PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE

Mrs Jillian Rainger
jrainger@arm.catholic.edu.au

Welcome to Week 5

I have enjoyed visiting the classrooms over the last few weeks seeing the students across our school being busy and engaged in their learning.

Year 11 and 12 Save the date!

Wednesday 26 March is our Community Information Meeting regarding HTS moving to Year 11 in 2025. There will be two sessions

1pm to 2pm or 5:30pm to 6:30pm both in the hall. This is open to all families to come and find out what Year 11 and 12 will look like at HTS!

We can't wait!

Naplan

Each year the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is sat

by students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. Students will participate in tests for writing, reading,

conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy.

NAPLAN 2025 will take place from Wednesday 12 March to Monday 24 March.

NAPLAN is just one part of our school’s learning assessment program. The tests assess

literacy and numeracy skills your child is already learning at school, so the best

preparation is their everyday classroom learning. Our school will also undertake

activities to help students become familiar with the types of questions and tools

available in the online tests. A note detailing dates and times will be sent home today and posted on Compass for families of students in these year groups.

Student Safety and Wellbeing

Recent tragic events of suicide and self-harm by students in Australian schools have

rightly initiated conversation, debate and political discussion about consistent

approaches to school bullying across States and education systems. This memo details

and affirms the approach taken by Armidale Catholic Schools (ACS) and therein Holy Trinity School since 2020.

Armidale Catholic Schools is guided in this area by two documents:

1. Living Well, Learning Well- A Student Support Framework for the Diocese of

Armidale (ACS updated 2024)

2. Responding to Violent Behaviour in Children and Young People: Guidelines for

staff working in NSW Catholic Schools (CSNSW 2020)

Both documents:

1. 2. Affirm system and school responsibilities to ensure students feel safe at school;

Provide language to use, protocols to follow and actions to take when students do

not feel safe at school.

Key points

● ‘Bullying’ is an imprecisely-understood term. When supporting students who do

not feel safe at school and working with students who make others (students,

staff, family members) feel unsafe, we use more precise terms such as ‘unsafe

behaviour’ threatening behaviour’ and ‘violent behaviour’, with accompanying description of the behaviour that caused concern.

● Responding to Violent Behaviour in Children and Young People (CSNSW) notes

that violent behaviour does not only involve physical violence. It also includes

behaviour that may cause psychological harm, including verbal statements

intended to humiliate and/or provoke; sexual harassment; racist, sexist or

homophobic language; ableist (or disableist) language; written and/or digital

harassment, making and/or distributing inappropriate videos, images or sound

recordings, threats, intimidation and stalking.

● Responding to Violent Behaviour in Children and Young People (CSNSW) includes

a Risk Assessment and Management Plan (RAMP) template, which is used as a

protocol guide for addressing violent behaviours. As well as a formal protocol for

serious violent behaviours, it also operates as a general approach guide for all

behaviours of concern: naming of behaviour , context of behaviour , assessment of

risk, mitigation of risk, ongoing assessment of residual risk, and regular review. It

is a useful and consistent tool for both documenting and defining what we do

across a range of unsafe behaviours.

● ACS sees great benefit in treating student safety at school just like a workplace

health & safety issue. School leader feedback affirms that parents respond more

positively to this approach than to a ‘bullying’ allegation. Identifying risk factors and mitigating risk factors to ensure safety is a feature of modern workplaces and

parents/carers are generally familiar with this approach.

● ACS has a focus on risk mitigation and restoration of a sense of safety and

security, rather than on punishment. Risk mitigation depends on the specific

context of the behaviour and setting. Suspension is a least-favoured option and is

reserved for physical violence and serious psychological violence. Students may

be asked to remain at home or on in-school suspension while risk mitigation

planning and implementation takes place.

● ACS accepts that unsafe, threatening or violent behaviour outside of school hours

can be a system or school concern if it makes a child feel unsafe at school. This

may negatively impact the experience of

school, hinder student connection to

school and decrease the chances of a successful learning/wellbeing pathway. This

will always be a system and school concern in partnership with parents/carers.

● ACS promotes the notion that adults who work in schools have a positive,

unconditional high regard for children and young people. Deficit views (including

headlines labelling Australia as a ‘nation of bullies’) are not helpful and we have

an educative role in affirming that the vast majority of children and young people

are considerate and caring individuals. We have a similar role in affirming that

students displaying behaviours of concern can be assisted in stopping or replacing

these behaviours, particularly when influential adults in the life of the child or

young person work together to support this goal.

● During the enrolment process parents and carers are asked to commit to working

with the school in positive partnership to keep all students safe. The Positive

Partnership Commitment details the expectations ACS has of parents and carers

○ Supporting policies, practices and protocols that keep people safe.

○ Quickly informing the school when aware of a risk to safety.

○ Supporting and teaching help-seeking strategies to children and young

people.

○ Assisting children and young people in the replacement of unsafe

behaviours.

○ Supporting policies, practices and protocols that ensure people are valued,

respected and cared for .

○ Quickly informing the school when aware of a risk to a child/young

person’s sense of being valued, respected and cared for .

● ACS takes seriously our commitment that our students experience:

○ A sense of safety and security (I am safe).

○ A sense of self-worth (I am respected and valued).

○ Social connection (I am part of a community, I am wanted and needed, I

can listen and be heard).

○ Self-efficacy (I can do things to look after myself and others).

○ A sense of purpose, hope and meaning (going to school is worthwhile, I

can live a good life in a world worth living in).

We understand that ensuring this happens is primarily an adult responsibility. We

have deep faith in the system and school leaders who share this work and in the

families who join us in positive partnership to ensure that all students feel safe,

valued, cared for , and highly regarded as learners in our system of schools.