Wellbeing
Nazareth College
YEAR 11 INCURSION - JOHN MAHER – CARMEN’S LEGACY, Road Safety Education
Many of our senior students now have their Learners permit, and are starting their journey as drivers. All of them will be passengers of young drivers in the near future.
On Tuesday 26 August, during their extended pastoral time, our Year 11 students were fortunate to have John Maher speak to them about safe choices on the road.
John’s passion for road safety was evident, and his personal experience with road tragedy touched the students deeply.
John’s presentation is an extension of our Road Safety Education from last year’s RYDA program.
John is a passionate road safety advocate, and has dedicated his life to spreading his road safety messages to young people all over Australia.
His dedication to this cause has come from tragic circumstances, with the loss of his young daughter in a road accident. John has also suffered life-long injuries from a separate accident.
Unfortunately, road accidents happen each day, causing loss of life, permanent injury and trauma. It is a reality of life we can’t ignore, and so we want to do our best to educate our young people around safe driving practices.
John’s presentation was both sad and uplifting. He has very important messages to share, and he does this with positivity and purpose.
It is also exciting to note that John has recently been nominated for
2026 Australian of the Year Awards in the Senior of the Year!!
This is a significant recognition for his tireless campaigning, advocacy and work with young people.
Want to know more about John and Carmen’s Legacy? He has written a beautiful, eloquent book about his family’s experience of road trauma, and the important messages he has to share.
Resources:
John has offered his audiobook to the Nazareth community at a reduced price for just $6.40.
- 20% discount download for your school: https://awesound.com/a/carmens-legacy-3?code=Nazareth - enter Nazareth into the box directly above the ‘Buy now for $8’, where I have provided unlimited downloads of the audiobook for $6.40.
There are also copies of John’s book in our resource centre.
Read more about John on his website: https://carmen.com.au/
RYDA ROAD SAFETY PROGRAM – YEAR 10
Next term our Year 10 students will spend a day on excursion in the RYDA program.
They will experience different workshops in the day, each one focusing on a different aspect of road safety.
- Crash Investigators
- Drive SOS
- Mind Matters
- Road Choices
- Speed and Stopping
In preparation for the excursion, we will explore some of the main issues around road safety in our extended pastoral program, particularly:
- Driver Distraction
- Hazard recognition
- Fatigue
Most information about the RYDA Road Safety program can be found here:
It is also timely to share this recent reminder from Victoria Police about bike rules.
CELEBRATING FATHER’S DAY
This Sunday is Father’s Day.
For many years now, the role of fathers has changed and evolved. During the industrial revolution, fathers were often considered detached and distant due to working long hours in factories. However, today things have changed dramatically with many dads being celebrated for being sensitive, caring and more hands-on.
Recent studies have shown that children benefit greatly from having fathers who are present and interacting in everyday activities. This has transformed the understanding of how fathers shape children’s lives from the start, challenging conventional ideas of parenthood and gender.
Research also suggests that fathers influence their sons and daughters in different ways, which is especially true during their transition to adolescence. Engaging in regular physical activities can play a key role in influencing children to learn self-control, face challenges, regulate emotions and take manageable risks.
In this Special Report, fathers will learn about the positive impact they can have on their child’s mental health and wellbeing, whilst also ensuring they indulge in a little self-care.
Here is the link to your Special Report: https://nazareth.vic.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/celebrating-fathers-day
SOCIAL MEDIA CHANGES ARE COMING!
As you would probably be aware, the government are making changes to the laws to restrict some social media sites to young people under the age of 16.
Click on the following link for a brief outline of the changes coming in.
More information can be found at the esafety commission website:
Ms Jackie Kol
Director of Wellbeing