Newsletter Term 4, Week 6 2021
Dear SJC Community
In the few quiet moments I have in my life, I have found my mind drifting often to the topic of 'change'. The last two years have taught us that if there is one thing that we can rely on in life, it is that things will change and you need to be ready. A word popularised in 2020, and still highly relevant in 2021 was 'pivot', to describe how quickly individuals and organisations were able to adapt to the ever-changing conditions of a world affected by a pandemic.
Author Zig Ziglar, when discussing change has stated that "you can't change what is going on around you until start to change what is going on within you." Throughout the last two years, there would not be a human being alive of school-age or older that has not been forced into a number of dramatic changes in their lives, be they for a short or extended period, or for many, making permanent changes. How we approach change and alter our mindset is a crucial part of ensuring that we can cope with change when it inevitably occurs in our lives.
For our students, they have experienced more change in education than possibly has occurred in the last twenty years combined across the last two years. Whilst some has been forced our school, other changes that are and are about to occur have been by choice following processes of discernment. They have lived and thrived through the blended learning environment during 2020 and 2021 with the skills they have acquired during that time putting them in good stead for the future.
This week, we have witnessed a major policy change in the College with students for the first time in many years being required to store their mobile phones away from their person in a locked locker. The College made a policy shift in 2015 to allow students the use of their phones for certain permissible activities but as phones have evolved, the ability to uphold the old policy requirements has become too much. I would like to thank the overwhelming number of students who have adhered to the new policy and in doing so, proved that change is OK. Please refer to the app notifications that explain what is now expected.
I also outlined a number of changes that would occur with regard to our timetable and wellbeing structures in 2022. As with the mobile device policy, this has all been done with our student outcomes at the centre of our thinking and we are confident that the benefits will far outweigh the potential issues. Whilst there will be a time of adjustment for all, within a short span of time our changes will become the new normal.
In my next newsletter article, I will outline all of the staffing changes that we will see for 2022 at St Joseph's College and provide information about the new staff who continue the great work of previous staff who have shaped the minds and lives of young people in the area since 1993. I will also announce the names of staff members we will sadly farewell at the conclusion of this year.
Finally, it was announced today that Dr Sally Towns, Director of Catholic Schools Lismore will be finishing her tenure as director in April next year prior to moving into the role of Executive Director of Brisbane Catholic Education. I would like to thank Sally for her support of our College during the last two years and wish her all the best in her new role.
HSC Examination
Tomorrow marks the commencement for our Year 12 students of the HSC Examinations for 2021. Please keep all of these students in your prayers and thoughts as they embark on these public exams that will conclude on Friday 3 December. This year has been a very difficult one for them with the exam dates being moved on three occasions.
Kind regards
Mr Scott Thomson
Principal
Safe on Social
I recently read an article by ‘Safe on Social’ (below) regarding social media and group chats. It is an interesting read with some helpful tips for families.
Mr Eamon Brown
Assistant Principal - Mission
Group Chats
Please, for just a moment, picture yourself in one of our school presentations to students. From Year 3 to Year 12, we ask the same questions around group chats.
They are:
1. Who uses group chats to communicate with their friends? – The majority of the room raises their hand.
2. Who sleeps with their device in their room? – at least 80% of the room will raise their hand.
3. Who has received messages in a group chat after 9pm? – almost the whole room raises their hand.
4. Who has woken up to more than 200 messages in the group chat? – all of them raise their hands and talk about it amongst themselves, nodding in agreement. There is also the occasional "more like 1000" comment.
5. Who has attempted to read all of the messages? – the resounding response is constantly “checking to see if I was mentioned.
6. Who has seen bullying or any other kind of inappropriate behaviour in the group chats? – all of them raise their hands. Who reported it? 99% of the hands go down.
7. Who has been re-added to a group chat after they have left? Most raise their hands and eye-roll and comment on how annoying it is
8. Who gets a little anxious if their friends don’t respond to a message within a couple of minutes? – again, the majority raises their hands.
So let’s break these down into nice little bite-size pieces on what you should do.
Group chats can be an excellent way for many people to participate in an online conversation together. They can also be a place where drama, nasty behaviours, exclusion, and bullying can thrive. The most commonly used group chat apps are WhatsApp, Snap Chat, Instagram, Discord, Messenger, and Facebook Messenger. They can be both helpful and harmful. We recommend that children in Primary School only use Facebook Messenger for Kids, so parents have some control over what is going on in the group chat. You don’t have as much power on the other apps.
We have real concerns about the number of young people (as young as eight in most cases) that sleep with devices in their room and under their pillow. They are responding to messages at 11, 12 even 1am. From ‘friends’ all over the world that they are connected to.
Please make sure you put a healthy boundary in place and keep phones and devices out of the bedroom from an early age. Remember, you are the parent, and you need to guide your children on how to be safe, and managing their mental health is a massive part of that. They need a break. They are connected 24/7, and some of those communications can get toxic in Group Chats. They need sleep. Good uninterrupted sleep. Rolling over in the middle of the night and checking messages is a significant health issue. You can read about that here: https://growingupinaustralia.gov.au/research-findings/annual-statistical-reports-2018/are-children-and-adolescents-getting-enough-sleep
There have also been many times when young people have engaged in nasty behaviour about another person in a group chat, then deliberately invited that person into the chat to see those comments. The deliberate nature of this abuse makes it cyberbullying. Re-adding someone once they have left a chat can also be bullying or harassment in some cases.
When they are tired, they are more emotional and less resilient. Things can and may be taken out of context. No one has the right to choose what other people find offensive. There have been countless times when this has resulted in schools being contacted because of the nasty, bullying or inappropriate things happening in the chat. If this is happening in the home after hours between students, please think about how, as a parent, you can do more to support the school by setting healthier boundaries for device use in your home.
Schools have a duty of care to minimise the risk of bullying and other dangers to a child, but it is challenging for them to police when the device is at home, under your roof, in your child’s bedroom.
Help kids develop the skills to know how to leave a group chat that is not helpful or is harmful in any way, including the actual words they may use should they need to leave. With younger kids, teach them how to come up with statements that may help like, “sorry guys, this is getting pretty nasty, I’m outta here” as a way to remove themselves, also point out to the other people in the chat that the behaviours may be getting out of hand. Being in charge of their online interactions and knowing how to leave a conversation that makes them uncomfortable online or off is a vital life skill.
Kids need to realise that they may be “guilty by association”, even if they aren’t saying the nasty stuff; they may be considered a bystander if they do not report it and speak up about what is happening in a group chat.
Please help them to develop the skills to put boundaries around their friendships. We don’t have to be accessible all the time just because technology allows that. They need to know that they won’t lose friends if they are not available in the group to chat for 30 minutes while they have dinner. Young people need to be in charge and confident in their relationships. They need to know that their friends will understand that their refusal to engage at every moment of the day and night has nothing to do with the state of their relationship, but rather the management of their time, their devices and their life priorities.
If your child is getting constantly re-added to a group chat that they have left, that can be considered harassment. If your child is re-adding people that have left the group chat remind them that they need consent. They need to ask the permission of the person first “do you want to be re-added to the group chat” for example.
Parenting in this space is very difficult at times, we totally understand that. But please set boundaries and rules. These are required from a very early age. The earlier the better. A school should not be blamed every time something happens online as it is often something that they can’t 100% control if you have given your child a device and have different rules at home to what is at school.
Things to remember:
Keep group chats positive, helpful and supportive. These are not the places we have a whinge about someone else, reveal our intimate secrets or create drama, gossip or spread rumours or share images of others without consent.
Make sure they know not to feel compelled to respond straight away or be a part of every single interaction in the group chat.
Remember, there are plenty of ways these chats can become very public if someone takes a screenshot, so they need to be kind, respectful, and responsible at all times.
Avoid using late at night and keep devices out of the bedroom.
Turn off notifications, so they are less anxious about response times.
As parents would be aware, and in line with the College's Mobile Device Policy, no phones are to be used to make purchases at the Canteen as of Monday. Eftpos cards are required and need to have sufficient funds on them. Cash is still acceptable. We thank you in advance for your support.
Mr Mathew Lynch
Leader of Student Wellbeing
Behind the scenes of learning and teaching in Term 4 @ SJC
Students are not the only group of people for which we have high expectations for learning at SJC. Teachers are also driven to learn and improve their practice.
Term 4 started off with teams of teachers across the Key Learning Areas of Religious Education (RE), Human Society and Its Environment (HSIE) and Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE) continuing their learning of how to teach using an inquiry-based learning approach in Years 7 and 8 classrooms. If you have a child in one of these year groups they should be able to tell you about things such as Learning Intentions; Driving Questions; Success Criteria; Knows and Need to Knows; and Surface-, Deep- and Transfer-level learning. They may not be able to clearly answer why they are learning in this way but we’re working on it. Try quizzing your child nonetheless. I hope they say it’s hard!
Elsewhere around the school, leaders have been gathering evidence of how we are going with some of our key goals for learning. In Figure 1 below you will see the five questions that children across all year levels and faculties have been asked over the past two weeks. The answers to these questions indicate how far we are along our journey of getting all students to learn according to our College aims. Figure 2 is called the Instruction and Assessment Waterfall Chart and sums up what we want learning to look like in each and every classroom. The ideas in Figures 1 and 2 are aimed at getting students to be assessment-capable (basically, where students can drive their own learning). This work is the result of an on-going partnership between SJC, the Lismore CSO and Lyn Sharratt who is a world-renowned educational expert and author of Clarity. This work will continue into 2022 and beyond.
Figure 1
Figure 2
If you would like to know more about what we are doing to drive learning and teaching and why we are doing it, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Mr Carlo Trimboli
Leader of Pedagogy
School Based Apprenticeships and Traineeships (SBATs)
Students who choose the Work Readiness Pathway in Years 11 and 12 can also complete a School Based Apprenticeship or Traineeship (SBAT) as part of their program of study. SBATs are a great way for students to set themselves up for a career they want whilst they are completing the HSC.
A School-Based Apprenticeship usually combines the final two years of school with paid part-time work. This enables students to finish the first year of their trade whilst also completing the HSC. Students then go into the second year full time - usually with the same employer – once they leave school. School-based traineeships are fully completed within the final two years at school, providing students with the HSC, a VET qualification, a Certificate of Proficiency and paid experience in the workplace. In both instances, students have one day off school each week in paid employment to satisfy the workplace learning hours.
This year, three Year 11 Work Readiness Pathway students have been completing SBATs as part of their program of study. In addition to Sabian and Stephanie – who you will hear from below – Rachel Brownlie is completing a Certificate III - Retail at Zarraffa’s Coffee South Tweed.
|
Sabian Bridge  |
| Completing a School-Based Apprenticeship in Certificate III - Wall and Floor Tiling at Rhys Casson Tiling. |
| How did you get your SBAT? |
| I completed a week of work experience with Rhys Casson at the beginning of Year 11. Following this, Rhys offered to take me on as a School-Based Apprentice. |
| What is the best thing about completing an SBAT? |
| That I can have one foot in the door and still get my HSC. |
| Are there any challenges? |
| Catching up on school work that I miss on the day I am working can be challenging. |
| What is the work placement like? |
| While working with Rhys I have learned heaps of things about the Construction Industry and Floor and Wall Tiling. The work is physically demanding and I am always really tired at the end of a working day. |
| Would you recommend other students complete an SBAT in their final two years at the College? |
| Going through the Work Readiness Pathway and completing an SBAT lets you get a headstart in the working world while still being able to finish school. I am really enjoying my SBAT and working with Rhys and am looking forward to completing my apprenticeship when I finish school. |
|
Stephanie Tait 
|
| School-Based Traineeship in Certificate III - Early Childhood Education and Care at Little Grommets, Banora Point. |
| How did you get your SBAT? |
| When I started the Work Readiness Pathway I let my teachers know I was interested in a career in Childcare and they suggested I complete a School-Based Traineeship. I sent my resume to every Childcare Centre in the area and Little Grommets invited me to come in for an interview and then offered me a job. Following this, Mr Carrol organised all of the paperwork and found a training provider for my Certificate III. |
| What is the best thing about completing an SBAT? |
| This was the perfect opportunity to get a Childcare qualification in my final years of school so I can go straight into this industry when I finish the HSC. I get a day off school each week in paid employment as well as extra shifts during the school holidays. I also have study periods throughout the week to complete my Cert. III course work. |
| Are there any challenges? |
| Because I’m completing my Cert. III with an outside provider, sometimes it can be challenging to stay on top of the work as I have to complete it on my own. Missing a day of school each week can also be pretty challenging in the senior years. I have to catch up with my teachers regularly and make sure I’m not falling behind in my school work. |
| What is the work placement like? |
| The good things about working at Little Grommets are the experiences and knowledge that I gain each day I work there and the different relationships I form with each of the kids. It’s been very rewarding watching the kids grow and develop over the course of a year. Some of the things I wasn’t as prepared for were the long hours of work, being trusted with so much responsibility and changing some pretty out of control nappies! |
| Would you recommend other students complete an SBAT in their final two years at the College? |
| I would definitely recommend other students study the Work Readiness Pathway as it teaches so many life lessons and important things that you need to know when leaving school. The most important thing if you are thinking of doing an SBAT is to start looking for an employer as soon as possible because it can take a while to find someone willing to employ you. Once you’ve found an employer the whole process becomes very easy as the teachers step in and help with all of the paperwork. |
Students starting the Work Readiness Pathway in 2022 can find out more information about SBATs by speaking to Mr Jesse Carroll – Leader of VET/SBAT, one of the Work Readiness Pathway teachers or Diocese Of Lismore Catholic Schools Vocational Education & Training. Finally, if there are any employers interested in offering an SBAT to a student at St Joseph’s College, we would be very happy to hear from you.
Ms Hannah Lindschau
Work Readiness Pathways
Mitchell Poole and Kaleb Robards prepare to launch their chocolate during the year 10 STEM catapult challenge. Students were given limited materials and were required to build a catapult that was accurate and had good range. The process enabled students to further develop their skills in implementing the engineering design process.
2021 NSW and ACT ATAR Students Update
With the delayed issuing of 2021 NSW HSC and ATAR and the ACT ATAR, Griffith University will still be considering your QTAC application for entry in 2022.
The 28 January 2022 QTAC offer round will be the first round where NSW and ACT Year 12 QTAC applicants can be made an offer to Griffith University on the basis of their ATAR. You need to apply to QTAC by no later than Thursday 20 January 2022 and complete changes of preferences by Monday 24 January 2022 to be considered in this round.
If you have applied to UAC, then the 26 January UAC offer round will be the first offer round where NSW and ACT Year 12 applicants may be considered for an offer based on their ATAR.
For most Griffith University degrees, your application will be assessed against the threshold we used in the QTAC offer round of the 13 January 2022. For a small number of degrees (below), this will not be possible. In these degrees you will be considered within a dedicated, limited pool of places held for 2021 NSW and ACT ATAR students:
- Bachelor of Dental Health Science#
- Bachelor of Dental Technology/Bachelor of Dental Prosthetics
- Bachelor of Medical Science#
- Bachelor of Nursing*
- Bachelor of Paramedicine#
- Bachelor of Film and Screen Media
- Bachelor of Animation
# These degrees have an early close date. Refer to the QTAC course entries for details.
* Nursing at the Gold Coast campus is the only degree listed above offered through UAC.
If you are considering changing your preferences, find out more at QTAC or UAC.
To find this on the Griffith website, please use this link - High school students (griffith.edu.au)
Twin Towns is Hiring
Twin Towns is currently hiring and the attached flyer outlines the positions available and the requirements needed from a prospective employee. Twin Towns understands that most students will have no experience or only minimal food and beverage experience (if they have had weekend jobs with cafes/restaurants or fast food outlets), and will assess and train staff accordingly.
In addition to being 18 years old or over and fully vaccinated, applicants will need an NSW RSA& RCG card or ability to obtain, as well as a police clearance check. The police clearance can be obtained online via www.cleartowork.com.au. Candidates would also need to be well presented, have a can do attitude, be reliable and punctual, and be willing to learn (all the usual attributes).
Opportunities for School Leavers
Are there any student leavers who are looking for work with a forklift or excavator? Please read the attached flyer for more information.
Ms Frances Stegeman
Leader of Careers/EVET