I would like to thank ALL the parents that attended the recent subject selection evening. The positive involvement of parents is key to a child’s happiness and success and the presence of so many parents augurs well for our students in the future. Student subject selections should be completed by the 29th June. In addition, final selections need to be printed and signed by parents and returned to their PALS teacher by this date. 

Another focus for the evening was providing information for parents on how to manage and support their children when dealing with cyberbullying and access to social media

The link below was provided as a resource for parents. This website helps answer questions such as What to do if your child is being cyberbullied? and I am worried my child may be bullying others. 

Your child may not tell you if they are experiencing bullying behaviour online because of a fear it might make things worse for them or they may lose access to their devices and the internet. The website has case studies that  look at different experiences of cyberbullying and what parents  can do if their child is being cyberbullied.

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

It is important for students and parents to work together in having a “healthy” relationship with social media and ensuring that their child has a regular break from accessing devices. Consider your child’s screen use in the context of their overall health and wellbeing. For example, is online time getting in the way of their sleep and exercise? Is it impacting their face-to-face connections with family and friends? Is it impacting on the time available to complete school work? The answers to these questions will guide you and help strike the right balance of online and offline activities for your child.The website below will provide you with the information to help you support your child manage a healthy relationship with social media

https://www.esafety.gov.au/education-resources/iparent

Some of the strategies suggested include:

• Involve your child in creating a family plan for leisure and entertainment time that balances time spent sitting in front of screens — including time online and watching TV — and a variety of offline activities. 
• Work out the plan together. Young people are more likely to respond to rules they have contributed to and see as being fair and consistent.
• As well as agreed age-based time limits, the plan could include rules about which websites can be visited and online games can be played. It could also include control of access to the internet or devices, perhaps with daily passwords revealed once family time, homework and chores are complete. 
• A minor reduction each day or a ‘15-minutes to switch-off’ warning can help the transition to a more balanced use of time. 

This may require parents to make some decisions  that may challenge the relationship with their child but as Isaac Slade from “The Fray” sings - “sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same”

Looking forward to continuing our ongoing collaboration!

“With strong minds and gracious hearts”

Ms Wendy Isemonger