Principal's Message

Decision Time

We all make potentially life-altering decisions every day. That includes the young adolescents that we have in our care. However, most young people are not ever shown or provided the skills about how to make good decisions.

Throughout secondary school we watch our students make decisions all the time. For example, who shall I be friends with? Should I get a part-time job? What subjects should I choose? Should I try out for the basketball team? Questions that require decisions. Having the skills to make good decisions can set up your daughters for success later in life. And an added bonus is being comforted by knowing that they have made a good decision can alleviate stress. 

So how can you help your daughters make good decisions?

Firstly, it is important to provide guidance without going overboard. It is important to be able to give an opinion or offer information. Just as importantly students should be given the confidence to give things a try and observe all possible outcomes. These are opportunities for valuable life lessons. However, be prepared to be there when things do not quite go to plan and help them learn from their mistakes.

Secondly, young people need to be encouraged to identify their options. Often, adolescents think there are only one or two solutions to a problem. But given time, support and encouragement they can usually think creatively and come up with a long list of solutions. Get them to identify as many choices as they can, list all possible options and then review and evaluate preferred outcomes.

Thirdly, this evaluation leads to identifying the potential pros and cons of each option. Getting the right balance between emotion and excitement helps in over estimating or under estimating any risks involved in the final decision. 

Many of our students are in the mind frame of making decisions about future pathways through the subject selection process at Years 9, 10 and 11 and the course identification process at Year 12. Developing the skills to work through the choices that students need to make is part of the career counselling support that students can obtain at the College. I encourage them, with your support, to take advantage of the information sessions, subjects expo’s and career planning process in order to build confidence in the decisions they ultimately make. I wish them well.

Raymond Pisani

Principal