From the Principal

Thank you to all parents who were able to attend this week’s ‘Coffee with the Principal and Executive team.’ As always, we enjoyed a wide-ranging discussion and received feedback from parents about a number of important matters.

One of the topics that is upper most in everyone’s mind is the remarkable advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the potential impact on student safety, learning, and assessment integrity. I reported on a panel presentation that I attended earlier this week at which senior leaders from five of NSW’s leading universities spoke about the impact of AI and how they saw universities responding to challenges.

All spoke about how universities are moving beyond an ATAR-only determined entry model and how they would be looking for the skills that they know a world filled with AI will demand.

To quote one of the Vice Chancellors ‘In a world where information is abundant, the premium shifts to judgement, evidence, ethics, and human capabilities which require schools to develop strong foundations of learning agility, ethical awareness, collaboration, and communication. Students need to strengthen their habits of evidence, explanation, reflection, and responsible technology use’.

They also spoke of the importance of a values-based education and providing a learning environment where there is room to agree, disagree and change your mind.

But of course, part of the challenge is also ensuring that our students are making the most of their learning time and that they are safe when they do access online sites.

As part of our ongoing commitment to student wellbeing, online safety and focused learning, MLC School introduced Saasyan Assure at the start of this term. Saasyan Assure is designed specifically for schools and provides an additional layer of support to help identify and respond to potential wellbeing and safety concerns earlier and more effectively.

The platform replaces our previous cyber monitoring system and provides more targeted, timely alerts when online activity may indicate concerns such as cyberbullying, harmful content or signs that a student may be struggling. This helps our Wellbeing and Pastoral Care teams identify concerns earlier so support can be offered before issues escalate.

Saasyan Assure also helps the School identify attempts to bypass online safety controls through VPNs, alternative DNS services, or personal hotspots. These methods are not permitted under the School’s Technology Code of Conduct because they circumvent the safeguards designed to protect students online. Where this activity is detected, it may be reviewed and followed up with the student and family, and access to School systems may be suspended while the matter is addressed.

Importantly, Saasyan Assure does not make decisions or take disciplinary action. Alerts are reviewed by members of the Wellbeing teams and form part of the School’s broader pastoral care approach. Technology supports the process, but people remain at the centre of every decision.

Upcoming enhancements will further strengthen the platform’s ability to identify VPN and filtering bypass attempts, improve the accuracy of alerts through better contextual understanding, and provide additional privacy protections designed specifically for K-12 schools. These improvements will help ensure concerns are identified earlier while maintaining a strong focus on student privacy and wellbeing and in time, provide parents with the ability to utilise the technology at home.

But of course, education is the key and technology is only part of the answer. I encourage parents and carers to continue conversations at home about responsible technology use and to make use of the excellent resources available through the eSafety Commissioner.

We will share further information with families later this year, including resources and guidance to help parents support safe and responsible technology use at home.

– Lisa Moloney
Principal