Pastoral Focus

Switching on - and off

The pace of life at St George’s never eases. In the past two weeks we have learned a great deal from Armed For Life during presentations to our parents during our Term Two Guest Speaker Series and with our Year 9 cohort during Extended PCG.

The founder of Armed For Life, and friend of the school, Adam Pryzula, spoke to our parents with great passion and clarity on a subject close to his heart - building resilience in young adults. The presentation was well received and I hope the many takeaways Adam provided give our families new tools and food for thought both for now and into the future. Adam returned to St George’s this week to talk to our Year 9 cohort about addiction to vaping. 

Adam has an unparalleled ability to find just the right language to talk to adults and young people on challenging issues – and he shared some of his experiences with students who quickly became hooked on the nicotine and chemical electronic device. I hope the Year 9 students have a better understanding of the risks they face if they choose to go down this pathway. 

Pastoral Lounge unplugged

A new initiative starting next week will be to make the Pastoral Lounge a technology-free zone. 

I will share the new guidelines with the student body later this week. From Monday, the Pastoral Lounge will be a quiet space to recharge, or cool down, before returning to class. If a student needs to work, they will now return to class to do so or use the break out spaces on each of the floors where they can be seen by their teachers and still connected with their learning. 

Finally, I would like to acknowledge the St George’s community for its support of my own family, and I, after my recent absence due to a family emergency in the UK. I cannot adequately express my gratitude to all those who have reached out with kind words. This is a very special place to work.

Mr Ian Thompson

Head of Pastoral - Student Wellbeing