Acting Principal

Archer Gray

I was privileged to be with the Gray family last Friday 26 May at Breen Oval. Archer would have turned 18 on Friday. Father Jack led us in prayer and blessed ‘Archie’s Bench’ which now has a commemorative plaque. Archie’s Bench is on the Fraser Street side of Breen Oval near the halfway line. Archer will always be with us overlooking the cricket pitch; he will always be a companion walking with those who will continue to grace Breen oval. The prayers of the entire SPC community are with Susan, Andrew, Finn, and Charlie during this difficult time. 

Parents’ and Friends’ Parent Forum

Last Wednesday evening we had guest speaker Amy Haddadi from Safe on Social come to talk to us at the Parents’ and Friends’ Forum. This is the second year in a row we were able to host a presenter from Safe on Social and it is amazing how much has changed in the world of social media and technology in the last 12 months.

Amy reinforced the need for parents/carers to have open communication with their children. She reiterated that parents/carers should not punish their child by taking their phone for non-phone related issues. She also asked us to consider what we would think it would feel like to wake up to over 100 notifications on our phones. That is what many of our students wake up to. The first thing they do is scroll through their phones to see if they have been mentioned in any of the notifications. We need to consider the mental health effects of waking up to these notifications. 

It was eye opening for me to hear that Snapmaps (on Snapchat) can pinpoint a person’s location down to 20cm. This is something we need to consider when we give Snapchat access to our children. I know we have Junior School students on Snapchat even though the age restriction recommends children above the age of 13. 

Amy encouraged us to be active participants in the online lives of our children. As our children scroll, algorithms take over and it may be hard to retrain the computer to a new algorithm which can take some participants down a very dark pathway. 

Amy’s top 10 tips for parents/carers are:

1. It is important to foster a healthy relationship with technology for our children. Fear mongering does not work.
2. Get kids connected with goals – when their vision of the future is strong, they are likely to make better, more informed choices.
3. Turn off notifications – do not allow them to be interrupted easily, protect their focus.
4. Setting clear boundaries and rules around technology use, such as screen time limits and device-free zones.
5. Encouraging children to engage in activities that promote social and emotional development, such as spending time with friends and family, engaging in physical activity, and pursuing hobbies and interests.
6. Teaching children about the potential risks and benefits of new technology like AI and encouraging critical thinking and media literacy skills. Teach them the basics of cyber security, password hygiene and what scams look like.
7. Modelling healthy technology use ourselves, such as limiting our own screen time and engaging in face-to face communication and activities with our children.
8. Curate their feed – help them take control of what information they consume.
9. Establish clear guidelines on acceptable use and educate young people on the ethical implications of AI tools.
10. Create a safe space for big conversations without judgment.
11. Phones/devices should not be allowed in bedrooms (especially overnight) or bathrooms.

Technology, phones, and other devices are going to continue to test us as parents/carers and it is important that we set clear guidelines and boundaries around their use if we want to protect our children’s mental health.

In Memoriam

We keep in our prayers the families of:

•  Lucas Tohmeh (Year 11), Benjamin Tohmeh (Year 8) and Old Boy Isaac Tohmeh (’22) on the recent loss of their grandfather, Aziz Tohmeh. 
   
• Peter Yammine (Year 10), Nathan and Anthony Sleiman (Year 10) on the recent loss of their grandfather, Simon Sleiman.

Adrian Byrne

Acting Principal