Dear St John's Community,

In line with some of my recent articles, we are now seeing a lot more discussion in the media relating to children and their access to social media. Even this week the government is looking at implementing a tax on social media providers to help pay for the 'damage' caused to young people by social media. Much of this stems to significant amounts of research coming through in the last few years about the impact of online access and social media over the last 10-15 years.

In November last year, UNESCO released their report on the Guidelines for the Governance of Digital Platforms. This report was geared towards providing guidelines for an internet that everyone could trust. Safeguarding freedom of expression and our right to information while also providing a way to deal with dis- and misinformation, hate speech and conspiracy theories.

Several key points in this particular document relate specifically to children;

~That all children have equal and effective access to digital equipment and platforms in ways that are meaningful to them (This includes what is age-appropriate for them and not having to be subjected to everything else that comes with it.)

~ That digital platforms actively protect children's freedom of expression and rights while safeguarding them, including considering the impact of these platforms on these age groups at the point they are designed or developed (what is appropriate vs getting them anyway they can!)

~ Enhance people's knowledge of children’s rights in relation to the opportunities and the risks associated with digital products and services. Include information on how children can benefit from digital products and services and develop their media and information literacy, including digital skills.

~ Digital platforms should not use personal data obtained directly from children or obtained indirectly or even inferred about children from other sources for profiling purposes

~ Special reporting mechanisms for cyberbullying, intimidation, abuse, etc should be established for children which are designed for quick and easy use.

The UNESCO report even cites Facebook’s own research, which found that 32% of teenage girls said that, when they felt bad about their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse. It also underlines the addictive design of TikTok, characterised by the short, engaging and often inappropriate videos. This instant-gratification model affects attention spans and learning habits, making sustained concentration on educational and extracurricular tasks far more challenging.

In response to the current claims that technology is disrupting children's development, educational expert, Professor Pasi Stahlberg stated:

“We need to educate them about the advantages of technology and risks related to heavy use of it. We need to work with parents to set the limits on how smartphones, games and media is used in homes and in schools...Most importantly, we need to do much more with children now to help them with safe, responsible and reasonable use of their devices in school and at home. Self-control is the most powerful way to take control of this new phenomenon.”

16th Annual Mornington Peninsula Choral Festival

I could not have been prouder of the school Choir on Wednesday night when they participated for only the second time in the Peninsula Choral Festival. While a number of schools were involved overall, for the first night of proceedings we were the only school group up against seasoned adult choirs. And...oh my, how the children shone! They were outstanding and received a huge applause at the end of their songs. Well done to everyone in the choir and thanks to all the parents who came along to support the kids and an extra special big thanks to Mr Caine for helping them shine.

Division - Cross Country

Another big event on Wednesday was the Division Cross Country which pits all the fastest District runners from across all sport group regions in this zone against each other.

To achieve any sort of result at this level is super impressive. But check these out!

Huge congratulations to the following students:

Roxy P - 1st Place

Bobby G - 1st Place

Zac P - 2nd Place

Oscar H - 1st Place

Next step is Regional competitions which is one level from State Championships! Fingers crossed and well done everyone!

First Holy Communion Candidates

Not to be outdone, our candidates have gone through their final preparations this week for the sacrament this Sunday. This has included reconciliation with Fr Chinua and the Family Faith Night. We want to wish them all the best on Sunday for this very special event and I ask everyone to say an extra special prayer this weekend for them.

Loving God,

You are the giver of all we possess, the source of all of our blessings.

We praise you and we especially thank you for the gift of our children.

Help us to set boundaries for them, and yet encourage them to explore.

Give us the strength and courage to treat each day with them as a fresh start.

May our children come to know you, the one true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent. May your Holy Spirit help them to grow in faith, hope, and love, so they may know peace, truth, and goodness.

May their ears hear your voice.

May their eyes see your presence in all things. May their lips proclaim your word.

May their hearts be your dwelling place.

May their hands do works of charity.

May their feet walk in the way of Jesus Christ, your Son and our Lord.

Amen.

Production Update

The cats out of the bag! The main roles in the production have been announced today and we have tried to fit as many of those who auditioned into roles as we possibly could. During the course of preparations we will continue to look out for other roles for some of those who missed out. Everyone will be involved in some way, but the main characters will now start their line preparations for the November concerts. How exciting!

Remember your umbrella this weekend!

Kind regards,

Derek Bruitzman

Principal

Helping your child understand traumatic events in the media

Mr B's Fun Facts & Trivia

Australia has the cleanest air in the world with Tasmania topping the charts!
There are more camels in Australia than Egypt! So many in fact, that we export lots of them to Saudi Arabia every year
Every year, Brisbane hosts the World Championships of....wait for it...cockroach racing!
Australia is the only continent in the world that does not have an active volcano (Phew! That's good to know!)

Something funny!

Q: Why don't clams give anything to charities?

A: Because they're shellfish!

Q: What did the Whiting say to Mr Caine when he caught a whale?

A: That was just a fluke!

Q: What did the dolphin say after he asked Mr Caine for directions?

A: Can you be more Pacific?

Q: Why did the lobster blush?

A: Because the sea weed...

Feast of the Sacred Heart