Student safety

In the interests of student safety, parents and carers are asked to avoid driving down the College driveway between 7.45am and 8.15am and between 2 and 2.30pm. This is the peak time for students entering and leaving the College via foot, often alighting from or rushing to catch afternoon buses. The safest place to drop off and collect students at these times is the Keira Park Carpark.

Additionally, in the interests of student safety we ask parents and carers to remind the boys that when they arrive at school prior to the commencement of the school day, they should make their way to the middle areas of the school, including the Cola area outside the library and the areas around B and C block. The Basketball courts and areas around the Change Rooms are out of bounds.

In a further commitment to maintaining safety at the College we encourage parents to revisit with their sons the College Hands Off Policy as published in the College diary, which includes refraining from any physical contact which compromises the safety and dignity of others as well as interfering with the property of others.

Quality Relationships at ERC

We pride ourselves on the quality of relationships we have within our community, student to student, teacher to student, teacher to teacher and parent/carer to teacher. The collaborative nature of these very positive relationships play a significant role in ensuring that we are able to provide a positive and supportive environment for all in our community. This was certainly highlighted in the Mother’s Day High Tea run by the Parents and Friends Association who were greatly assisted by the talented Year 11 Hospitality students and the very generous TAS and Hospitality staff.

There is a large body of evidence to suggest that positive parent/carer to teacher relationships provide a positive impact on academic performance as well as student wellbeing. The opportunity for us as a College to engage in ongoing, supportive, trusting and understanding relationships sends a clear message to your sons about the value of education. From time to time there may be situations that arise at the College or outside of the College that impact on your son’s wellbeing and level of engagement. At these times we encourage you to be in contact with your son’s Pastoral teacher, Pastoral Care Coordinator, Assistant Pastoral Care Coordinator or Director of Pastoral Care so that we can ensure that he receives the very best support possible here at school. Please be assured that matters of this nature are dealt with in the strictest confidence.

Parents/carers are encouraged to make contact with the College in the first instance via phone or email. The College office is open from 7.30am to 4pm each day. If you call the office your message will be passed on to the appropriate member of staff. Whilst we will always do our very best to respond to your calls and emails promptly, parents/carers are encouraged to inform the Office Staff if the matter requires an urgent response.

Parent webinar opportunity

As you would be aware vaping continues to be a significant concern nationally. I wanted to highlight an important opportunity for parents and carers to learn more about Teen Vaping from a young person, who was a former Safe on Social Youth Advisory member. Lenny will share his insights, having witnessed the growth of this concerning trend. This webinar will be co-hosted by Kiera Pendergast, CEO of Safe on Social. The webinar will be held on May 25, commencing at 7pm and running for 45 mins, at a cost of $27.50. I encourage families interested in learning more about how best to support young people to attend this webinar. The registration link for the webinar can be found here

I am also pleased to attach here a copy of the most recent Insight article from our Happy Families subscription, written by Vanessa Hamilton, about Consent and how to talk to young people of various ages.

Mrs Hughes
Acting Deputy Principal