Dear Parents and Carers

It was a pleasure this week to finally have our Induction Service (photos are on Facebook). We have a very active group of student leaders who are keen to make a difference at school and within their community. It is also wonderful to see students running more of this service and I would like to thank all the student volunteers who did such a great job of making everything run smoothly.

Notices:

MSS Swimming Carnival – please see the enclosed letter (linked below). Parents are now welcome to attend events as spectators.

Springwood Car Park Concerns:
There have been some issues with parking, traffic congestion, and safety around the carpark at the Springwood Campus in the mornings. Could our MSS parents who are dropping their children at Springwood Campus in the morning please avoid using the staff carpark and Noah Centre parking. By avoiding parking in these areas parents can help to reduce traffic congestion and the associated safety risks with the traffic congestion.  

Could we also remind all parents of students travelling on the intercampus bus in the afternoon that children need to be picked up by 4pm, which is when the supervised collection time concludes.  

Teen Technology Use:

A notice from Head of Wellbeing and Community, Mr Arraiol.  

Recently we have seen an increase in students making poor choices around technology use, particularly in sending messages that may be upsetting to others.

As a College we want to be proactive in this space and help engage with you in educating our teens around safe technology use and provide guidance in an age where your digital footprint is permanent. Onsite at the College, we have a range of software programs that, for the most part, safeguard technology use and interaction. We use these programs because we understand young brains (with underdeveloped logical reasoning) have access to so much with the internet! We do organise regular speakers and sessions to educate our students around these issues, unfortunately, many students only learn the seriousness of these issues after they make a mistake – we do deal with several ‘Oh…now I understand’ moments at school.

Before we delve into ways that we can help our teens with their use of technology I would like to take a moment and remind parents that many of you are funding your children’s technology, which makes you the owner of said devices. You own your child’s laptop, in conjunction with the College.

This means that you are in within your rights to set expectations and rules around the use of this device. We set rules at school around how it should and should not be used and you have the right to set rules at home around how it should and should not be used. Many parents in our community have taken this stance and I wanted to celebrate those of you taking this positive step! If you think your family would benefit from using some software internet safeguard programs at home, please contact me and I can point you in the direction to where you can find these.

Another common practice in households is that technology should be used in a space that is visible to all. This means that computers and smartphones should ideally be used in front of parents or where parents can engage in conversations with their children. It also means that students aren’t accessing the internet late at night in their bedrooms by themselves.

By engaging in real-time conversations with our teens we can become a source of positive influence in a world that very often does not share the same values as we do. Sometimes just the presence of an adult can deter students and children from posting or sharing inappropriate content and this is a real win in our eyes! 

When engaging with teens about social media use here are some helpful questions that our parents and teachers are asking students to better their decision making online:  

• Would your grandmother like to see that? 
• What would your employer say if you stuck that post/photo up at work? 
• Would you want your future wife/husband or children to see this post? 
• If someone had to screenshot this part of your conversation ….what would they think? And would you be able to defend yourself? 
• Would you say this to this person’s face? 
• If yes to the previous question, would you say this in front of a teacher? Would you say it in front of an employer?
• What is the purpose of this post or message? Does it need to be said?

So, despite their eyes rolling back in their head, the groans about how old you are or that “you do not understand”, I wanted to implore our parents to continue or in some cases start to have tough conversations about social media use. It’s tough being a parent and I know technology usage can cause many family arguments at home but know that we are supporting you here by setting firm rules around how we use technology well. In a big picture context, we need to continue to have these conversations with our children and students because we want them to make good choices now and in the future, so that they can thrive in future employment, relationships, and the wider community.

Please keep an eye out on our Facebook page for regular posts from our College Counsellor Byron Hunt on tips, ideas, and great books to read when raising a teenager.

Josh Wilson
Head of Middle and Senior School and Innovative Learning Design

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2022 MSS Swimming Carnival 

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CAPA Update - Dr Gary Holley, Head of Calvary Academy of

Performing Arts

Auditions for the Musical ‘Back to the 80’s’ are complete, and we congratulate the below students for being cast in the show. Performances are 8 – 10 September so please add this to your diaries.

Congratulations to the Orchestra who played at the induction service on Wednesday morning. It was great to have live music at our assembly and to hear the school singing the National Anthem with great enthusiasm.

Is your child interested in learning Bass Guitar, Guitar or Singing? We have lesson times available at both campuses. Private Lessons are $38 per half hour and Group Lessons of 2 people are $19 per half hour (Subject to numbers) Use the following link if you would like to sign your child up for lessons.

https://forms.office.com/r/wZPsTKZuwP

A reminder if you have not already joined the CAPA Facebook page, please do so as there will be information put there regularly regarding performances.

Should you wish to contact me my email address is gary.holley@calvarycc.qld.edu.au. 

Gary Holley
Head of Calvary Academy of Performing Arts (CAPA)