Principal's Report

Student achievements

There have been many things achieved across this month in lots of areas of the college. Earlier in the term, we held our school cross country and it was great that so many students were involved in this activity which trialed a new course to better enable all participants access. We have also had our senior sports teams compete against other schools with some success and many, many merit awards given out by teachers to students demonstrating our school values. 

There are two key achievements that I would like to acknowledge and call out in this edition of the newsletter – about both there is further information included in this publication. Firstly, I would like to congratulate our college debating team who, once again, have wiped the floor with their competitors beating Tintern Grammar quite comprehensively. Ellie, Caitlyn and Zoe all spoke extremely well and Ellie was awarded best speaker for the debate. Well done girls! 

Secondly, our school hosted our Indonesian cultural day this week on Wednesday where we had around 150 primary school children from the local area attend with their teachers to engage in activities to teach them about Indonesian culture and customs that were run by our students. We had many students involved in the day running activities on dance, martial arts, mask making and sports and all of them did us proud and showed our local community just how encouraging, compassionate and curious our students are here at Heathmont College. Well done to all staff and students involved in running this fun and engaging day and, in particular, to Bu Devathas who organized the whole thing! 

Social media and the evidence behind the mobile phone ban

As you would be aware, the Mobile Phone Ban has been in place in government schools for over three years now and continues to be enforced across the state. 

The leadership team and I have been doing some professional learning around the idea of building connectedness and belonging, which is a key focus for our school improvement plan and one of the key themes that has been coming up a lot is the disruptive and negative impacts of social media and phone technologies on student’s learning and wellbeing and mental health. 

While some may argue that banning phones from schools infringes on individual rights, there is a large and growing amount of evidence to suggest that limiting the amount of access that students have to mobile devices and social media through the school day can have immediate and significant positive impacts on their mental health and wellbeing, their sense of connectedness to their peers and teachers and their learning and achievement. The Victorian government's mobile phone ban is in line with recommendations from international organizations such as the World Health Organization, which has called for restrictions on mobile phone use in schools to promote student health and well-being (WHO, 2011).

One study, led by psychologist Jean Twenge (2019), found a significant increase in mental health issues among adolescents after the widespread adoption of smartphones. Twenge's research suggests that social media and smartphone use may be contributing to increased rates of anxiety and depression in young people.

Moreover, a study by Rosen, Carrier, and Cheever (2013) found that students who used mobile phones during class had lower academic achievement than those who did not. The researchers argue that mobile phone use may disrupt concentration and interfere with learning.

Additionally, some studies have shown that mobile phone use can contribute to cyberbullying, social comparison, and negative body image, which can have a significant impact on adolescent mental health (Fardouly et al., 2015; Hinduja & Patchin, 2015).

While some students may argue that mobile phones are necessary for communication and safety, there are other ways to address these concerns. For example, at Heathmont, students are able to approach the staff in the front office or their coordinators or House Leaders to ask if they can call home on the school landlines. Similarly, if parents need to get messages to their children, they only have to call the office (9871 4888) and staff will pass the message on – even urgently if needed. 

Overall, the evidence suggests that the benefits of reducing mobile phone use in schools outweigh the potential drawbacks. By promoting concentration, reducing distraction, and protecting student well-being, the mobile phone ban can help create a healthier and more productive learning environment for all students.

We ask families to help support the school to implement this policy by discussing this evidence with your children. 

Kerryn Sandford

College Principal

References:

Fardouly, J., Diedrichs, P. C., Vartanian, L. R., & Halliwell, E. (2015). Social comparisons on social media: the impact of Facebook on young women’s body image concerns and mood.

Body Image, 13, 38-45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2014.12.002

Hinduja, S., & Patchin, J. W. (2015). Bullying beyond the schoolyard: preventing and responding to cyberbullying. 2nd ed. Corwin Press.

Rosen, L. D., Carrier, L. M., & Cheever, N. A. (2013). Facebook and texting made me do it: Media-induced task-switching while studying. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(3), 948-958. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2012.12.001

Twenge, J. M. (2019). Have smartphones destroyed a generation? Atlantic Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/09/has-the-smartphone-destroyed-a-generation/534198/

World Health Organization. (2011). Mobile phone use: a growing problem of driver distraction. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/mobile-phone-use-a-growing-problem-of-driver-distraction