Middle Years Matters
We have made it to the conclusion of yet another term. The year is flying by at a great rate. Term 3 often presents issues around health and fatigue in the cooler months of the year. This was certainly the case this time around but now that this window has closed, I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday break and that students and staff return to Term 4 with a spring in their step.
Year 8 Camp – Bunya Mountains and surrounds
I was very fortunate to be involved in the Year 8 camp this year. Organised by Mrs Patterson, the camp explored a range of topics from environmental awareness, local history, and the indigenous past and present associated with the Bunya Mountains and the country surrounding. This camp was an experiential learning experience and allowed our students to be immersed in their learning while away from the classroom. Well done to the Year 8 students for their engagement in the various activities, and well done to Mrs Patterson for organising a great experience for our students.
Enrolment - Middle Years 
Just an update on Middle Years enrolments - we have limited spaces available, especially for the Year 7 cohort of 2025, and we are conducting interviews and offering places at this time. If you are interested in enrolment for one of your children or know people who are, please ensure the online application form is submitted as soon a spossible. Failure to do so may result in places being finalised and families missing out.
Stay safe online these holidays
Holiday periods bring about a spike in online use from teenagers. With that unfortunately comes an increased risk of exposure to unsavoury content, poor online habits, and negative commentary from people – known and unknown. Parents, please do not be naïve around this topic. There are countless negative stories surrounding young people and online issues. Please do not provide an opportunity for your child to be the next victim or statistic in a grown area of concern. With RUOK? Day falling this Thursday, please have conversations to your children about their online use and support them through issues that may be festering behind the scenes. There are plenty of websites offering parental advice to better support families navigating this path. The Carly Ryan Foundation is one that has a number of great resources for parents to not only become more aware of the various platforms available online, but each also identifies the potential issues with each so that parents can better support their children.
Parents – Please review these documents and familiarise yourself with the platforms that your child could be using. Please note that despite the advertised platform age rating, there is much advice suggesting these are grossly inadequate and due to the level of emotional intelligence possessed by children in their teenage years. Many early teenagers (and some adults for that matter) are not ready for the social responsibilities that come with social media platforms and struggle with behaving appropriately in an online forum.
Kind regards,
Craig Cullen
Assistant Principal Middle Years