Assistant Head of Primary P-4 and Curriculum Leader P-4

Pastoral and Curriculum Update

Healthy friendships are built on trust and respect

Across the first two weeks of term, all P-4 classes spent time introducing the first of the two most important qualities of every friendship; Trust. The second quality, Respect, is set to be explored throughout Weeks 3 and 4. These qualities, Trust and Respect, form the basis and foundation of healthy friendships.

Wellbeing coach Charles Feltman defines trust as, ‘choosing to risk making something you value, vulnerable to another person’s actions.’ Brené Brown draws upon this definition to establish the 7 Pillars of Trust that can be easily remembered through the acronym, BRAVING: Boundaries, Reliability, Accountability, the Vault, Integrity, Non-judgment, and Generosity.

At the heart of this definition, is an understanding that trust is not built through grand and extravagant gestures, but rather, in the little things that we do, that show care and respect for things that are important to those around us. To help students develop a deeper understanding of what trust looks like in a friendship, students completed activities to identify the small, consistent everyday actions they can take to build trust and form healthy friendships. The BRAVING acronym was used to help students understand that these small trust-building actions come in many different forms and contexts.

Cyber safety talks

Last week, students in Year 3 and Year 4 participated in a talk led by Senior Constable Gabriella di Marino, Youth Office from Auburn Police Area Command. Constable Gabriella discussed important ways for students to stay online, presenting information from the Australian Federal Police’s Think U Know program. She emphasised the importance of privacy, advising students not to share personal photos or information online and to respect personal boundaries.

During the session, Constable Gabriella showed the students a number of short clips and asked them to identify any potential ‘red flags’. The students successfully identified common mistakes that can be made online and their responses demonstrated that they understood why sharing personal details such as full names, home addresses, photos in school uniforms or local sport teams can be dangerous, recognising that it is often difficult to discern who they are interacting with online. This gave rise to a discussion about the importance of checking settings to ensure their interactions are restricted to friends and family members.

Constable Gabriella also highlighted the importance of children not having devices in their bedrooms, encouraging them to keep devices in common areas of the home such as the lounge room, kitchen or family rooms where parents are present and able to monitor their online activities. She stressed the importance of open communication with parents if they ever come across something that makes them feel uncomfortable online and discussed other places to seek help including the College counsellor and Kids Helpline.

Constable Gabriella encouraged the students to be upstanders and to tell trusted adults if they see something concerning, whether it’s a website, direct message or part of a group chat. She also explained the difference between bullying and someone being mean on purpose as a one-off isolated incident. Constable Gabriella reminded the students that bullying involves repeated actions that hurt, harm or humiliate, and stressed the importance of reporting disrespectful behaviour.

The Cyber Safety talks were highly informative, providing students with valuable tips and information to ensure their online safety. We were impressed by the students’ engagement in the sessions and their responses about ways they can continue to stay safe online and reach out to trusted adults when issues arise.

Further information and fact sheets about online safety, parental controls, gaming safety and creating a tech agreement for home are available for parents on the eSafety Commissioner and  Think U Know websites.

National Road Safety Week

This week is National Road Safety Week. Throughout the week, students have been learning about how they can stay safe on the roads. Daily themes included Speed Matters, The Road to Zero, Get Home from Work Safe, Road Safety for Every Age and On the Same Path.

National Road Safety Week culminates in a special day on Friday 16 May, National Walk Safely to School Day, where all primary school aged children are encouraged to walk part or all of the way to school, follow road safety rules, share the footpath with pedestrians, cyclists and other members of the public and ensure that they always hold an adult’s hand to cross the road. 

Lauren Petroni
Assistant Head of Primary P-4 and Curriculum Leader P-4