From the Principal Leader

Dear Parents/Carers, students and staff,

We are progressing well into the end of year and the liturgical season of advent. Our teachers have been working with their students and keeping them on track to ensure that learning remains focused and strong until we conclude as a college at the end of Term 4. Ensuring your daughter continues coming to school everyday is absolutely critical to establishing a healthy routine as a student regardless of their stage of education. May I emphasize it is particularly important for students commencing Year 11 and 12 as they progress their HSC journey. Our teachers, Pathways and Careers Coaches, KLA Leaders and Year Leaders are always there to support and guide through positive relationships and conversations. These important and valued relationships start as soon as you commence your journey at CCC.

Social Media Ban

We warmly welcome this legislative change that will protect our young women ensuring that they are age appropriate when they can responsibly use technology with a greater understanding of the responsibilities attached to this.

A friend of mine is Emma Mason who tragically lost her daughter Tilly in recent times. Emma is a parent and lawyer from Bathurst NSW. She has become a leading advocate for stronger online-safety protections for young people following the tragic loss of her daughter to cyberbullying. Her work has helped drive national discussion and legislative change around social media use, including age-based protections designed to support families and keep children safer online. Her message is clear: schools, parents and communities all play a vital role in guiding young people toward healthier, safer digital experiences. Today she was announced as the Marie Claire 'Women of the Year' and 'Changemaker'. Her advocacy for legislative change has been groundbreaking and as an educator and friend I applaud her outstanding courage to address this issue at the heart of so many social ad mental health concerns for our young men and women of Australia.

As a direct result of her passionate commitment to change, from 10 December 2025, many social media platforms won’t be allowed to let Australians under 16 years create or keep an account. The information on this page will help you understand why, and how you can help your under-16 through the change.

Why the changes?

The changes aim to protect under-16s from pressures and risks they can be exposed to while logged in to social media accounts. These come from design features in the platforms that:

encourage them to spend too much time on screens – for example, by prompting them with streams of notifications and alerts, and pressuring them to view disappearing content
increase the likelihood of exposure to negative, upsetting or manipulative content served up in their feeds by algorithms.

These features have been linked to harms to health and wellbeing – including increased stress levels, and reduced sleep and concentration.

Of course, they are not the only risks on social media. Young people can also be exposed to harmful conduct such as cyberbullying, being asked for nudes and being sent pornography or violent material.

The age restrictions are a delay, not a ban. You won’t have to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to social media accounts, instead you can say ‘not yet’, knowing other under-16s are also being prevented from creating or keeping accounts so your child won’t be missing out.

The delay gives you extra time to talk about online safety and wellbeing with your child, to help them prepare for the risks and pressures of social media when they turn 16. It’s breathing space for them to build digital, social and emotional skills, and to understand the importance of reaching out for help if things go wrong.

If any student is concerned by online activity that is inappropriate, harmful or distressing, there is support available. This includes those who are under 16 using age-restricted social media platforms.

Support is available through school counsellors and confidential 24/7 services, including:

Lifeline on 13 11 14
Kids Helpline 1800 551 800
13YARN 13 92 76
Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636

PRAYER AND FINDING TIME TO BE STILL WITH GOD

I have been recently reading about St Benedict, and I have learned about The Rule of St Benedict and have contemplated its practical wisdom, I reread recently Chapter 6 of The Rule which is a very short chapter entitled “Restraint of Speech”

It begins with “ … Let us do what the Prophet says, ... I will keep watch over my ways that I may not sin with my tongue ... [for] ... Death and life are in the power of the tongue …”

One commentator argues that the chapter is “problematic and easily misconstrued” and explains that even the title of the chapter is open to variations of translations She goes on to ask the question :

Why does Benedict think silence is so important that it is included in the foundational first seven chapters of the rule ...?

It is included because silence is the source and basis of contemplation. Without periods of deep silence, it is almost impossible to stay attentive to what is going on inside ourselves or to give God a chance to speak.

Silence is not popular in our world. We are rarely if ever unavailable, our phones or smart watches almost biologically attached to us; televisions and devices are constantly supplying us with ever present noise and chatter. Even in our sleep our minds are often racing with all that we must do.

So when do we get time or more importantly make time to be quiet, to quieten our minds so that our hearts can rest and be open to God speaking to us? Each year, and especially as I get older, I say “this year has gone so quickly” yet it is the same number of minutes, the same number of hours and days and weeks as the last one.

Where is our need to replenish ourselves …. in silence, to draw breath and allow God’s voice to push through the “busy noise” of our lives.

I know how hard this is to do. Our lives are busy and I think too we may be a bit scared of being quiet with ourselves…… to really allow what is in our deepest hearts to surface for us and to acknowledge it as part of who we are.

If we consider St Benedict he is not just warning us against the troubles that come when we use our tongues to spread gossip or to catastrophise a simple disagreement or say something untrue or unkind. St Benedict’s wisdom is inviting us, just as Jesus did in the story of Martha and Mary, to sit quietly and to listen and to make space for God’s voice to be heard. Now that we are turning our minds to digital detox and the new legislation for young people and social media, I wonder if we can become people of silence who look for ways to see and hear the message of Jesus Christ. It is in this way that we can truly animate the person of Jesus Christ in our words and actions making a difference in the world as people of faith.

The readings of Advent, which begins very soon, remind us of the need to quieten ourselves so that we are ready: ready to hear God’s voice, ready to respond in our lives, ready to know God who is animated and present with us through all whom we meet and come to know.

Let our prayer this week be to not be afraid to sit quietly, to pray and to allow yourself to hear what God is saying to you. Let us allow God's grace to work within us through the Holy Spirit.

God bless you in the coming weeks and always,

Mrs Tania Cairns

Principal Leader