Rowville Primary School Newsletter

From the 

Shadow Principal 

Dear Parents/Carers,

 

I’d like to thank the Rowville Primary School community for the warm welcome I have received this week. I feel incredibly privileged to have the opportunity to work as a Shadow Principal, with Ms Babich, over the next 8 weeks. This will contribute as part of my training to become a Principal of my own school in the future. As an experienced secondary Assistant Principal, this gives me the opportunity to learn more about the leadership of a primary school and journey for students from Foundation to Year 12. This week has been a bit of a culture shock as I adjust to dealing with the learning needs of younger students, and the complex differences in how primary and secondary schools operate. It’s day three, and I have already learned what a fantastic school this is. I have been nothing but impressed by the beautiful facilities, strong sense of teamwork, quality teaching, care and compassion for children provided by the staff, as well as the warmth and way the children share and talk about their learning. There is a very strong sense of warmth and community amongst the students, parents and staff. Thank you to all, it’s been an amazing start.

 

Cybersafety:  Digital Messages

An unplanned impact of lockdown and remote learning was the increased use of social media and digital communication by children. With the additional screen time and introduction of online learning, the digital communication between children increased significantly. It is important that we help children understand how to communicate respectfully in a digital world and the significant difference between face-to-face conversation and digital messages. The following are good discussions that parents and carers can have with children to assist them in understanding the nuances of digital communication:

  • Once we put something in a digital message, we cannot take it back. The person who receives that message will have it forever.
  • Once we put something in a digital message the person who receives it can pass it on to whoever they like.
  • If a message is sent from your device, you are responsible for that message even if someone else sent it. 
  • People often make digital comments online that they would not say to someone's face, but the impact on the person who receives it is just the same.
  • A digital comment lacks context, without tone, body language, eye contact etc. the message can come across differently to what was intended. Sarcasm is an example of tone that gets lost in a digital message. 

Children often don’t understand the impact of the above points, and as a result can damage their friendships and social interactions causing significant impact on recipients of the messages. I'd like to encourage kids to apply the following rules to their digital messaging:

  • Never let anyone else use your device, even if they are your best friend.
  • If you wouldn’t say it to Ms Babich’s face, then don’t say it in a digital message to someone else.
  • Never say anything in a digital message that you do not want someone else to see.

We are in the process of planning some information sessions for families and students for early in Term Two.  Stay tuned for more information, but in the meantime, the following resources may assist you in discussing issues related to digital communication with your child. It is never too early to start age appropriate conversations with children about the online world.

 

Catherine Ford

Shadow Principal