Dear Families,

We’re up to the final week of what seems to have been a really long term, thank you for all your support. As it has been a long term, with a lot of changes, we are starting to see tired children resulting in an increase in negative behaviours. I can assure you that the staff at St Thomas More’s are addressing all behaviour concerns as soon as they are made aware of them.

One concern that appears to be across the whole school is the increased use of social media and messaging apps which students are using at home to connect with their peers. These tools can help us stay connected and have been extremely beneficial during lockdown, however they can also be used inappropriately, either through the content shared, or the writing of hurtful comments and unfortunately, we have received reports from across the whole school that some students have been using these tools inappropriately. As a parent it is important, we are familiar with our child’s online usage, what apps they are visiting and who they are communicating with. There are plenty of websites to support with this, a good place to start is the eSafety Commissioner website and our teachers will continue to teach and promote good online behaviours. And most importantly we need to monitor our children’s online usage and engage with them about what they are doing online.

As adults we also need to ensure that we are good e-citizens, being mindful of what we post on apps like Facebook and as our content can be sometimes misleading or hurtful. The best solution to resolve a concern with another person is to directly approach them with a curiosity to understand, publicly posting opinions or half-truths is not a helpful way to resolve anything.

Age restrictions for some common apps we hear our students use. (Source; Australian Apple App Store.)

Snapchat – 12+

Tik Tok - 12+

Facebook – 12+

Messenger – 12+

Instagram – 12+

Fortnight – 12+

House Party – 12+

Youtube – 17+

Spotify – 12+

I also recommend the website Commonsense Media for a family friendly review of any media from movies, books to apps.

Our Government this week has lifted some more of the CoVID-19 restrictions, however at the time of writing this piece I have not yet been informed what this means for Catholic Education Tasmania Schools. Once I have received updated information, I will let you know.

As we move into the winter months, I am aware more children will be displaying cold and flu symptoms. Under our current CoVID-19 Safety Management Plan any person displaying cold or flu like symptoms need to stay at home until they stop displaying symptoms or a medical practitioner is able to verify, they are not contagious. We also suggest that any person displaying cold or flu symptoms be tested for CoVID-19.  We thank you for your understanding during these challenging times.

Have a great week and keep safe.

God Bless,

Shayne Kidd