Cyber Safety Project

On Monday 3 June, we hosted a parent seminar with the Cyber Safety Project on helping your child navigate the digital world safely. Amongst the themes explored during the presentation was age-restrictions applying to social media platforms and games. Most social media platforms suggest the users be at least 13 years of age before joining.

The reason 13 years of age is a recommendation for most platforms is that young children are vulnerable to various kinds of online harm such as identity theft and image-based abuse, as well as potentially putting themselves in physical danger by conversing with people pretending to be children because of their stage of development.

Some of you may be aware that some jurisdictions around the world (including Australia) are considering increasing the minimum age to join these platforms. Discussing these issues with children is challenging for many parents, in part because they do not feel sufficiently informed to be able to do so. The presenter on Monday night recommended several websites where parents can turn to become more informed.

The links to these sites appear below, and I heartily recommend parents take the time to access these sites to support them in making decisions relating to digital safety for their children. As with movies and television, I believe minimum age restrictions are a sensible starting point for parents considering the benefits and dangers of the digital world.

The final link in the list is a website (Common Sense Media) on which most games and apps are evaluated for their suitability for certain ages of children which may be helpful for parents to consider.

https://cybersafetyproject.com.au/families/

https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents

https://www.accce.gov.au/resources/for-parents-and-carers

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/

Dr Robert Jacob

Deputy Principal and Head of Wellbeing

Monash Scholars Program

Congratulations to Tessa S (Year 10) who has been selected for the Monash Scholars Program 2024.

We are all very proud of your achievement! You can read more about the program here.

Reconciliation Week Activities

We recently celebrated Reconciliation Week across the school. Our National Sorry Day gathering at the flagpole with Year 6 students was particularly poignant. I am grateful to our Chaplain Mrs Riviere Pendle for the array of activities across the week which included cooking with indigenous ingredients, a screening of the film Occupation Native and an excursion to Bunjil Place Art Gallery to see the Strong Women Exhibition. It was wonderful to see the whole school gathered on the oval for a traditional Smoking Ceremony at the start of the week.

Concussion Policy

Our updated Concussion Management Policy is now available on the school website. We ask families take the time to read and understand the policy and ensure all concussions are reported to the school (including those which occur out of hours or at the weekend).

Junior School Athletics Carnival (Years 3–6)

Our Years 3–6 students had a fabulous day at Casey Fields enjoying their annual House Athletics Carnival. We were blessed with a fine day which allowed our students to perform at their very best. It was wonderful to see our students supporting each other and celebrating their achievements together. Congratulations to the winning house – Leaver.

SS Exams

Our Senior School students are currently completing their examinations. They will receive valuable feedback from their teachers on their exam performance and hopefully will learn a lot from their mistakes. The June exams are really important practice exams where students learn how to prepare for and manage examinations.

Fiona Williams

Principal