Assistant Principal – Karen Shawcross
Navigating the HSC can feel like a marathon, and the recent HSC Trial Exams have shown just how much pressure students are under. It’s completely normal to feel a mix of stress and anxiety during such intense periods. In fact, a little bit of stress can be a good thing, helping us to stay motivated and focused. However, it’s crucial to find a healthy balance. Fortunately, there are fantastic resources available to help. ReachOut, a leading national organisation, has been supporting young people’s mental health for over two decades. Their dedicated section, ReachOut Parents, offers invaluable advice on how families can tackle exam stress and prepare for life after high school. It’s a great tool not just for exam time, but for navigating many of the challenges that can come with raising teenagers, from school attendance to social media usage.
Lateness
While it’s easy to think that a few late minutes to Homeroom will not make a difference, the reality is that regular and punctual attendance is one of the most significant factors in a student’s academic journey. We understand that as educators, we are constantly trying different strategies to support our students, but when it comes to attendance, a simple change in habit can have a powerful impact.
Consider this:
- missing 20 minutes a day, is almost 2.5 weeks of lost learning time over the course of a year,
- missing just 10 minutes of school each day adds up to nearly 1.5 weeks over the course of a year.
While many things influence a student’s success, from teacher quality to student engagement, research consistently shows a strong link between attendance and academic achievement. Every day, every class, and every minute truly matters. To further support our commitment to punctual attendance, we will be introducing a new system this term. For any student who arrives late to Homeroom without a justifiable reason from a parent, a demerit chronicle entry will be made. Sleeping in is not an acceptable excuse. For the remainder of this term, this entry will serve as a record of lateness with no points attached. However, beginning in Term 4, each unexcused late entry will accrue a negative one (-1) point. As all students are aware, an accumulation of five negative points across all demerits, incurs an after school detention. I ask for your partnership in this endeavor. A simple reminder from home each morning to be punctual can make a significant difference. By working together, we can help our students build habits that will serve them well throughout their academic careers and beyond.
Over the past two weeks, students have looked excellent in their uniforms at both of our recent College Masses. This is the standard we expect every day, as we represent ourselves, our families, and the College. Please remember that blazers are a mandatory part of the daily uniform and must be worn to and from the College. Student participation in Mass has been good, but we ask everyone to actively join in the singing to further enhance the experience.
Mobile Phones
In October 2023, the New South Wales government implemented a new policy requiring all schools to ensure that students do not use mobile phones during school hours. This legislation was put in place to help create a better learning environment by reducing distractions, promoting social interaction, and minimizing cyberbullying.
At Our Lady of Mercy College, students are not to use a mobile phone while on school grounds or at any school-related event, such as an excursion or a sporting event etc. Students are aware that if a phone is seen, used, or heard, it will be confiscated and taken to student services. The student is then responsible for picking it up at the end of the school day. We know that a quick text can seem like an easy way to get in touch with your child, but it can disrupt a class and lead to a phone being confiscated. If you need to contact your daughter during the school day, please call the school office, and we will get a message to her. We also ask for your support in speaking to your daughter about using laptops to send messages, as this can also be a significant distraction. Research has shown that the average interruption from a phone/laptop notification, whether a sound or a vibration, can cause a student to lose up to 90 seconds of learning time. If this occurs once every lesson, every day, every week over the course of a year your daughter will have missed 25 hours of learning. By working together, we can help our students stay focused on their learning and get the most out of their time at school.
Jersey Day
Next week is Jersey Day, where we have asked all girls to wear a jersey over their sports uniform on Thursday 4th September. Jersey Day was implemented to raise awareness of organ donation, after the tragic death of a young man, more information can be found here. Each year on the Friday before Father’s Day people across Australia are asked to wear jerseys to raise awareness of organ donation. As we would like our fathers to be involved we will be wearing our jerseys – dads also at the Fathers Day breakfast on Thursday 4th September. I am looking forward to seeing how many students and dads we can get wearing a jersey.
Karen Shawcross, Assistant Principal