STUDENT REGULATIONS – LATENESS & UNIFORM

It has been a pleasing improvement this year, to see the number of students who have made a greater effort to get to school and class on time. This has undoubtedly been in part due to the introduction of a 3-infringement system at the beginning of the year. While not popular with all students, we have received positive feedback from parents and staff who note that it is in line with our strategic goal to improve student academic growth. Students who are maximising their time at school and in class are meeting the College community’s third right and responsibility: “to learn and to contribute to effective learning of all in the classroom through positive and co-operative behaviour.”

Teachers have been very committed to ensuring that students are attending class punctually, however, there has been a degree of inconsistency in addressing lateness to school in Term 1. This systemic problem is now being addressed.

From the beginning of Term 2, any student who signs in late to school without authorisation from home will receive an automatic late infringement.

Authorisation is permission from a parent or guardian that includes a note, email, SMS, voicemail or phone call acknowledging that the student is running late. The school assumes that parents or guardians who do not notify the school of a student running late are either:

Not aware of the student’s lateness, or
Do not accept that the lateness was beyond the student's control and consequently support us in issuing an infringement.

Students who are late because of a late bus will not be issued with a late infringement. House Leaders will also exercise discretion in not issuing infringements for pastoral reasons.

Students who are late and choose not to sign in to avoid a late infringement will be given a Tuesday after school detention. Repeated failure to sign in will result in a Friday detention. It is important for your child’s safety and the school's duty of care that students sign in when late and sign out when leaving the school property. In the event of an evacuation or if staff or parents are seeking a student at school, we must know their whereabouts. This is meeting the College community’s second right and responsibility: “To feel safe and to behave in a manner that will protect and promote the safety of others.”

The College community’s fourth right & responsibility is “to benefit from the reputation of the College and to promote and uphold the good name of the College.” To this end, it is important to make the following points about our uniform and appearance policy.

During the first 2 weeks of Term 2 and the last 2 weeks of Term 3, students are allowed to wear either the summer uniform OR the winter uniform. This was in response to the Student Representative Council’s concerns last year about changing temperature trends throughout the year. It would certainly seem that this year, the warm weather is continuing longer than usual and some will undoubtedly welcome this change.
We remind parents of the importance of writing notes to authorise any uniform issues. It is not the responsibility of Learning Advisors or House Leaders to try and contact home to verify a student’s explanation for not following the College Uniform & Appearance Policy. It is the student’s responsibility to organise with parents/guardians a note explaining that there has been an unavoidable issue with uniform and therefore an enforcement of the policy’s consequences is not reasonable. Consequently, the student will be issued a uniform pass from the House Leader and avoid either an infringement or a “zero tolerance” response. In this latter situation, Year 7-10 students will be withdrawn from classes and Year 11-12 students may be sent home for a non-rectifiable uniform breach.
We have clarified the wearing of scarves for students. This item of clothing can be worn with the summer or winter uniform. However, ONLY the College scarf with the St Peter’s banding can be worn. The scarf is an optional item, but no other scarves, including burgundy and grey scarves are permitted.

Infringements for Term 2 have been reset to zero for all students and this practice will occur at the beginning of every term. This recognises students genuine attempts to do the right thing with respect to punctuality, uniform and chewing gum at school.

Parents and students are reminded that there are also rewards for students who demonstrate throughout the term perfect punctuality, wearing of the uniform and attendance. House points will be awarded to students in each of these three areas.

ARTS COLLECTIVE

Great work form the Arts Collective this week in starting their competition for the new Arts Trophy. A great sculpture highlighting the problem of littering and some wonderful chalk pavement art in our Central Courtyard were produced. Please enjoy some of the photos.

POSITIVE HEALTH - ACTIVE APRIL

During the month of April, we encourage all students to join Active April in line with our positive education pillar of Positive Health. Health is part of a holistic model of our education and we encourage all our members of our College Community to practise sustainable habits for optimal physical and psychological health. Good health consists of multiple components including physical mental social and emotional.

To encourage this we have invited students to join their house in participating in Active April. This initiative encourages and tracks physical activity for each person. The competitive nature is hopefully an incentive for people to get out and about over April and develop a habit that lasts. Please encourage your child to join Active April. They can log on at: https://www.activeapril.vic.gov.au/

Additionally, if you want to know more about the value of physical activity and its link to good mental health, please go to this Be You website fact sheet:

https://beyou.edu.au/fact-sheets/wellbeing/physical-activity

THE BOSS RETURNS TO HIS ROOTS

I may be giving away my age and some would perhaps even question my musical taste, however, I did want to share an article I read recently about Bruce Springsteen. This article can be found at:

https://aleteia.org/2019/03/25/bruce-springsteen-and-the-our-father/

Bruce Springsteen has been a fixture of the rock-and-roll scene for practically an entire generation. Born into a Catholic working-class family in New Jersey with Irish and Italian heritage, he’s never made a secret of his faith. That’s not to say he’s always been vocal about it, or would identify himself as a perfectly practising Catholic, but he’s quoted as saying in a 2012 interview, “Once a Catholic, always a Catholic,” and appears to be drawing back closer to his faith later in life, as is fairly common for many people who have drifted from their faith to some degree in adulthood.

Biblical and Catholic themes have appeared in his songs throughout his career, but as he’s gotten older, those references have become more explicit — see, for example, this Christianity Today article that lists 10 such songs throughout his career, four of them dating from within just the past 10 years. A quick perusal of Aleteia’s own articles on the famous singer will turn up other examples of how Springsteen has publicly manifested his faith.

Most recently, “The Boss” spent more than a year on Broadway starring in his own one-man show, simply named Springsteen on Broadway, which won a Tony Award in 2018. He took advantage of his acceptance speech to talk about the faith of his youth.

This was anything but unexpected or out of place, because his faith plays an important role in the show itself. The autobiographical monologue focuses largely on his memories of his relationship with his father and on his Catholic upbringing and its effect on his life. One moment that has struck many audience members and critics is when, towards the end of the show, he recites the Our Father with a intensely personal tone. After reviewing his own life and his difficult relationship with his alcoholic father, he turns to the one true Father in Heaven, invoking His goodness and forgiveness: “Thy will be done …” “Forgive us our sins, our trespasses …” “Deliver us from evil, all of us.”

Here, what’s really significant isn’t the voice of this rock-and-roll celebrity, but the power of the Our Father itself. These words of Christ are capable of speaking to, and through, everyone—from toddlers, who stumble through the prayer, to ageing rock stars who have experienced all the world has to offer.

If there’s anything we learn from Bruce Springsteen’s performance in that show, let it be that all of us, famous or forgotten, poor or rich, are equally children of our Father who is in Heaven. All of us are loved, all of us need forgiveness, and all of us are in His hands.

As we commemorate the Stations of the Cross this week at school and enter the holiday period leading our students to the celebration of Easter, I think this is a very appropriate reflection with which to finish Term 1.

Easter is always an important season in the Church but especially in the light of recent traumatic events in Christchurch, when we see elements in society succumbing to fear. The Good Friday crucifixion was because the religious leaders of the time feared Jesus and the occupying Roman force feared the Jewish leaders. Fear leads to death. Faith, hope and love leads to new life. The work of New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern has indeed been Christ-like. She has rejected a politics of fear and divisiveness and instead reached out in a spirit of inclusiveness to bring comfort and security to all who have been so horrifically impacted by the devastating events. Jesus reminds us all to Be Not Afraid. During this Easter season, allow yourself to be reminded that through the pain and suffering of crucifixion, there is new life offered to all.

Our Muslims brothers and sisters are believers in the one God and we reach out to them during our special season of Easter to pray with and for them…and for a world free of fear and terror.

David Hansen

Head of Campus - Cranbourne

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