When we talk to parents about why they choose to send their children to a Catholic school they frequently comment about the high quality of pastoral care offered in a Catholic school and this is certainly the case at Edmund Rice. We pride ourselves on the quality of relationships we have within our community, student to peer, teacher to student, teacher to teacher and parent to teacher. The collaborative nature of these very positive relationships play a significant role in ensuring that we are able to provide the best possible pastoral care. Furthermore, there is evidence to suggest that positive parent/ teacher relationships provide a positive impact on academic performance as well as student wellbeing. The opportunity for us as a school to engage in ongoing, supportive, trusting and understanding relationships sends a clear message to your sons about the value of education. 

If your son is having difficulty with a particular subject or assessment task the first point of contact should be his classroom teacher. From time to time there may be situations that arise outside of school that impact on your son’s health, wellbeing or pattern of attendance . At these times we encourage you to be in contact with your son’s Year Coordinator, Assistant Year Coordinator or myself as Director of Pastoral Care so that we can ensure that he receives the very best support possible here at the College. 

Parents 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. We will always do our very best to respond to your calls and emails promptly, 

Attendance Reminders

Thank you to all those in our community who are continuing to support our focus on attendance. Please remember the following: 

Each day of absence must be explained within 7 school days. We are pleased to advise that a phone call from a parent will now be accepted as a form of explanation. Parents that phone the College will no longer be required to follow this up in writing. 

Early leave or late arrivals

Students arriving late to school or departing early from school must sign in and out of school via the Student Counter at the College Office. If a student is leaving the school during the school day then they should present a signed note to their Year Coordinator at the start of the day. This note should be retained by the student and shown to the class teacher before leaving the classroom. All students leaving the College are required to sign out at the Student Counter and students in Years 7-10 must be collected from the office by their parents. If the student is returning to school after an appointment their parent/carer may drop the student back at school without coming in, however, the student must sign in at the office.  

Mobile Phones 

The College has a clear policy pertaining to the use of mobile phones at school, within the school grounds. This is essentially driven by a desire to protect the boys and ensure their safety, eliminate distractions and ensure a clear focus on learning and teaching, to encourage face to face communication, and the development of authentic relationships within the school community. Boys are not permitted to have their phones on during the school day and any urgent communication should come via the College Office. Furthermore, boys are not permitted to take any photos of themselves or any other Edmund Rice boys in uniform, nor are they permitted to post comments or images that would identify them as a student of Edmund Rice, the primary reason is for their safety, however, we do know that there has been extensive research to suggest that the use of mobile phones during the school day significantly diminishes their capacity to actively engage in their learning. Families are reminded the use of a mobile phone during the school day, that is from the time the student arrives at school until the bell rings to indicate the end of the day will result in a one hour after school detention, continued misuse may require the student to hand the phone in at the College office each day.  

We would greatly appreciate the support of parents in discussing this with their son(s) over the coming week. As we know, digital technology poses challenges for us as parents and educators of young people. Martine Oglethorpe and accredited speaker from the office of the eSafety Commissioner, provides parents with some insight into questions worth asking in relation to screen time. Her article can be found HERE.