Wellbeing

Wellbeing at St Luke’s College

The Wellbeing Barometer survey has become a crucial tool for schools, offering insights into youth mental health and wellbeing. By understanding community concerns and the nature of these issues, schools are better equipped to support families and foster meaningful conversations, thereby building stronger relationships.

This survey is part of an ongoing, longitudinal study, with the results being instrumental in tailoring support for students and their families. Participation is strongly encouraged, as it provides a comprehensive view of students' experiences, challenges, and achievements over the past year.

Participating in this year's survey, will assist St Luke’s in identifying areas of strength and concern, as well as pinpointing opportunities for early intervention. The survey aims to capture a comprehensive picture of young people's lives, allowing for a tailored approach to enhance mental and emotional wellbeing.

We encouraged you to complete either one or both of the surveys below, depending on the age of your children and the schoo (Primary or Secondary)l they attend. Please complete one survey for each child that you have in either primary or secondary school. There is no limit to how many times you can complete the survey. This will allow you to provide more accurate responses based on the individual children.

Remember, all responses remain anonymous and should reflect observations made over the last 12 months. Survey results are only reported on an aggregated basis.

https://stlukesmarsdenpark.catholic.schooltv.me/wellbeing-barometer-2024-primary

https://stlukesmarsdenpark.catholic.schooltv.me/wellbeing-barometer-2024-secondary

Understanding and Combating Cyberbullying: A New Unit for Years 7 and 8

At St. Luke's, we are committed to the well-being and safety of our students, both in the physical and digital realms. As part of this commitment, students in Years 7 and 8 are beginning an important new unit focused on understanding and combating cyberbullying.

What is Cyberbullying?

Cyberbullying is the use of digital technologies, such as social media, messaging apps, gaming platforms, and mobile phones, to harass, threaten, or humiliate others. It can take many forms, including:

Sending mean or threatening messages or emails
Spreading rumours or lies online
Creating fake profiles or websites to mock someone
Sharing embarrassing photos or videos without permission
The pervasive nature of the internet means that cyberbullying can happen anytime and anywhere, making it a serious issue that needs to be addressed proactively.

In this edition of SchoolTV - CYBERBULLYING

With the advent of the internet, smart phones and tablets, there is now a whole new digital dimension added to traditional schoolyard bullying. There was once a time when bullying victims were given some respite outside of school hours, but sadly these days, online bullying can occur 24/7. In today’s world, teaching your child about online and cyber safety, is as important as learning to swim or cross the road!

Cyberbullying can be identified as being the repeated behaviour by an aggressor with the intent to harm or embarrass. Technology enables these aggressors to share information widely and quickly, making this form of bullying extremely dangerous and harmful. However, the answer is not to shun the internet nor social media. Instead, parents are encouraged to embrace it and instil a family internet policy to protect their children without limiting the freedom to learn, explore and communicate online.

In this edition of SchoolTV, parents are provided with useful guidelines and advice on how to minimise the risks. Children have the right to feel safe, regardless of whether it is in the schoolyard or online.

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 Cyberbullying edition of SchoolTVhttps://stlukesmarsdenpark.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/cyber-bullying

How can parents access SchoolTV?

Below are the 3 steps to access. You will need to log into Canvas, then select the wellbeing course. At the top of the course, there is an icon and blurb. In addition, here is the link that anyone can use to quickly get into school TV https://stlukesmarsdenpark.catholic.schooltv.me/

Peer Companions

This week students explore the idea that how they view themselves and their challenges, can affect the outcomes of these situations. Students discuss helpful ways to view challenges.They consider keeping things in perspective, separating emotions and ascertaining facts to accurately identify the problem to be addressed. Your child may, at times, feel overwhelmed by the expectations of Year 5l. Encourage them to make a list or write a plan to help identify smaller tasks to make a large workload more manageable. It is important they feel supported while being encouraged to independently prioritise their responsibilities.

Just Like You is a disability awareness program designed to build understanding, acceptance and inclusion. Through celebrating differences, developing empathy, and creating inclusion, students learn that people with a disability are the same as everyone else – they are ‘Just Like You’. Just Like You workshops are lively, interactive and compelling, where students are engaged to reflect on their own roles and actions as a citizen in their school and community.

Our Year 7 and 8 students attended a workshop that explored different types of barriers that we all face in our everyday lives, and how people with disabilities may face additional barriers that we can all help to break. Students were introduced to different types of barriers and practised ways to break them down through inclusive language and accessible design.

Year 7 students also completed a follow up activity where they designed a promotional and informative poster based on what they had learned.

ThinkUKnow Parent Information session

The parent and community presentation that occurred on Wednesday night, 12th June is part of the ThinkUKnow Australia program, an evidence-based education initiative aimed at preventing online child sexual exploitation. ThinkUKnow Australia is a collaborative effort between the Australian Federal Police, Microsoft Australia, Datacom, and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. The program is delivered in conjunction with policing partners from the New South Wales Police Force, Northern Territory Police, Queensland Police, South Australia Police, Tasmania Police, Western Australia Police, as well as Neighbourhood Watch Australasia.

This evening was a fantastic opportunity for all of us to gain a deeper understanding of the online environment that our young people navigate every day. It is vital for us, as educators, parents, and community members, to be equipped with the knowledge and tools to help our children and students become safe and responsible users of technology.

It was a pleasure to have James Buzzard from Microsoft to present to us that night. James holds the esteemed position of Partner CTO and Technology Strategist, where he assists partners in leveraging the Microsoft portfolio strategically for their clients. His impressive career spans advisory firms, higher education, and his own Managed Service Provider (MSP). It was great to see a healthy attendance to the session and the feedback from parents were extremely positive.

School TV Parent and Community Launch

We are thrilled to announce that our recent online School TV launch was a great success, with a wonderful turnout of parents joining us for the event. During the session, parents were provided with detailed information on how to access and utilise the School TV platform. This valuable resource is designed to support the wellbeing of our students and assist parents with relevant and helpful content.

A special thank you goes to Joanne Sheldrick for her excellent leadership in guiding the session. Her expertise and dedication ensured that everyone left the meeting feeling confident about using the platform.

We are excited to hear how School TV is benefiting the parents in our community and would love to gather your feedback.

Whether you attended the session or not, we encourage you to complete the survey linked earlier on this page. Your input is invaluable in helping us understand how we can better support you and your children.

Thank you to the parents and members of our community who joined us last Tuesday night.

Crazy Hat Day

Einsteins ‘Crazy Hat Day’ encouraged creativity and individuality. Students were invited to wear imaginative hats to school that day, expressing their uniqueness and supporting our fundraiser.

In addition to ‘Crazy Hat Day’, students will engage in mentor activities, fostering collaboration and personal growth, inspired by St. Vincent de Paul and Albert Einstein.

I would like to thank Einstein’s house patron, Mr Fucile and school leaders Althea Dela Cruz and Lincoln Nunez for driving this initiative.

Mr Chris Bettiol

Leader of Wellbeing, Growth and Development