Many adults have reported excessive screen time as a predominant health concern affecting our youth, particularly in the highly connected world we are exposed to daily. The recommendations from The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that there should be less than two hours per day for five to 17 year olds. Parents play a pivotal role in modelling positive behaviour, assisting their children to navigate the content that they access.

Pastoral this week focused on positive behaviours both on and offline. The following themes were explored:

Respect: Develop students’ understanding of the value of cultural difference and respectful communication and increase their capacity to respond to situations in a positive way.
Responsibilities: Help students understand their responsibility, including supporting others and speaking out about offensive or harmful online content or behaviours.
Empathy: Develop students’ empathy skills through practice in actively supporting others both off and online. 
Resilience: Develop students’ understanding of resilience through identifying their strengths, skills and coping strategies that can help them bounce back from stressful situations.

Online Presence

We know that you want to assist your children when learning about digital safety so they can manage their online presence, both now and as they grow into adulthood.

It is important to establish ongoing dialogue about safety in our digital world. Candid family conversations about the ways in which your teenager engages online, including and beyond TikTok, will help bolster their sense of digital citizenship and empower them to be mindful of their own safety on the internet.

Every home is filled with a plethora of screens and devices. They are connecting through social media, gaming, watching Netflix and/or YouTube. Many parents are worried about addiction to devices and anti-social behaviour. Families need to establish a media plan around screen time that incorporates health and wellbeing, entertainment and education.

The following websites are a great resource for managing your child’s online presence:

No-Phone Policy

A reminder to all students and parents that phones are not permitted during school hours. Students have been reminded regarding posting photos, videos and/or TikTok’s in school uniform. Using phones onsite at lunch or recess and or contacting their parents to come and collect them when they feel unwell and/or anxious goes against our “No Phone” policy. We ask that you trust, that we as a school, will ensure that your child is safe and cared for. Often it is best for us to deal and assess situations as they arise. The normal process if a student feels unwell is for them to sign in at Sick Bay and the office staff will contact parents if needed. Your ongoing support with this is much appreciated.

Leah Cristiano
Level Leader: Year 7