Community Wellness

Navigating Device Time Over the Holidays: A Restorative Approach 

With the holidays here, it’s natural for learners to spend more time on devices. Technology can be a great way to connect and unwind, but it’s easy for routines to slip. A restorative approach can help your family set healthy boundaries and keep relationships strong. 

Here’s how: 

Start with a conversation. 

Sit down together and talk about what everyone wants from the break, including screen time, family time, and downtime. When kids help shape the plan, they’re more likely to stick to it. 

Focus on connection, not control. 

Instead of monitoring every move, check in regularly: “What’s been fun online?” or “Anything tricky pop up?” These questions keep communication open and build trust. 

Handle slip-ups restoratively. 

If there’s a problem, like too much screen time or an online disagreement, work together to repair any harm and agree on what happens next. It’s about moving forward, not blame. 

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In this edition of SchoolTV - Resilience 

Resilience is one of those skills that all kids need and should have. It refers to their ability to cope and adapt in situations when confronted with challenges such as adversity, trauma, tragedy, or even stress. It is essential to their mental health and wellbeing as part of their journey to adulthood. It is a skill that can be learned from an early age through the support of an adult role model. 

However, being resilient does not mean your child won't experience any difficulties, but it will better equip them to manage those situations. Over-protective parenting can be viewed as being unhelpful towards the building of resilience. Although this may be a natural instinct, potentially experiencing failure is all part of the process. Encouraging children to take healthy risks will help them trust their capacity to deal with uncomfortable situations and increase their capacity for courage. 

In this edition of SchoolTV, parents will gain an understanding of how to support their child’s brave behaviour to help them adapt and build resilience. 

We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this edition of SchoolTV and we always welcome your feedback. If you have any concerns about your child, please contact the school counsellor for further information or seek medical or professional help. 

Here is the link to the Resilience edition of SchoolTV: 

https://smechuca.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/resilience 

Attendance 

Our whole school attendance at has remained steady right through to the final week of Term 3. For us, this reflects the ongoing commitment of our families to prioritise school attendance, even as the weather throws everything at us and the term comes to a close. 

A special congratulations to our Year 2 cohort, who had the highest attendance for the term at 93.1%. This is a fantastic achievement and shows a strong foundation of routine and support around learning. 

As a school, we continue working towards our target of 95% attendance, a benchmark that gives students the best possible chance to access the full curriculum and transition confidently into the next year level. The closer we get to this figure, the more confident we can be that every learner has the opportunity to grow socially, emotionally and academically. 

We thank all families for your efforts in maintaining regular attendance, whether it’s making that extra push on a chilly morning, keeping up routines, or supporting your child to return to school after illness. Every day counts, and your partnership makes a difference.