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Dear parents/carers
I am sure many of you will have seen the news item regarding the deeply distressing and harmful video that has been circulating this week. Yesterday the National Suicide Prevention Adviser to the Prime Minister, Christine Morgan and Esafety Commissioner released a press statement about the issue. They have urged all Australians to avoid viewing or sharing this video. The deeply distressing content has gone viral across global online platforms, and is currently being shared by Australians.
Ms Grant confirmed that contact has been made about the reports with the major social media companies.
“We will continue working closely with them to get the video removed expeditiously and to prevent re-upload. We continue to monitor the situation,” Ms Grant said.
“We urge Australians who encounter this content to report it immediately to the social media platform they’ve seen it on, or to eSafety at esafety.gov.au/report/illegal-harmful-content.
“This is yet another example of social media platforms struggling to incorporate safety protections at the core of their product offerings. To prevent this from happening in the first place, they need clear processes and procedures, including the technology tools to detect and remove harmful content much more quickly. In situations like this, it becomes even clearer that safety by design and cross-platform sharing of hashes of harmful content is critical.
“We advise parents, carers and educators against drawing young people’s attention to the issue unnecessarily, so as not to peak curiosity – once you see this horrific content, it’s impossible to unsee. Instead, keep an eye on those who are more vulnerable and at-risk, and check in with them about their interactions on and offline, help them build their digital resilience and let them know they can come to you for help if they see graphic or distressing content online.”
eSafety has developed a series of tips for parents to help limit young people’s exposure to harmful content online:
Engage in your child’s online activities – ask what apps, sites and games they’re using and make sure they’re age-appropriate
- Use parental controls on devices to help limit what your child is exposed to
- Help them report and block upsetting content they see on social media sites or apps
- Let them know they can come to you about anything upsetting they see online
- Head to esafety.gov.au to find out the latest advice on apps, social media and online safety issues
Last Friday afternoon I sat in on a WebEx with the Director General of Education, Lisa Rodgers. Two main things were discussed.
The first item was the on going Police investigation which I have already put out some of this information in Class dojo but felt that I should also mention it again here. Particularly given the events that have happened this week. You may have seen media coverage two week ago regarding a Western Australian Police investigation that has uncovered a series of online grooming offences against young people in the wider community.
Charges of this nature are unsettling and we want to make sure that all parents/carers remain aware of the importance of cyber safety. I also want to reassure you that there is no indication that any of these grooming offences have taken place at a school.
I know you are best placed to talk to your children about cyber safety and there are many resources to help guide you through this on the Department of Education website. Other online resources are available on the eSafety Commissioner website.
This story may lead to children being more aware of these types of offences and wanting to disclose information. The Department’s parent helpline, 1800 882 345, is available for you to call if you have any questions or concerns, and is staffed by psychologists, child protection officers and principals.
The second item was changes that are likely to happen to NAPLAN. A 179 page report review NAPLAN and its adminstration was given to all the Education Ministers from across Australia on Thursday and they met virtually on Friday to discuss the report. Regardless of what the news might have said there has been no decisions made as to what the response to this report will be.
The report made the follow recommendations:
- That there should still be some sort of standardised assessment at yr 3,5,7,and 10 (not 9).
- They have recommended that it should be completely online and should adapt to all achievement levels including Education Support.
- That the assessment should encompass Science as well as English and Maths.
- It should be administered in February and not in May which is when it currently is administered.
I know historically for us we have not had many children going through NAPLAN, but it will be interesting to see if the new approach will encompass all students.
Since the last Newsletter we have also had a few things to celebrate; firstly Deb Brown was nominated for an acheivement award with WAECSSA (Western Australian Education Corporate Services Staff Association) and Vicky Johnson was awarded a lifetime achievement award. Congratulations to both of them. Also Maddy White was given an achievement Awards from the Department for her work in supporting the Online resources which were used during COVID, a huge congratulations to her as well.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Travis Nightingale who has stepped down as our School Board Chair. I want to thank Travis personally for all the hard work and dedication he has put into the board since joining it - taking us through IPS, rebranding and of course the amazing International Day of Disability. I am hoping Travis will come back for the presentation assembly or our final assembly at the end of the year.
Congratulations to Bianca Landis (Mason’s Mum) as our Vice Chair who has agreed to step up and take on the role of the School Chair. At the beginning of next year we will be holding an open School Board meeting and you will all be very welcome to come along and see what a vital role the Board plays in the governence of the school.
Finally a bit of good news - after five years of asking, we have finally been allocated a transportable classroom for 2021. This will be an early years room and will be located in the Kindy area.
Keep well and safe,
Debi
We have been learning about the weather and how it effects what activities we do, what clothes we wear and sometimes, how we feel.
We have made “rain” in a jar and a wind sock that tells us what direction the wind is blowing.
This week we have read a super funny book called, “Now That’s a Hat!” by Heath McKenzie. It is about Mr Dog who wanted to buy a plain boring hat. We thought we would help Mr Dog by designing and creating a super fun hat for him! We are so creative!
Term 3 has seen major improvements in Aqua students’ reading and writing abilities. We are very impressed with their persistence and levels of improvement. This term, we have introduced Cooking into our program with weekly delicious recipes being made. We start our lesson by getting all the ingredients ready, washing our hands with appropriate hand-washing procedures and begin working mathematically by measuring the ingredients into cups and mixing them together. Our last cooking session, we made Banana and Blueberry pancakes but our absolute best so far given a five star rating from the students is our Lemonade Scones- Yum!
In Science we are learning about Earth’s natural resources and what they are used for as well as exploring what’s in space. A lot of work has gone into the artwork for our class display and it looks like our classroom is ready to launch into space. We went on a bear hunt this week who then later visited our classroom. Students were very excited by this. We are also working on our Earth and Space Dioramas which will be coming home by the end of the term. We are all very excited to see the finished product! A congratulations to Noah for receiving a Principal’s award sticker from Cloverdale Primary School Deputy Principal Mr. McMillan for his excellent sportsmanship during sports carnival practice every Friday.
This week during H.A.S.S, we explored the 7 continents and 5 oceans in the world and made a cake with green icing whilst carving out the continents to represent the continental drift. Each student managed to eat a carved continent- what a tasty lesson! Well done to Aqua students for all their hard work this term. We are very proud of what you have achieved this term and look forward to more in Term 4.
We will be having our swimming lessons for all children in PP - Year 6 in Term 4, Weeks 3 and 4. They will run from Monday,26 October to Friday, 6 November. The cost and more information will come out very soon.
For Naidoc this year we are painting a mural. Both schools will be involved. We are asking if any families or community members will be able to assist in preparation of the wall surface that we will be painting eg: sealing, priming and painting it white. All the products will be supplied.
We are hoping to have this done by Week 9. Any assistance from you will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
NAIDOC Committee.