iNFORMATION 

WEBINAR e-Safety’s parent guide to cyberbullying and online drama

Wednesday 23rd March 

The E-Safety Commissioner website is a wonderful resource for parents, students and teachers that focuses on how to keep teenagers safe online. Unfortunately, statistics indicate that one in five young Australians aged 8 to 17 years have been socially excluded, threatened or abused online. I do encourage all members of the Academy community to regularly visit this website for valuable information, resources and webinars. 

One such webinar is taking place on Wednesday 23rd March. The webinar is entitled ‘e-Safety’s parent guide to cyberbullying and online drama’. It will provide parents and carers with the tools to support young people to have safe and respectful online relationships. It will also offer advice about what to do when things go wrong.

It is designed for parents and carers of young people aged 11 to 18 years old and it will cover: 

• starting conversations with your child about their online friendships and positive ways to deal with changing relationships;
• understanding the rights, laws and community expectations that govern social media use; and
• where to seek help if your child is involved in a cyberbullying incident.

The link to take you to the registration page is https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/webinars

At the Academy the Senior Student Leadership Team also recognised the importance of the day by organising a number of different activities for the students. More information will be provided in the next College News.

REMINDERS

General Absence Notification

It is compulsory for all students enrolled at the Academy to attend school.  Attendance rolls are marked for each class and at Mentor Group.  

A telephone call from the parent/guardian to the Absence line: Tel 9412 7111  or email  attendance@academy.vic.edu.au 

is requested if a student is absent from school.  A written explanation from a parent/guardian is required on the day of return to school.  Such absence notes are to be written by the parent/guardian and not by the student and simply signed by the parent.  Notes in the parent’s first language, if that is not English, are acceptable.  Absence notes are given to the Mentor Group Teacher at Mentor Group.  In the case of students absent for three days without explanation, the College will contact the parents requesting confirmation of the absence.  Days absent will be recorded on each semester report.  If students are not present when the roll is marked in Period 1, and the school has not been already notified, an SMS message will be sent to parents, who are then asked to contact the College to confirm the absence.

Late Arrivals & Detentions

Any student who arrives at school after the commencement of Mentor Group (8.40am) must report to Student Reception for this to be recorded.  Late arrival at school without a note of explanation approved by the College (excluding major public transport delays), may result in an after school detention.

Early Departure?

Any student needing to leave school early must place an explanatory note in the early dismissal (yellow) box in Student Reception prior to commencement of classes.  The student then collects the Dismissal Pass from Student Reception at a later stage.  When it is time to leave, students simply notify their class teacher of their early departure, make their way to Student Reception and sign the Early Departure Book before leaving.