Wellbeing 

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Final Weeks

As the final few weeks of the year approach I urge parents to encourage their daughters to remain focused on finishing well and with the same vigour and attitude with which they have applied themselves throughout the course of this year. There are still examinations and orientation classes coming for Years 10 & 11 and Year 7, 8, and 9 students still have tasks to complete. The expectations do not change nor should we allow standards to decline. 

We ask that you support the College in ensuring that the students continue to work to the very best of their ability, and in doing so, live up to the talents and gifts that God has given them. The active involvement of our students in all aspects of College life engenders the very spirit of the community of which we are a part and truly represents the Mercy values which we work and live by each and every day.

Over the last few weeks some of the Academy Wellbeing Leaders and I have had to deal with a number of online issues. Many of these involved social media platforms – Tiktok, Snapchat and Facebook Messenger. The issues dealt with involved students using their phones on the school grounds to record videos and/or photos and then uploading the footage and images online. It also became apparent during our investigations that some students appear to be using their phones at all hours of the night. It is hard to fathom why students would need to be active on social media in the early hours of the morning i.e. 3.30am.get

Responsible online citizenship 

At school, we work very hard to ensure that our students are not only safe but are also responsible citizens online. The vast majority certainly are. But, unfortunately in every school, there are a small number whose actions are not desirable or acceptable.

Under no circumstances are students to be filming and posting videos and / or photos on any social media platform during the school day or whilst they are wearing the College uniform even after hours. We will take a zero-tolerance approach to this and we will not hesitate to involve police and the e-safety commissioner where appropriate. Could I also please ask all parents to ensure that they monitor and are aware of their daughter’s online activities? 

Please do not hesitate to refer to the Office of the e-safety Commissioner website for resources, ideas and strategies.

The eSafety Commissioner can support with:

• Advice for parents, kids and young people on staying safe online
• Digital skills needed for staying safe in games and apps using the eSafety Guide 
• Webinars for parents and carers to help children have positive online experiences
• Investigating reports of serious online abuse and help with the removal of this content.

Further to the above, parents are encouraged to view their daughters ‘profile pictures’ to ensure that they are appropriate and also check for multiple accounts under different names and aliases. It is important that parents check their daughter’s privacy and security settings on their personal internet and social media accounts. There is a website that can be found on the Victorian Government’s online Student Wellbeing Hub entitled ‘Common Sense Media’. It can be accessed here

Upon entering the site click on Parents Tips and FAQs and it is here you will find a link to many topics. If you do a search for ‘Privacy Settings’, you will find a brief article with recommended settings. Within this page, there are also many avenues to explore regarding protecting one’s safety.  I encourage you, with your daughters, to explore some of the ideas offered regarding protecting your daughter in the virtual world from the very real-world problems that exist beyond the safety of your own homes.

We will continue to work hard to get the ‘digital footprint’ message across and offer students the appropriate learnings associated with all things digital. 

ICT Usage Policy

Please note that from the beginning of the 2024 school year, there will be a change to our ICT Usage Policy. The change is likely to involve a student’s mobile phone being confiscated on a third offence and parents being required to come and collect it from the main office (at their convenience) rather than the phone simply being returned to the student at the end of the day.  We are still in the process of finalizing the policy and the change will be communicated to students and parents in due course. 

Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions or concerns. 

As always, thank you for your continued support.

Mr Sam Di Camillo

Deputy Principal, Wellbeing & Operations