Wellbeing - Middle School

Social Media – It’s All Around Us

Last week at assembly, I spoke to students about social media. The nature of how we obtain information has changed. With information just literally clicks away, the barrier between the external unrest and our internal peace is very thin. In times gone by we all used to wait for the 6:00 PM news bulletin for our updates or the newspaper. But in this day and age, we are surrounded by it, and as I said to the students, it all can be very consuming. Online spaces should be safe for everyone, but we know that they are not always, and we spoke about some important strategies during assembly.

In addition, during our PCLs and guest speakers across the year, we are engaging students around online safety. However, the eSafety Commissioner website has some important questions that I encourage you to discuss with your sons about usage and preparedness for it. 

Does your child know how to deal with negative online experiences? 

If you think your child would be very upset by a negative experience online, you may need to guide them closely if you allow them to establish a social media account.  Look through online profiles and public feeds together and talk about how some people behave differently online. Teach them how to filter abusive comments, block, and report people. 

Does your child understand the importance of protecting their personal information?  

Start by describing what personal information is. Emphasise that it includes anything that can identify them, such as their mobile number, email address, photos, the name of their school, and any sporting clubs they belong to. Remind them that photos can contain information that could be used to identify them. 

Does your child understand how privacy settings for social media work? 

Show your child how to view the privacy settings for each social media service you use. Talk about the settings you have selected for your accounts and why you chose them. You can find advice on privacy settings in The eSafety Guide.

Does your child understand what is safe to share online? 

If you are concerned your child may post personal information that allows people to identify and locate them – even after you have talked about the dangers – then they may need your help to use social media sites. Discuss the risks of 'checking in', tagging people in photos, making offensive comments and other behaviour that is considered unacceptable. 

Does your child know how to report cyberbullying and other kinds of abusive content?

Although there are huge benefits to being connected through social media, your child may experience some form of online bullying or harassment. If this happens, it is important that they know how to manage and report this behaviour.

Is your child willing to let you establish clear rules and supervise their social media activity?

It is a good idea to supervise your child’s online activity, at least initially and certainly with younger children. Be clear on things like when and where online devices can be used and when they need to be switched off. Come to an agreement you are both comfortable with.

Importantly, keep the lines of communication open so they can come to you with any concerns they may have and report to your son’s Year Coordinator where you have concerns around social media. We have four Child Safeguarding officers here at the College and as such, serious child safety matters can be reported to Dr Lavorato, Mr Byrne, Mr Robert Simpson, or me. Thank you in advance, for working with us on platforms that now have become a mainstay in our society.

Alexandros Sinadinos

Director of Middle School

Year 6 Young Leaders Afternoon

Last week on Wednesday 1 May, the Junior School Leadership Team had the pleasure of hosting the Santa Sabina Junior School Leadership Team. The afternoon was about collaborating with each other to talk about the importance of leadership and what it means to be a leader. 

After introducing ourselves, we started with an icebreaker but not as you know it! We played a game of “human bingo” where we learnt about each other in a fun manner. After that we went straight into a think tank where we talked about the ups and downs of leadership and the unexpected or hidden parts of leadership roles. We discussed some initiatives already implemented in our schools, how they were created, and how we can develop school initiatives for the future. 

We walked away from this experience with a brand-new perspective on how to be effective leaders. It was a great experience meeting the girls as there was so much to learn from each other and from our different schools. 

On behalf of the Year 6 Leaders, we would like to say a very big thank you to Ms Santiago, Mr Sinadinos, Ms Capobianco and the Santa Sabina teachers for organising this wonderful event. We would also like to thank all the Year 12 prefects who helped to run the activities and support the teachers. 

Marcus Donovan                                                                                Owen Byrne | Frank Malkoun

Junior School Captain                                                                        Junior School Vice Captains