Message from
the Deputy Principal
Mr James Boyd
Lockdown v3.0
As we enter our 2nd lockdown of the term, I am sure that we all have various tips and tricks to assist with the frustration, exhaustion and disappointment that exists. It is interesting looking at the infographic below just how many of the points in the red circle we spend time ruminating over, with actually having no influence over their outcomes! The crucial element is focusing on those areas that we can control and avoiding the ‘doom scrolling’ of the daily news. The Wellbeing Team will be developing ideas, concepts and strategies for our students to help them navigate this lockdown period. I would just add my three favourites for consideration for us all: maintain or increase weekly exercise goals, find ways to spend time in nature and express gratitude – all of these are works in progress!
There are a number of articles and resources that are available online to help us through this period – please find below two interesting ones that have been shared recently – of course, if anybody has any other articles or tips then please do not hesitate to share these for circulation amongst the community:
Managing your mental health when facing a new COVID-19 lockdown - ABC Everyday
Paul Dillon Webinar for Parents
Paul Dillon has announced a webinar for parents and carers on Thursday 16th September, 7-830pm. Paul’s topic will be ‘Young People, alcohol and other drugs 2021: What do parents need to know?’
Information regarding registration for those who would like to view this session can be found at this link:
Paul is a regular speaker at KWS and is very well received by students. Paul has recently recorded a podcast which shares information about teens and risk taking behaviours like drinking, smoking and drug use, better equipping parents so you can start more conversations about these behaviours and work to keep them safer. This is well worth a listen:
Podcast with Paul Dillon from DARTA The Fathering Project
Additional resources on Vaping by Glenn Gerreyn
The dangers of vaping for teens The HopeFULL Institute
HSC Examinations – call for volunteers
The Learning Support Department are seeking volunteers to act as one on one Readers and Writers for the HSC Examinations (October/November – NESA to issue dates soon). Thank you to those who have already expressed interest.
Without volunteer assistance, our students with learning differences will not receive the support they require to complete their HSC exams, as school staff are not permitted to work in this capacity. For this reason, we need you, our school community, to offer up any time you can, even if it is only one session over the entire exam period. Parents of current Year 12 students CAN act as volunteers, but not for exams that their children are completing. For example, if your child is studying English Standard, you CAN act as a reader or writer for English Advanced.
Volunteers can help out as much or as little as they can, and would be required for 3-4 hour blocks. All volunteers must have a current Working With Children Check and adhere to COVID safe guidelines. If you are willing to act as a volunteer during these times, please get in touch with Bernie Sharpe (bsharpe@kws.nsw.edu.au) to indicate your availability.