Leader of Student Wellbeing

Gender Program Year 7 and 10

Year 7 and 10 students have engaged in the Gender Program for three sessions across the term. The Year 10 girls’ program titled "Embrace Yourself" discussed body image and the power of the media in influencing girls' perceptions titled. They discovered that the media manipulates female bodies through airbrushing techniques and photoshopping different parts of the body. Research shows women and adolescents exposed to the media spend more money on improving their appearance and can be at risk of developing eating disorders because they feel dissatisfied with their body image.  In the final week, exploration of female roles in society and the workforce occurred through presentations from Miss Armanno, Ms Hannan and Ms O’Sullivan (a former teacher of McCarthy.) The program for Year 7 girls program titled "Friendships" covered the issue of qualities of positive friendships and using assertive communication to express ideas in a positive and open way. In the final week, issues related to verbal and physical bullying and online bullying were covered.  A discussion of keeping safe online when using social media platforms such as SnapChat and Instagram in regards to sexting was covered.  In term 4, programs for year 8 and 9 will occur. 

Esafety Commissioner information on sexting:

https://www.esafety.gov.au/key-issues/staying-safe/sending-nudes-sexting

Year 7 and 10 boys followed a three week program titled "Masculinity: What Does It Mean to be a Man?" which focused on understanding the difference between being brave and reckless, about learning to value 'power with' rather than 'power over' others and the importance of integrity if you are to be a man of substance. Last week Year 7 completed the first module of the program. In the first module they learn that boys in our society are saturated with toxic images of masculinity from an early age. Films, television, advertising, cartoons, toy figurines, computer games, and sport are often laced with messages of hyper-masculinity that promote an unhealthy view of what it means to be a man in our culture. We are constantly reminded of the impact of toxic masculinity with daily reports in the media of domestic violence, sexual assault, alcohol fuelled violence, motor vehicle accidents, body image and suicide. Many psychologists and social researchers attribute one of the root causes to these social ills as males growing up with an unhealthy idea of what it means to be a man. Next term the Year 8 and 9 boys will embark on the second module which aims to explore what a healthy masculinity looks like.

Peer Support Program - Year 7 with Year 10 leaders

We were able to have two lessons of the eight lessons before the latest round of COVID-19 restrictions started. Groups of 8-10 students meet with 2 -3  Year 10 Peer Leaders and work through a range of activities that focus on resilience. Meeting in small groups allows meaningful connections to form, assisting students with the transition to secondary school. Over a period of 8 forty -five minute students acknowledge their strengths and achievements, identify people who support them and learn how to view challenges as opportunities for growth.

In the second session students explored the idea that how they view themselves and their challenges can affect the outcomes of these situations. Students discuss helpful ways to view challenges.They consider keeping things in perspective, separating emotions and ascertaining facts to accurately identify the problem to be addressed. Your child may, at times, feel overwhelmed by the expectations of secondary school. Encourage them to make a list or write a plan to help identify smaller tasks to make a large workload more manageable. It is important they feel supported while being encouraged to independently prioritise their responsibilities.

Compass Commendations

Congratulations to all students who have received Compass Commendations this term recognising contribution to College life, demonstrating leadership, or excellence in classroom learning.

Year 12

Congratulations to all Year 12 students as they complete 13 years of classes. The Pastoral Care team extends our good wishes to the students as they embark on their exams. We look forward to joining with you in the various celebrations over the next two months.

Educational Access Scheme (EAS) through University Admission Centre. Educational Access Schemes (EAS) aim to help students, whose education has been negatively affected during Year 11 and/or Year 12, receive an offer to university. There are various categories for disadvantage:

1. If a parent has received Job Keeper for 3 months or more
2. Youth Allowance, Family Tax recipients, Job Seeker
3. Illness or death of a close family member
4. Family disruption -divorce or separation of parents or other events
5. Impacts of natural disasters - drought, bushfire, flooding
6. Excessive family responsibilities
7. Personal illness/disability
8. Disrupted schooling
9. Other categories

Applications close Friday 20 November. An educational impact statement is required to be filled out by the College before the application is submitted. Please see Mrs O’Neill or Mrs Stuart well before 20 November for your educational statement. Further information and the relevant forms (you need to login into UAC using your student number and PIN) are available at https://www.uac.edu.au/current-applicants/educational-access-schemes#all-documents

Pastoral Care Contacts

Please contact your child’s Leader of Student Care as your first port of call for communication on pastoral and wellbeing issues:

Year 7 - Mr Damian Kenniff dkenniff@arm.catholic.edu.au

Year 8 - Mrs Melissa Bearup   mbearup@arm.catholic.edu.au

Year 9 - Mr Bernie Williams   bwilliams1@arm.catholic.edu.au

Year 10 - Mr Andrew Davy   adavy@arm.catholic.edu.au

Year 11 - Mrs Melissa Lees   mlees@arm.catholic.edu.au 

Year 12 - Mrs Fiona O'Neill foneill@arm.catholic.edu.au 

College Counsellors - mccthrive@arm.catholic.edu.au

Mrs Sharon Stuart - Leader of  Student Wellbeing

sstuart@arm.catholic.edu.au