A Message from the Principal

Changes to our Social Media and Use of Digital Images

‘Each generation inherits the task of shaping its own era, of guiding history to become places where the dignity of every person is safeguarded, justice is promoted and fraternity is made possible’

(Pope Leo XIV (2026) in Magnifica humanitas Encyclical Letter on Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence.)

You will see changes on our school's social media, including the posting of student photos and names. This is in direct response to the rise of generative AI and our commitment to the safety of our young people.

The rapid growth of accessible generative AI tools has introduced new risks in regards to how photos and videos may be harvested, stored and altered online. AI enabled photo and video manipulation is increasingly realistic and more accessible. Using photos posted by schools to public locations such as social media, this technology is being used to create nonconsensual and sexualised images of students and staff. 

We must consider these risks in the context of our duty of care for all our people - our students, our staff and our families. These changes serve to ensure our people are ‘safe, valued, respected and cared for’.

Following the recent advice from the e-Safety Commissioner about increasing AI risks and the misuse of images, our school and the wider Armidale Catholic Schools system are following guidelines to move to a safer digital environment.  We will regularly review our practices as the landscape changes to ensure processes are up to date.

To adapt to these emerging risks while continuing to celebrate student success, we are making the following updates to our digital communications:

• Focusing on Group & Contextual Photos: We will use wider-angle shots, group activities, and photos that showcase student learning, work, and participation from behind or at angles where faces are not fully identifiable.

• Reducing High-Resolution Photos: We will avoid posting close-up, high-definition photos of individual students on public platforms.

• Removing First & Last Name Combinations: Student names will not be published alongside their images on public social media.

• Using Internal Channels: High-resolution photos, individual achievements, and identifiable images will be reserved for secure, password-protected internal platforms (such as Compass) rather than public social channels.

We know how much our community values seeing the daily life of our school, and we remain committed to sharing the wonderful achievements of our students. However, protecting their privacy and long-term digital footprint must come first.

Thank you for your ongoing partnership, understanding, and support as we take these proactive steps to keep our students safe in an evolving digital landscape.

3 Way Parent-Student-Teacher Conferences

Dear Families, 3 Way Conferences will be held in Week 10 this term between Monday, the 21st of September and Thursday, the 24th.  Bookings will be open to parents on Compass from the 7th of September. We look forward to sharing all of the wonderful learning the students have been completing this term, and we will set new goals during this meeting.

Positive Partnership Commitment

As parents and teachers, we have the opportunity to model for our children how to have positive, respectful interactions with one another.  At times, we will feel frustrated with other adults, have differing opinions and simply not get along. It is important that we take a moment to regulate our own emotions and ensure little ears and little eyes are not exposed to conversations that should remain in the adult domain.  I ask that you read the Positive Partnership Commitment from our Living Well Learning Well Framework attached below and remain considered adults working together respectfully.