of Term Two - Important Information

As Term 2 comes to a close, we would like to provide you with some important information regarding the end-of-term schedule and upcoming Parent-Teacher interviews.

End of Term 2:

• Date: Thursday, 27 June
• School Finishing Time: 3:15 PM  (normal time)
• Parent-Teacher Evening Interviews: Begins at 3:30 PM to 8pm  on Thursday, 27 June

Parent-Teacher Interview Morning:

• Date: Friday, 28 June - 9am to 1pm.

Start of Term Three

Term Three starts on Monday, 15 July. We look forward to welcoming everyone back after a restful break for the start of an exciting term. Next term, we will focus on learning about sustainability and preparing for our upcoming concert.

Enjoy  your holidays, and we can’t wait to see you all refreshed and ready for the new term!

Regards,

Larissa

Acting Principal