Dear Parents and Carers

Well winter has definitely arrived now and the snow is falling in the mountains.  I believe some students even had the opporutnity to experience this over the long weekend.  It has possibly also lead to the resurgence of cold and flu viruses.  While we are excited that students often do not want to miss school, it is important that if they are unwell they remain at home.  This provides them with the best opporuntity to recover and also assists in stopping the spread.

Teachers are currently working on the Semster 1 School Reports for students.  These will be made available to parents via PAM in the last week of term.  If you are having trouble accessing PAM, please contact the school office so they can assist you.  In week 3 of Term 3 Parent Teacher Meetings will be held on Tuesday 5 and Wednesday 6 August.  Parents will have the opportunity to catch up with teachers and discuss the semster 1 report at these meetings.  Further information and bookings for the Parent Teacher Meetings will open early Term 3.

The last day of this term is Thursday 3 July.  This is also our annual PJ and Pizza day.  Students are able to wear their PJs on this day and our P&F are arranging Pizza lunch.  Please see details in the newsletter regarding placing orders for Pizza. Note that Pizza Orders close on Thursday 26 June.

FIRST HOLY COMMUNION 2025

Last week a PAM communication was sent out to the parents of all students who are to receive the Sacrament of First Holy Communion this year.  If you did not receive this communication and you wish for your child to receive the Sacrament this year, please email ajohnston@stclaresofficer.catholic.edu.au

This year, parents will need to enrol their child for the Sacrament of First Holy Communion at the St Patrick’s Parish office.  This can be done at the following times:

24th June 2025 1.00pm - 2.00pm

27th June 2025 1.00pm - 2.00pm

1st July 2025 6.30pm-7.30pm

Prior to this, you need to register to indicate which time slot you will attend:

https://www.trybooking.com/DCFYJ   24 June 1.00 pm

https://www.trybooking.com/DCFYW 24 June 1.30 pm

https://www.trybooking.com/DCFZA  27 June 1.00pm

https://www.trybooking.com/DCFYZ 27 June 1.30pm

https://www.trybooking.com/DCFZC 1 July 6.30pm

https://www.trybooking.com/DCFZG  1 July 7.00

Bookings for enrolment will be open from Tuesday 10 June 2025 10.00am to Tuesday 17 June 2025 5.00pm

A Special Report: Social Media & Comparison Culture

Young people today are growing up in a world where exposure to other people's lives is constant. Through social media and other platforms, they are regularly presented with curated highlights - from flawless holiday photos and academic milestones to the latest fashion trends and fitness achievements. This continuous stream of idealised content fuels what is known as comparison culture, where self-worth is often measured by how someone stacks up against others.

For children and adolescents, who are still figuring out who they are, this culture can be particularly damaging. Constantly comparing their appearance, achievements, or social standing to friends, influencers, and even strangers can lead to unrealistic expectations and a skewed sense of self-worth. This relentless need to measure up can contribute to feelings of inadequacy, self-doubt, and anxiety - undermining both confidence and emotional wellbeing.

It's vital that parents and caregivers understand how deeply comparison culture can influence a child's self-perception and sense of value. Left unchecked, it can foster perfectionism and a dependence on external validation, where a 'like' or comment becomes the measure of their worth.

The good news is, families have a powerful role to play in helping young people navigate these challenges. This Special Report will help you empower your child to build the resilience and confidence needed to navigate today's comparison-driven world and embrace their own unique path.

We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this Special Report, and as always, we welcome your feedback.

If you do have any concerns about the wellbeing of your child, please contact the school for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to your special report:
https://stclaresofficer.catholic.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-social-media-comparison-culture-au

Immediate Crisis Support in Australia:

1800RESPECT - https://www.1800respect.org.au/

Kids Helpline - https://kidshelpline.com.au/get-help/webchat-counselling 

Liz Hunt

Mental Health in Primary School Leader

lhunt@stclaresofficer.catholic.edu.au

How to Help Kids Stay Safe Online

Adapted from:  https://www.esafety.gov.au/about-us/blog    Office of the eSafety Commissioner

1. Start the chat

It’s not possible to be at your child’s side every second of the day, so it’s important to talk with them about online safety issues to help develop their critical thinking and ability to make good choices. It’s also good to let them know they can come to you for help if they have any concerns. You may feel they know more about the latest technology than you do, but you have more life experience to guide them.

• With primary school aged children use online devices in the open living spaces at home to make parent supervision part of the expectation for your child.
• Take the opportunity to set some boundaries around when and where they can use devices  like tablets, smart TVs and gaming consoles, to help limit potential tech tantrums — you could even fill in an Early Years Family Tech Agreement 
• Screen free time before bed is important for good sleep. Consider charging devices in a central location at a regular time each night to allow an hour screen free before bed.
• While you are all at home more, it’s a great time to co-view and co-play with your kids, so you can understand what they are doing and experiencing online.
• Learn about the games, apps, social media and platforms they are using at The eSafety Guide, including how to protect their information and report inappropriate content or conduct.

2. Use parental controls and safe search options

Parental controls can help block your child from accessing specific websites, apps or functions. They can also monitor your child’s use of connected devices and set time limits. But beware! You cannot always rely on them — they should be used in combination with other online safety strategies.

• Parental controls are available on most tablets, smartphones, computers, TVs and gaming consoles.
• You can also download family safety controls or buy robust filters out of the box. 
• You can set up child-friendly search engines, or select safe search settings on digital devices, to help prevent your child from stumbling across inappropriate sites and content.

3. Check smart toy settings

It’s surprising how many toys or devices can connect online these days, from drones and smart teddies to tablets and wearables. While they can be both entertaining and educational, they can reveal your child’s personal details and location — and allow other people to contact them without you knowing. You can help keep them stay safe by:

• setting strong passwords
• turning off location settings 
• limiting the amount of personal information shared.

The eSafety Gift Guide has advice on what to check for and how to stay safe.

4. Look out for unwanted contact and grooming

Unwanted contact is any communication that makes your child feel uncomfortable or unsafe, even if they initially welcomed the contact. It can come from a stranger, an online ‘friend’ or even someone they actually know. At worst, it can involve ‘grooming’ — building a relationship with the child in order to sexually abuse them.

You can help by:

• making sure their accounts are private — including chat functions on games
• encouraging them to delete requests from strangers and any contacts they don’t know in person
• checking in with your child as they use online devices in the open living spaces at home
• reporting and blocking anyone suspicious on a website or service 
• remembering that if suspicious online contacts become aggressive or threatening you should contact your local police.

5. Know the signs of cyberbullying

Kids who are bored by long periods at home can pick at each other, and that happens online too. So it’s important to keep an eye out for cyberbullying. It can include mean posts, comments and messages, as well as being left out of online group activities like gaming. 

• Remember, when they are away from school, kids have less access to their usual support systems, including friends, teachers and counsellors. 
• eSafety research shows that girls are more likely to be affected than boys and the person doing the bullying is generally someone they know from school.
• Watch out for signs such as your child appearing upset after using their mobile, tablet or computer, being unusually secretive about their online activities or becoming withdrawn.
• Cyberbullying can make social isolation worse and the longer it continues, the more stressed kids can become, impacting on their emotional and physical wellbeing.

What to do if your child is being cyberbullied

As parents, our first instinct may be to ban our children from social media, disable the wi-fi or turn off the data access. But this can actually compound the problem, making your child feel as if they’re being punished and heightening their sense of social exclusion.

There are four simple steps that can help minimise the harm:

• report the cyberbullying to the social media service where it is occurring
• collect evidence of the cyberbullying material
• if the material is still public 48 hours later, make a report to eSafety — we work with social media platforms to have the harmful content removed.

block the offending user.