Welcome back to the new term. I hope you all had a lovely break and a chance to refresh. As we commence Term 3, we’re thrilled to share an exciting lineup of events and activities that are coming up. Here’s is a look at what is in store:

Please keep a look out in your inbox, in the newsletter, on our Facebook feed, and on Parent Portal for information regarding these events and more. 

Sleep Habits for Healthy Students

Maintaining healthy sleep habits during winter is essential for overall student well-being. Getting the right level of good quality asleep is crucial for maintaining overall health. Unfortunately, the general trend in Australia for teenagers and their younger siblings regularly getting enough high-quality sleep is concerning. A study from the Australian Institute of Family Studies revealed that around 25% of 12-15 year olds and half of 16-17 year olds are not getting enough sleep on school nights to meet national sleep guidelines.

The recommendation for adolescents is between 8 to 10 hours per night. This is also referring to disruption free sleep. In talking to some students this past week, I am concerned that many students note that they are often woken during the night by their mobile device when they receive notifications and messages. Unfortunately, this type of broken sleep only serves to impact the mental, social, physical, and emotional development of our children. Now that the holidays are over, consider reviewing sleep habits and what barriers exist within the home that impact the quality of sleep children are getting. Many of these are controllable. Check out the table before for the recommendations of sleep per age bracket:

We often hear the complaints that teenagers are grumpy, somewhat anti-social (with family) and become more ungrateful as they navigate the throws of puberty and develop into young adults. It is also quite possible that their fatigue levels are exasperating this. Quality sleep promotes attention, memory, and analytical thought. It can spur creativity and sharpen ideas. The flip side sees impacts on mood, causes irritability, and exaggerated emotional reactions. This is further heightened for teens who are adapting to more independence, responsibility, and new social relationships. Prolonged sleep loss may negatively impact emotional development and has been linked to increasing risks of interpersonal conflict as well as more serious mental health problems. 

Most commonly, sleep habits are impacted by poor sleep habits. Fortunately, with a little effort and support, these habits can be adjusted. Sometimes, issues run a little deeper. In those instances, some external support may be required. Here are some tips from the Sleep Foundation for teens and their parents:

Rough Play – Message for students and parents

Periodically, we experience a spike in rough play at lunch times among some social circles. This past week, we have seen a rise in the reports of students going a bit too far during play time. Obviously, student safety and wellbeing is a high priority for the College and so we will work closely with these students to make play time a safer and more enjoyable experience for all.

Today, on assembly, I will be reminding all students in the Middle Years of the expectations the College has regarding play time and once again be aligning our message to the four College expectations:

• Be Safe
• Be respectful
• Be Responsible
• Learn and allow others to learn

While it is great to see students being active during break time and utilising the large oval space we have available to them, they must also maintain the right balance with the style of games they are playing. The following information has been readily shared with students over along period of time, but just to clarify for parents, the College has never allowed students to play tackle football during breaks. The risks associated with unstructured games of tackle football make it completely unacceptable here at the College. Students who wish to learn the correct technique for tackling are encouraged to make use of the extra-curricular opportunities that are offered, like Rugby League and 7s Rugby. Through these sporting extra-curricular opportunities, students not only learn proper technique, but the risks associated with contact sport are managed and where possible reduced through the use of mouth guards, head-gear, proper attire and padding.

Please note, should your child make poor decisions regarding their behavioural choices, and it poses a risk to the safety of others or in fact hurts another student, the College will have no option other than to employ significant consequences in accordance with Toowoomba Catholic Schools behaviour management processes. Statements such as “I didn’t mean to hurt them” or “It was just a joke” are not acceptable excuses. Please feel free to speak with your child about this message regarding safe play at breaks as it is important they take it onboard immediately. We thank parents for your support on this matter.