Good morning Families

I hope you enjoyed a relaxing weekend and that Cup Day was a winner for you in whatever way you chose to celebrate!

Keeping our kids safe online: A partnership with families

You may have heard about upcoming government changes in the law regarding social media accounts for children under the age of 16, which will take effect on 10 December 2025. We are committed to understanding these new changes and working with you to ensure our students have a safe and positive digital life.

Why are these changes happening?

The new rules are all about protecting our under-16s. Many social media platforms have inbuilt design features that can:

encourage too much screen time (like non-stop notifications or content that disappears)
expose children to upsetting, inappropriate or difficult content through their feeds.

Experts have linked these features to problems for young people, including increased stress, less sleep, and trouble concentrating.

What is the goal?

These changes give us all a chance to help our children by:

teaching them about the positive aspects of being online and the areas where they need to be careful
building their digital, social, and emotional skills so they can navigate the online world confidently and safely
knowing where to seek help if they see or experience anything that worries them.

Are you ready to partner with us?

While social media platforms have the main responsibility to enforce the age restriction, we all play a part in teaching our children to be safe online.

The best strategies are:

Clear communication – talking openly with your child about their online activities
Effective teaching – helping them understand online safety rules
Positive modelling – modelling kind and responsible online behaviour
Mindful timing – holding off purchasing your child a smart phone.

Quick facts about the upcoming changes

We will continue to update you as more guidance is provided. In the meantime, we encourage every family to subscribe to the eSafety Commissioner alerts so you can remain informed about the legislation change and ongoing digital trends.

Let’s work together to help our children become safe, skilled and responsible digital citizens, who can navigate the online world with confidence and care.

Personal Safety Networks

We often talk to your children about the need for them to refer to their Personal Safety Network if they are concerned about anything they see or hear that concerns them. Their Personal Safety Network should consist of 2-3 adults at home (parents/family friends and neighbours, grandparents and close aunts/uncles) and 2-3 adults at school; teachers, office staff, Leadership Team members, and LSO's.

A Personal Safety Network helps children know who they can turn to when they feel unsafe, worried, or unsure about a situation. By identifying trusted adults children build a circle of people they know who will listen, believe them, and help them stay safe.

This empowers children to speak up, seek help early, and feel more confident in making safe choices. It reinforces the message that they are never alone when facing problems and that there are always caring adults ready to support and protect them. It would be valuable to discuss your child's five trusted adults as they often forget them and names also change as their circle widens.

Prep 2026

Our first classroom session with our Prep 2026 cohort was very successful and the children enjoyed interacting with their new teachers, Lauren and Samantha. Next Thursday 13 November the Preps will visit their teachers for another morning session and parents will join LT members for an evening information session at 6:30pm.

Enjoy this very short school week,

Christine

Holy Rosary School

Holy Rosary School is committed to the safety, wellbeing and protection of all children in our care.

5 November 2025 · 04 Nov 2025

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