Message from Michele Marquet, Head of Junior School

Dear Parents and Carers,

It is a rare week where we do not see a media headline warning of the negative impact of social media and smartphone technology on children and young people.

Over the last year, many of us have read or heard about Jonathan Haidt’s book The Anxious Generation. Haidt argues that the widespread adoption of smartphones and social media has been a major contributor to a growing mental health crisis among young people. The book suggests that a phone-based childhood disrupts healthy development, leading to increased anxiety, depression and other issues. Haidt concludes that the shift from a play-based childhood to a phone-based one has had detrimental consequences for young people’s wellbeing.

Some of the more major impacts of smartphones and social media on childhood that Haidt notes include:

• Interference in crucial aspects of child development, including social interaction, sleep and attention span.
• A spike in anxiety, depression and other mental health problems, particularly among adolescents.

Such impacts very reasonably raise grave concerns for parents and educators alike. To help us better understand the consequences of smartphones and social media on growing minds and to explore what we can do to reduce these risks for our own children, early next term we are hosting a very special presentation for all our Junior School families where we will hear more on this vital topic from a child psychologist and a representative of Waitmate, an organisation that helps families work through these issues.

Haidt emphasises that addressing this mental health crisis requires collective action from all of us. This is such an important area for every family to seriously consider, so we are asking each Junior School family to send one member to attend this essential presentation. Please put these details in your diary now:

Date: Tuesday, 12 August

Time 8:30am – 9:30am

Venue: Junior School Gym

On this day, we are also inviting our families to visit their son’s classroom after the presentation, as part of our Science Week activities.

Compass
We are pleased to introduce Compass, our new Student Management System, which will over time improve communication and streamline a range of administrative processes. This platform will increasingly replace our previous systems and marks a significant step forward in how families will be able to interact with the School.

Initially, Compass will be used for submitting attendance notes, updating medical details and accessing school news. Over time, additional features will be introduced and shared via Compass news items.  A comprehensive user guide will be provided in the week before Term 3 commences to help you get started, and our ICT Compass support team is available should you need assistance.   Thank you for your support as we make this transition.

Morning Carlines
Over the last few weeks, we have noticed a growing number of our families arriving at School around 7:30am and waiting in the driveway, potentially blocking Kent Road before the gates open at 7:45am, or most dangerously, allowing their children to get out of their cars along the driveway before the gates are open. Such behaviour, apart from impeding the public roadway, which is inconsiderate towards other road users, is also exceptionally dangerous, putting at risk the safety of all our children. We ask please for your full cooperation to ensure the safe running of carlines every day.

For safe morning carlines:

• Please do not enter Kent Road before 7:40am, unless your child is enrolled in a co-curricular activity.
• No student should exit their parent’s car, except in front of the Reception gate.
• No student should get out of the car on the driver’s side of the car.

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The staff and I thank all our Junior School and Pre-school families for their ongoing support this term, and we wish everyone a safe and relaxing holiday break. We look forward to seeing everyone at the start of Term 3, which for all Junior School and Pre-school students, is on Wednesday, 23 July.

Kind wishes,

Michele Marquet
Head of Junior School