Principal's Report

Christchurch Tragedy

Lalor Secondary College understands that our community may be affected by the tragedy in New Zealand on Friday March 15, and our thoughts go out to everyone in Christchurch at this time. Some members of our communities will have watched the footage and may be impacted by the images. Others may need reassurance to be supported to feel safe.

It is common to think about safety and predictability of the world when tragedies such as the Christchurch incident occur.

Reactions are influenced by many factors:

Knowing someone impacted.
Identifying with the victims and survivors.
Seeing and hearing terrifying images and discussions.

The developmental age of the person influences what they understand and how they respond. Some may be unaware, others will be following all the discussions and media coverage, looking for understanding.

What can we do and say to show we care and make them feel safe?

Here are some ways you can make children and young people feel safe:

Give reassurance that the incident is over.
Keep to routines, as they are reassuring.
Have time to listen and talk. Listen to concerns and worries and discuss strategies for feeling safe, dealing with worry and being able to take action. This helps in repairing safety and calm.
Give a calm response to their concerns.
Keep your explanations appropriate for their age and development. Start at their starting point: ask what the child/young person understands about what has happened and what their key worry is. Each child will have a different understanding and will find different parts of what has happened frightening or worrying. Very young children need simple, factual information balanced with assurances of safety. Older children will be appraising their own, and loved ones, safety. They may need help with separating reality form fantasy, and to dispel rumours.
Reduce exposure to media coverage and conversations that are distressing and not age-appropriate.
Monitor their emotional state. Changes in behaviour, appetite and sleep can be an indicator of anxiety or worry. Young children often express worry through bodily aches and pains.

If you feel that someone in your family needs further support around this tragedy please contact myself on 9463 7300.

Sincerely yours,

Corey Jewell

College Principal

Principal Report

All parents are invite to attend the 2019 Annual General meeting to be held on Tuesday the 26th of March at 6.30pm. This meeting will present the 2018 Annual Report to the Community which will then be made available to all members of our community via the school website. If any member of our community is planning on attending please contact the general office to RSVP for catering and logistic planning.

On Tuesday the 19th of March the school opened its doors for its annual Discovery Evening that showcased the school to the general community, and in particular those parents who are looking at secondary schools for their students on 2020. We had a wonderful turn out of both staff and students and with around 100 families taking the opportunity to look around it was a worthwhile event. I thank the near 100 students who attended and gave up their time, as well as the staff who put significant effort into their displays.

At Lalor Secondary College we do everything possible to ensure the safety of our students. The school has a detailed On Site Supervision policy that is available for all members of our community to view via our website - http://www.lalorsc.vic.edu.au/

Part of this policy outlines the supervision provided to students before and after school and the obligations of parents around these guidelines. School staff do commence duty until 8.30am and therefore if your child is on site prior to this time they are unsupervised. The following paragraph is from our On Site Supervision policy.

Parents/carers are discouraged from sending their children to school before the designated supervision time in the morning which is 8.30am at Lalor Secondary College. Parents/carers are encouraged to pick up their child by the end of the designated end of day supervision period.

At the end of the day students must leave the school grounds by 3.30pm unless they are involved in a school activity that has been arranged by a Lalor Secondary College staff member. Again, the college does not have the capacity to supervise students after this time and we ask that students make their way to a location that each parent is aware of and provides adequate supervision for their age.

It’s hard to believe that Friday the 5th of April is the last day of term 1, it has gone so fast. On this day all students will be dismissed at the end of period 4 at 1.12pm. All parents and carers will need to make appropriate arrangements to manage this change to the regular finishing time.

If anybody has any questions about the information above please contact me via 9463 7300.

Best regards,

Corey Jewell

College Principal