SAINTS NEWS

STRONG MINDS, 

GENTLE HEARTS

News from Frazer Rigby

Deputy Principal

Thank you to all our parents, carers and families for your continued support throughout the year. We look forward to working with you again in 2024. 

 

I also commend the students for the wonderful way that they have committed to their studies. Their focus and drive have continued right to our last week of lessons which is evidence of the serious approach they adopt to their studies and the enjoyment that they take from each school day. Thank you to our staff too who committed themselves to positively encouraging the boys to finish strongly and who, being well prepared, had plenty of serious learning organised for them. 

 

Contact details

I ask parents and carers to ensure that if your contact details have changed or will change over the Christmas break that you update them on the Parent Portal. It is essential that the College has up-to-date email, mailing and residential addresses as well as phone numbers. 

 

Preparation for 2024

  • Our 2024 term dates are on the Parent Portal
  • Please ensure that your son is prepared for a great start with due attention to hair and grooming.  Guidelines for haircuts are also on the Parent Portal. 

Group chats

Staying in touch with one another during the holidays is recommended, as it keeps human connection alive. Group chats, however, can often be a breeding ground for negative behaviour, with bullying and sexting being high among negative experiences that adolescents may face. The most used group chat apps are WhatsApp, Snapchat, Instagram, Discord, Kids Messenger and Facebook Messenger, all of which allow individual and group communication. With most group chat activities happening at home, parents and carers may be able to minimise the risk of bullying and other dangers to a child. As such, Safe on Social has a few tips for creating positive group chat experiences for your sons:

  • Devices should never "go to sleep" with children. Normalise handing them over to you before bedtime or put them in another room where it can be locked up until the next day so they are unable to respond to messages at crazy times of the night and morning.
  • Help your sons develop the skills to leave a group chat that is not helpful or is harmful. Teach them simple phrases to remove themselves from toxic conversations such as, "Sorry guys, I’m not feeling comfortable talking about that" or "This is getting a bit nasty for me, I’m going". 
  • Remind your sons that they must always be kind, respectful and responsible while  in a group chat. All it takes is for someone to take a screenshot  of cyberbullying for interactions to become public and be used as evidence against those responsible.

Wishing you a safe and blessed Christmas.

 

 

Real Talk Parent Portal Site - Check out the update 

 

Real Talk has recently changed its parent portal site to a paid subscription. Catholic Education Services (CES) has paid for this subscription so that all parents with children in its schools can access the site for free.

 

Real Talk offers extensive parenting resources, including hundreds of helpful videos and guides on a variety of relationship, eSafety and parenting topics. Access to this content is something that parents have been asking for.