Director of Student Wellbeing

Year 7 Southern Schools Orientation Day

On Monday 27 November we welcomed our new cohort of Year 7 students and their parents to the Austins Ferry Campus for the Year 7 Southern Schools Orientation Day. 160 boys joined us for the day, some arriving nervous and some with big smiles ready for the next step in their educational journey. 

The boys spent the day with their Head of House and Student House Leaders getting to know each other and important elements of life at St Virgil's including The Virgilian Way and co-curricular program. Of particular interest to the boys was how they can get involved and participate in the sporting program. 

This day is an important part of the transition from Primary School to Senior School. Boys came from Primary Schools all over the state, meeting each other for the first time. Although it may have been daunting at first for some, they all left at the end of the day having formed connections with each other that will ease some nervousness at the start of next year and which will blossom into valuable friendships and learning group peers next year. 

We enjoyed spending the day getting to know these young gentlemen and we look forward to welcoming them back on Day 1 2024 to commence their high school journey at SVC.

End of Term

2023 has been a year of some great highlights as we move closer to the implementation of Year 12 from 2024. Students have embraced the spirit and culture of the College participating in a range of extra curricular activities from Chess competitions to Tassie Hawks Cup. Our boys have represented the College with pride and have shown the Virgilian Way. 

As we finish up, a reminder of the standards and expectations in regards to uniform and appearance, so that we can begin 2024 on a positive note, ready to engage with the learning program. For further information please refer to the College uniform and appearance guidelines https://www.stvirgils.tas.edu.au/shop/uniform-shop. If you have any further questions or queries please do not hesitate to contact your Son’s Pastoral Care Teacher or Head of House.

As the school year comes to an end I wish all boys and their families a safe and happy holiday. 

Sextortion Safety Information from the Australian Federal Police

In the lead up to the end of year school holidays, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) is asking schools to share important safety information within their communities to help prevent sextortion. Sextortion is a form of online blackmail where someone tricks or coerces people into sending sexual images of themselves and then threatens to share the images unless they comply with their demands. The ACCCE is receiving around 300 reports of financial sextortion per month, with the majority of reports involving 13-17 year olds. There are serious safety concerns for victims, with instances of self-harm attributed to this crime. The ACCCE has a number of resources to support families including:

• Downloadable posters
• Animations
• ThinkUKnow online blackmail and sexual extortion response kit
• Messaging kits and social media assets

The Sextortion Messaging Kit provides links to these resources. For more information and further access to resources visit accce.gov.au/sextortionhelp. Online child sexual exploitation, including sextortion, can be reported to accce.gov.au/report.