Welcome to Term 2
This week I would like to outline for you the various Pastoral initiatives that your sons will have the opportunity to participate in throughout Term 2.
Throughout the term there will be a number of whole school focuses including next week the whole school will undertake our annual Wellbeing Survey, results of which will be shared in the next edition of the College newsletter. Additionally, National Road safety week, Reconciliation Week and Men’s Mental Health Week and Refugee Week will all form the basis of our Pastoral programs at various times throughout the Term. Our Year 11 students heard from our College Counsellors this week and this will also be a feature of the Year 10 program in Week 4. The My Resilience program was launched in Term 1 for our Year 7 students, where they discovered the 4 Resilience Principles, and then took the Character Survey to receive their Top 5 Strengths and received a Strengths Pack, I hope your son has been able to share this with you. Unfortunately a small number of students missed out due to the unplanned early finish to the term due to bad weather. These students will have the opportunity to undertake this program at the end of May when the My Strength team returns to run the My Strengths program for Year 10.
This week Year 8 commenced the Digital Licence Program, offered through the Allanah and Madeline Foundation, which seeks to promote digital confidence in addition to the safe, smart and responsible use of technology. I thank Ms Lourdes Nadaira for her leadership of this initiative. Year 7 will commence this program in Week 3. The eSmart Digital Licence+ offers an interesting, gamified learning experience for students to explore an interactive story-world. Users are engaged with learning materials, relatable scenarios and guided reflections of their own experiences with technology so they build digital intelligence. By completing each milestone, students earn the badges they need to receive their Digital Licence+.
On Thursday, Year 9 students had their first session of the YAM (Youth Aware of Mental Health) Program. The aim of YAM is to provide students with an interactive experience which elevates their understanding of Mental Health. The two hour session provided our boys with situation-based discussions and role-playing activities on topics such as relationships, stressful situations, depression and support networks. As we know, Mental Health can be a sensitive topic of discussion, especially among young people. It is important that our boys have the opportunity to engage in quality learning initiatives and I look forward to the following two sessions over the next fortnight.
