Wellbeing

Dear Macleod Community, 

We have almost come to the end of an extremely busy term, and in true Melbourne springtime style, it’s rainy, sunny, warm and cold! Which kind of sums up Term 3 really, lots of challenges but glimmers of wonderful things!

One thing that has come up again this term is the number of absences that are happening right across the school. While school can be challenging, with lots of assignments due, tests and coursework, it is vital to remember that students need to be attending every day, unless they are unwell. 

Did you know that if a student misses 10 days of school a term over the course of their education, they miss the equivalent of 2.6 years of school by Year 12. That means that Year 12 students will be doing their exams with learning equivalent of Year 9. 

If 20 days a term are missed, then the reality is even starker, with Year 12s having the equivalent learning time of a Year7 student. 

What might appear harmless as one or two days a week, actually forms a much bigger and much more worrying picture by the time a student is doing their VCE. 

For students who struggle with attendance, remember that Showing Up is Glowing Up!

Daily attendance will:

• Help students to build and maintain social connections
• Support students to stay on top of their learning and work with teachers to solve problems
• Build resilience and self-advocacy skills
• Support natural social, cognitive and emotional development that is age appropriate

If your child is struggling to attend, please reach out to the Wellbeing team and/or sub-school leaders!

Have a safe and restful break!

Lauren Wallis

Mental Health Practitioner