News

The White Ribbon of Respect
As a white Ribbon Ambassador I am delighted that Tenison Woods College leads the way for schools across Australia, who are breaking the silence on domestic violence. And in breaking the silence we are confronting the harsh reality of the situation in Australia.

The Statistics
Statistics paint the canvas poignantly and point to the epidemic nature of the problem:

• One woman per week is killed in Australia because of domestic violence.
• One in three women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by someone known to them.
• Women are most at risk of violence in the home and from men they know.
• The most common location for physical assaults of women to occur is in the home.
• 33.7% of women experienced violence since the age of 15 by a person known to them, and the most frequent category of perpetrators was male previous partners (ABS, 2013).

Locally, our Domestic Violence Support Service is providing crisis support to 15 families at risk at any one at any one time, with another 40 families being monitored due to domestic violence behaviours.

Prevention
White Ribbon Australia is a primary prevention organisation; preventing men’s violence against women before it happens.  Our work is aimed at men and the wider community through:

Primary prevention in schools through our Breaking the Silence Schools Program
Primary Prevention in workplaces through the White Ribbon Workplace Program
Awareness-raising and education through national marketing and creative campaigns
Community development
Partnerships

Men Taking Responsibility
In essence White Ribbon Australia is highlighting the positive role men play in preventing men’s violence against women and inspiring them to be part of this social change.  Women are men's wives, mothers, sisters, daughters and friends whose lives are limited by men’s violence against women.

Some men use violence against women that gives all men a bad name.
A minority of men treat women and girls with contempt and violence, and it is up to the majority of men to help create a culture in which this is unacceptable (Flood, 2004).
As community leaders and decision-makers, men can play a key role in helping stop men’s violence against women. Men can speak out and step in when male friends and relatives are violent towards women. It is a woman’s human right to live free from violence and all men should support this.

As a White Ribbon Ambassador I work with fellow ambassadors in aiming for a society where men’s violence against women ceases to exist.  For this to become a reality, we must address the causes of men’s violence against women - traditional gender roles and men’s learned attitudes and behaviours - in order to stop this violence before it happens.

As a White Ribbon Ambassador I am delighted to recommend to our community a variety of events that will take place later in November in our local community.

Camp Success
I am continually grateful for the wonderful culture that has evolved with school camp, retreat, sporting and field experiences at Tenison Woods College.  We as a school community understand the critical importance of these experiences in the development of our young and it is inspiring to see staff and parents working together to ensure that such opportunities offer students the greatest benefit. Thank you to all the committed staff, parents and carers who have committed themselves to the wonderful experiences such as Year 5 Noora-Yo-Long  Camp, Year 6 Grampians Camp, Year 7 Canberra Camp Outdoor Education and Sporting Trips.

Principal’s Performance Appraisal
I enclose a note from Sue Kennedy Branford, Principal Consultant with Catholic Education South Australia.

“Sue Kennedy-Branford, Principal Consultant from the Catholic Education Office and two Principals from other Catholic colleges are currently facilitating David Mezinec’s appraisal.  The appraisal panel would like to extend an invitation to any parents/carers to provide feedback via email regarding David’s leadership of the College.

There may be feedback about particular initiatives or innovations David has lead, and/or observations about some of his strengths and challenges as Principal of a large, complex school. The panel is keen to hear about David’s impact in the following general areas:

• Leading Teaching and Learning
• Promoting a strong Catholic Identity
• Leading Improvement, Innovation and Change
• Leading the Management and Administration of the College
• Engaging and Working with the Community

It is David’s desire that this process be open to all who should wish to contribute and he is very keen for everyone to have a voice in this appraisal.

A number of individuals will be interviewed by the panel as part of this process.  While the panel cannot meet with more than a selection of community members, it hopes anyone who would like to offer feedback will do so by forwarding any comments to Sue (sue.kennedy-branford@cesa.catholic.edu.au ) by Friday 17 November 2017.

Please be assured that the information shared will be treated in strict confidence.  No individuals or their responses will be identified to anyone other than the panel members, and only summary information will be shared with David.

David would really appreciate your support with this process. It aims to celebrate his work so far, as well as to offer the opportunity for community feedback of any nature for him to reflect upon as he continues to exercise his leadership.”

Mount Gambier Christmas Parade
Tenison Woods College is a very busy place with many opportunities provided for students.  As such, I inform families that it has been discerned that the Junior School and Early Learning Centre will be entering a float in the Christmas Parade on a bi-annual basis, therefore this year we will not be entering a float. It is anticipated that this approach will enable more families and children to be involved, not only on the float, but also with the deliberate and elaborate preparation and planning that is required to facilitate a quality-type experience for our young.

Parish Facebook Page
Check out the parish Facebook page, ‘like’ and ‘follow’ it at www.facebook.com/mtgambiercatholicparish.

Satisfaction Surveys
We at Tenison Woods College are constantly reviewing our offerings and approach, refining as required, with the aim of ensuring that we offer our young the best possible opportunities and outcomes.

To this end I invite our parents/carers to participate in a Satisfaction Survey that will offer us data to reflect on the type of learning community we are creating and the type of issues we need to consider to make the College the best possible.

It would be greatly appreciated if you could take the time to complete the Parent Satisfaction Survey by Thursday 23 November. The link is below:

Parents: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/C3CK6NW

Thank you for your contribution and should you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me on 08 8725 5455.

BYOD at Tenison Woods College
For more information about the BYOD program, obtaining free Microsoft Office software and device options, please visit the Portal@TWC help site www.tenison.catholic.edu.au/portaltwc. It is a wonderful resource prepared and curated by our committed ICT Support Team.

God Bless,

David Mezinec | Principal.

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