DEPUTY PRINCIPAL - COMMUNITY & CULTURE

Working Together to Build a Respectful School Community

At St Mary MacKillop College, we are committed to fostering a community where every student feels safe, respected, and valued. Strong partnerships between school and home play a vital role in helping our young people make positive choices, both within the school grounds and beyond.

Responsible Use of Social Media

While social media provides wonderful opportunities for connection and communication, it also comes with responsibilities. Recently, we have seen an increase in situations where social media has been used in ways that cause harm to others. We remind all students and families that online behaviour has real-world consequences.

Bullying, harassment, exclusion, or the sharing of inappropriate content about others is not acceptable, regardless of whether it occurs during or outside school hours. When incidents impact student wellbeing or the learning environment, the College may investigate and apply school-based consequences in line with our Behaviour Support policies.

We encourage parents to maintain regular conversations with their children about respectful online behaviour, digital footprints, and the importance of treating others with dignity and kindness. Together, we can help our students become responsible digital citizens.

Uniform Expectations

The College uniform is an important symbol of pride, belonging, and community. We thank the vast majority of students who wear their uniform correctly each day.

To ensure consistency, we ask families to support students in meeting the following expectations:

•  Full school uniform is to be worn correctly each day.
• Uniform items should be in good condition and worn as intended.
• Shoes, socks, jewellery, and grooming should comply with College requirements.
• Parent or caregiver must email their child’s homeroom teacher or call the school before homeroom, if their child is out of uniform for a legitimate and valid reason.

Clear and consistent expectations help create a positive learning environment and ensure all students represent the College with pride.

New Uniform Procedures and Consequences

To support consistency, fairness, and accountability, the College will be implementing a revised approach to managing uniform expectations.

Importantly, uniform-related records and yellow slips will be reset at the end of each Semester. This change encourages students to develop positive habits over time and reinforces the importance of meeting College expectations throughout the school year.

Revised process

As from Term 4 this will be the process that the school will follow:

• Three yellow slips will result in a lunchtime detention.
• Five yellow slips will result in your child’s House Leader calling you to discuss the matter.
• Six yellow slips will result in an afterschool detention – WEDNESDAY 3:15pm – 4pm
• A parent meeting will be held if the student receives a further three yellow slips.

We recognise that there may be occasions when students experience genuine challenges in meeting uniform expectations. In these circumstances, we encourage parents and caregivers to communicate with the College via an email to their child’s Homeroom Teacher or via phone before Homeroom, and only where there is a valid and legitimate reason. This enables us to understand individual circumstances and provide appropriate support where needed.

This approach helps address situations where the authenticity of written notes can be difficult to verify. By responding consistently to all uniform infringements, we can maintain a process that is transparent, equitable, and focused on supporting students to make positive choices.

When a student is out of uniform for medical reasons, a medical certificate must be submitted to the school by the parent or guardian.

As always, our goal is not simply to apply consequences, but to work in partnership with families to develop young people who take pride in themselves, their presentation, and their contribution to our school community.

A Shared Responsibility

As a Catholic school inspired by the values of St Mary MacKillop, we strive to nurture young people who demonstrate respect, compassion, and integrity. Thank you for your ongoing partnership and support as we work together to create a culture where every student can learn, grow, and flourish.

Kath Jones

Deputy Principal Community & Culture