Student & Community Engagement
International Women's Day
International Women’s Day is celebrated globally on the 8th March every year to honour the remarkable global contributions that women have made to our society. This day highlights women as inspirational and emphasises the achievements made by women around the world in securing women’s rights and building an equal society. It also serves to give a voice to those who are constantly dominated and who go unheard throughout the world.
In acknowledgement of International Women’s Day, many members of the College wore a purple ribbon, our student leaders were invited to a morning tea and many students and staff participated in a women’s only basketball round robin at lunchtime. At the Positive Values Assemblies the following Tuesday, a number of staff and student speakers each gave a brief talk of a Woman who has inspired them. Please take some time to thank the women in your life for all that they do and think about a woman who inspires you.
Ms Fiona Vanstan
On the 7th of March I had the opportunity to go to the School of Biomedical Sciences panel held at Melbourne University, to acknowledge and celebrate International Women’s Day.
The panel featured six female leaders in medical research as shown on the slide. Each of them shared their journey and the challenges that they faced as women. It was truly inspiring to hear advice from highly accomplished and diverse female leaders. Throughout the panel the speakers also discussed the lessons that have enabled them to be successful. Some of the advice which I thought was important and I would like to share with you was:
- To know that you don’t have to fit in other people’s definitions on how a woman should be, and
- To know that being a woman should never be a barrier to success, and lastly
- To understand that we should always support each other because it is women who empower other women.
You can find more information and a podcast from this day here
Farzana Qasimi
Year 10
National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence
On Friday 15 March the College acknowledged the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence. The theme of the day was “Bullying. No Way! Take action every day” and served as a reminder for the whole community to reject bullying and cyberbullying and help keep young Australians safe.
Bullying is an ongoing and deliberate misuse of power in relationships through repeated verbal, physical and/or social behaviour that intends to cause physical, social and/or psychological harm. It can involve an individual or a group misusing their power, or perceived power, over one or more persons who feel unable to stop it from happening.
Bullying affects everyone involved, including people who witness it. It can have serious and long-term emotional or psychological consequences in addition to the immediate harmful effects.
Approximately one in four Year 4 to Year 9 Australian students (27%) reported being bullied every few weeks or more often (considered to be frequent) in a national study in 2009.
Hurtful teasing was the most prevalent of all bullying behaviours experienced by students, followed by having hurtful lies told about them.
Bullying is never ok. If you are being bullied, and you feel safe to do so:
- ignore them
- tell them to stop and then walk away
- go somewhere safe
- get support from your friends; ask friends, parents or teachers for their help to deal with the issue safely.
If you see someone else being bullied, and feel safe to do so, you can:
- refuse to join in
- tell the person doing the bullying to stop
- say to the person being bullied that the other person’s behaviour is not okay
- leave negative online conversations – don’t join in with online bullying.
Positive parental engagement has been proven to promote student wellbeing, productivity and achievement. ReachOut Parents provides resources, tools and practical tips for parents to better understand and support their child’s mental health and wellbeing. To view these resource, click here.