Principal
Dear Parents, Students, Staff and Friends of St Patrick’s College,
Safer Internet Day
Did you know? Only 46% of Australian parents feel confident about dealing with the online risks their children face and 95% want more information about online safety.
eSafety resources can help you start the chat about being safer online, then keep building your family's digital skills throughout the year.
Launching on Safer Internet Day 2021:
- eSafety's new research report Digital Lives of Aussie Teens and
- The eCommissioner’s new webinar for parents and carers Cyberbullying and online drama. Limited spaces. Sign up now!
Show your support for Safer Internet Day, alongside millions of other people around the world. Let's work together for a better internet!
When you register, you will receive Safer Internet Day tips and you will be advised as soon as new resources are available, including the Digital Lives of Aussie Teens report, and the Swoosh, Glide and Rule Number 5 picture book and My Family Rules song by Lah-Lah for younger children. Register now.
Teach Boys the Processes of Independence
Well, we are up and running for the year and the boys have hit the ground running! My observations in the past week is that we have a number of lads who would benefit from a concerted effort to be more independent.
Forgetting keys, losing bus passes and wallets and asking parents to drop off sports gear or lunches are just some of the things I’ve witnessed – and not necessarily in our younger boys!
If you want kids to become independent, you need to teach them skills that help them to become self-sufficient. Dressing yourself, making a snack, looking up a bus timetable and making a CV are examples of self-sufficiency skills that are relevant for different ages.
Awareness, teaching and opportunity are the main requirements for kids to pick up these skills. They need to be aware of what can be done. They need to acquire the skills – some take more teaching than others. They also need the opportunity to put things into practice. Choose any skill you want your son to learn and see how each of these applies.
There is, however, a deeper level you can go to develop independence. You can help your kids develop processes necessary to become independent. If they don’t have these, they will always be dependent on others regardless of their ability and skills.
Here are three processes of independence you can develop:
Planning ahead:
Thinking ahead is needed for real independence. What are the three things you need to get ready for school? What do you need to do to complete your homework in time for the weekend? Help kids to develop processes for planning their time and thinking ahead so they can become pro-active and accountable, otherwise, kids become reliant on others.
Procedural thinking:
The trouble with everything being instant and off-the-shelf is that kids do not see steps and procedures required to make, bake or do anything. It also means kids do not develop procedural self-talk (‘that comes first, when I’ve done that now I need to do this’) because they haven’t been exposed to sorting, sequencing and other steps that are required to make stuff happen.
Self-organisation:
The ability to organise yourself is paramount to real independence from others. Forgetful kids usually don’t have a process for remembering. For example, I put my car keys on top of the pile of things I need to bring with me to school each day. In searching for one thing, I recall another.
Think process as well as skill if you want your boys to become truly independent. Boys will most likely copy a great deal of good organisational processes from you, however, you may also need to do some direct teaching, particularly with boys who by nature can be organisationally challenged!
Condolences
Please pray for Matthew Gainsford (Year 10) and Benjamin Gainsford (Year 8) on the loss of their grandmother, Joan Williams, who passed away in the UK on 13 January. Please also pray for Luke Thomas (Year 6) and Ethan Thomas (Year 5) and family on the passing of their grandfather, Bernard Thomas.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of Joan and Bernard, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
Dr Vittoria Lavorato
Principal
SPC boys can do anything! *
*except divide by zero