From the Principal

Responsible use of Social Media

“While most of our students use their mobile devices responsibly, there is an increasing prevalence of personal distress, social conflict and compromise to safety on campus relating to their online interactions, particularly through social media at home. Social media can be positive, fun and engaging. However, harmful and sometimes dangerous online behaviour outside of school hours has prompted us to write to you so that we can work together to support your children to be safe and to behave safely when they are online. While students of all ages are being affected, an unprecedented number of incidents in Years 7 and 8 has been notable”.

It takes a village to raise a child, and we understand that both parents and schools influence students’ awareness, knowledge, and personal capabilities when it comes to online life. While it is challenging to draw a clear line between the responsibilities of the school and the home, schools are unable to investigate online crimes such as sexting and are unable to manage behaviour that is occurring outside of school hours on personal devices.

We ask that open and honest, challenging, and curious conversations about online life occur in a pro-active way at home and that family boundaries around the use of devices are considered.

We urge you to upskill yourselves and your children about privacy and safety settings, be aware of social media terms and conditions, and monitor your child’s online presence. Knowing what the law says about certain online behaviour is also vital.

The Office of the e-Safety Commissioner’s website offers excellent resources for parents and a reporting mechanism. SAPOL’s cybercrime division also has a reporting mechanism. 

There are other resources we can recommend that may help you to learn about specific social media platforms.

https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/issues-and-advice

https://www.police.sa.gov.au/your-safety/scams-and-cybercrime

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/

https://www.parentpower.com.au

Together, we have a responsibility to keep our children safe online and we look forward to working with you to achieve this.

A letter has been sent to all parents/caregivers of Middle Years students with more specific details and advice.

Staffing Update

I am pleased to announce that Scott Charlton has been appointed as Sports and Carnival Coordinator for the remainder of 2023 commencing at the start of Term 3. Scott has a passion for sport, a high level of administration experience, and a strong history in sports coaching. I wish him all the very best for this role as it continues to develop and am confident that Endeavour College will continue to flourish in sport under his inclusive leadership.

Richard Baird

Principal