Principal's Report
Hello Families,
Disco Volunteers
Parents and Friends are looking for volunteers for Friday’s disco. If you have a valid Working With Children Check and would like to help please leave your details here. https://forms.gle/Wo4qTr5FNuJbQuYm8
2025 Foundation Enrolments
Enrolments for Foundation students for the 2025 school year are now open! Please note that the deadline for submitting your application is Friday, July 26th. Be sure to complete and submit your enrolment forms before this date to ensure your child's place.
You will be notified of the outcome of your application by Friday, August 9th.
Thank you for your attention to these important dates. We look forward to welcoming our new Foundation students!
Welcome to Our New Staff Members
We are excited to introduce two new staff members joining Macedon Primary School: Angela Holdaway and Sharon Dew.
Angela Holdaway will be leading our STEM programs. She brings a wealth of experience from her previous roles in the Catholic education system and at the Discovery Centre Bendigo.
Sharon Dew will be part of our Education Support team. She is dedicated to assisting students with diverse needs and is passionate about fostering an inclusive learning environment.
Please join us in welcoming Angela and Sharon to our school community!
Tips for Helping Your Child to Thrive in a Technology-Heavy World
In a recent article on the Alannah and Madeline Foundation website Education Futurist Louka Parry gave four tips for balancing your families tech.
1. Only embrace technology that serves us (not the other way around)
When technology isn’t helping you, it is hindering your wellbeing. When it comes to tech, “it should be in service of optimal human growth and wellbeing, and if it's not, that's where it shouldn't be getting used.”
Take time to reflect on how the technology is making you feel, and when you might find yourself distracted. Then support your children to do the same, and make conscious decisions based on what you discover.
2. Cultivate a love of nature (and offline activities)
Research shows the positive benefits of time in nature, suggesting a balance between digital engagement and outdoor activities, especially for children spending extended periods on screens.
3. Model intentional behaviour
Louka advises parents to model intentional technology use.
Set clear boundaries for technology use within the home, such as setting bounded and intentional time for use. Keep devices out of bedrooms and promote face-to-face interactions during moments of connection. Optimal child development and connection is an act of serving and return and technology disrupts this process. However, Louka urges parents not to feel guilty about their own tech use as we live in a digital world, but to be “very cautious about the use of your phone and what you are modelling to your children.”
To support you in building balance in the home, you can explore our DigiTalk Screen Smart Family guide.
4. Create space for safe conversations
One of the most important things parents can do to ensure their children are safe and thriving online is to hold space for them to share, engage in two-way conversations and ask them open-ended questions.
Louka explains that this process is “just really allowing young people to develop discernment”. These open conversations support their critical thinking skills, as well as help to grow trust and communication in a safe home environment.
Louka suggests trying questions that let them think about both the positive and negative sides of technology, such as:
- “What was the best thing that you created with technology today?”
- “When did you feel it was like it made you happiest?”
- “And did anything happen that made you feel a bit yucky?”
- “Do you feel that like there were any moments today when the device was controlling you?”
Creating a safe space is very important because, as Louka shares, “I think a lot of children suffer in silence... so that safe space where young people can talk about how they really feel or what's really going on, that's such a critical space especially as we learn more about the negative impact of some platforms on mental health and wellbeing”
For the entire article visit: https://www.alannahandmadeline.org.au/resources/four-tips-for-balancing-your-familys-tech-from-education-futurist-louka-parry
Warm regards,
Andrew Bloomfield
Principal