Dear Parents/Carers,

ESTABLISHMENT OF DIOCESAN CATHOLIC EDUCATION COUNCIL

Bishop Mark Edwards has announced the establishment of a Catholic Education Council (CEC) with the authority to make decisions for Catholic Education in the Diocese of Wagga Wagga. Bishop Mark’s announcement can be read in full below.

RUOK DAY AND CHILD PROTECTION WEEK

Both RUOK Day and Child Protection Week provide us all with a reminder about the importance of safety and wellbeing for the young people in our care. As well as focusing on their safety, there is an even more pressing need for us to collectively monitor, support and care for our young people during these COVID times. The following information from CEDWW is a timely reminder of our responsibilities:

Young people’s mental health is influenced by many factors. Throughout anybody’s life course there are a range of influences and events – both positive and negative – that impact an individual’s mental health. These influences and events are known as risk and protective factors.

Risk factors increase the likelihood that children will experience mental health problems, and protective factors decrease the likelihood even when risk factors are present.

What are Mental Health Risk Factors?

Risk factors for young people’s mental health and wellbeing increase the likelihood of mental health issues developing during childhood and beyond. These include internal (biological and psychological), family or environmental characteristics, and experiences that challenge social and emotional wellbeing.

Protective Factors for Young People’s Mental Health

Protective factors decrease the likelihood of mental health issues and build and maintain resilience, even when risk factors are present.

Enhancing individual, family and environmental protective factors means children are less likely to be vulnerable because they receive the acceptance, warmth and support required for learning, social and emotional development, and resilience.

What we can do is focus our effort and attention on protective factors. For example, we might seek to improve our physical health, we can be more active in our community, put time into our relationships and practice mindfulness to increase our emotional competence. When we increase our own protective factors, we will then be able to help those in our families, College and communities increase their protective factors and strive for better wellbeing.

Under the leadership of Ms Mel Cramp, Leader of Students, the College has reimagined a space for students in the administration area who are feeling distracted from their learning or emotionally vulnerable. Students who access the space will be encouraged to restore and reset their focus and to allow them to return to learning in the classroom. The new “Reset and Return” Room will offer the opportunity to move beyond a focus on being “OK” offering students expert assistance from our College Psychologist and strategies to facilitate their re-engagement with learning.

CONCERNS WITH GRAPHIC SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT

Parents/carers will likely be aware of a news item that has flooded the media this week regarding a graphic video posted on social media. The following advice published online yesterday in response to this incident offers parents/carers strategies to talk to their children about violent online posts.

We remind parents that the College devices do not permit student access to social media but if parent/carers provide their child/children with data enabled mobile devices at school, students have access to social media during recess and lunch time. While we suggest that parents do not permit their child to bring a mobile device to school, we appreciate that they are often viewed as a safety device to allow parental contact for before and after school travel.

However, please be aware that access to personal devices does result in additional parental responsibilities for student wellbeing if they are accessing and even sharing unsupervised internet content. We remind parents again that there are commercially available options that restrict access to social media on devices.

Further information about Social Media, Digital and Network Access is included in the Academic Care and Wellbeing section of this newsletter.

A PRAYER FOR SAFETY AND WELLBEING

Dear Lord,

You asked that the little children be allowed to come to you;

for it is such as these that the Reign of God belongs.

You entrust them to the care and protection of our communities of faith.

Guide us as we strive to ensure that our Catholic communities provide a safe environment for each young person.

We pray especially for all those who have been harmed in their childhood.

Give them courage in facing the past and lead them to your healing protection.

We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen

ONSTAGE NOMINATIONS

Congratulations to HSC students Isabelle Cunningham and Grace Melton and their Drama teacher Mrs Nicole Lewis on the notification from NESA that their individual Drama performances have both nominated for possible inclusion in OnSTAGE, a selection of performances and individual projects from Higher School Certificate Drama students.

KEY UPCOMING DATES

Thursday 24 September - Last day of classes for Year 12
Friday 25 September - Term 3 concludes
Monday 12 October - Term 4 commences for both staff and students.

There is no Staff Professional Learning Day to begin Term 4.

Congratulations and best wishes to our Mater Dei teams who are competing in upcoming sporting finals. We are proud of your achievements and of the fact that you are great ambassadors of the College.

Please keep our Year 12 students in your prayers as they undertake practical HSC Examinations, submit HSC major projects and works and journey through their last weeks at the College and Year 11 as they undertake the End of Preliminary Course Examinations.

Mrs Val Thomas | Principal

"Mater Dei Matters"

Issue 14 · 11 Sep 2020

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