News

Pope Francis on Lent

As we are over halfway through Lent and soon to approach Holy Week and Easter, Father Dean shared with the parish the below except from the Lenten Message of Pope Francis:

“In our preparation for Easter, God in His providence offers us each year the season of Lent as a 'sacramental sign of our conversion.' Lent summons us, and enables us, to come back to the Lord wholeheartedly and in every aspect of our life.

But the Church, our Mother and Teacher, along with the often bitter medicine of the truth, offers us in the Lenten season the soothing remedy of prayer, almsgiving and fasting.

By devoting more time to prayer, we enable our hearts to root out our secret lies and forms of self-deception, and then to find the consolation God offers. He is our Father and he wants us to live life well."

For more of Pope Francis’ reflections and the parish newsletter go to: http://www.mountgambiercatholic.org.au/home/

Parents as the First Educators

At Tenison Woods College we appreciate the importance of parents and carers as the first educators of their children, realising that all we do supports their efforts or assists them to exercise their influence with greater confidence. We are also seeing the importance of grandparents in the evolving family paradigm of our society and how they are impacting on the learning, wellbeing and faith formation of our students. 

I have also said on many occasions that the greatest determinant of student success at Tenison Woods College is parent involvement in their child’s learning and our learning community.  The literature in the area of improving student achievement repeatedly indicates that parental attitudes and behaviors are the most significant variables. Interestingly, improving student achievement, according to the data, is not dependent on more money or smaller classes, but in the hands of parents and carers who play a critical role in their children’s physical, social, moral and academic development.  

With this in mind, I am delighted to see parents and carers becoming involved in a variety of opportunities in our learning community, such as literacy and numeracy information sessions, as well as parent class representatives. I am also thrilled to see staff teams across the school planning opportunities for parents to become increasingly involved in the learning of their young this year through some creative experiences and events.  This was evident at our first PTA meeting conducted by Aleathia Holland last Thursday. It was wonderful to witness the commitment of parents and teachers to building community through relationships, and having fun at the same time!

I encourage parents, grandparents and carers to accept the invitations that will be extended to them.  Furthermore, I invite you to contact me should you have ideas of how we could better involve parents, grandparents and carers in our community or support them as the first educators of our young

Bullying – Together We Say ‘No Way’, but even better, we Model ‘No Way’

The 2018 National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence was on Friday 16 March 2018. This annual day provides a focus for our community to say “Bullying. No Way!” and to strengthen our existing everyday messages that bullying and violence are not okay at any time.  But there is so much more for us to do than to say “No Way!”

Australian research shows that bullying peaks during the years of transition to high school and early high school, and then tends to decline in senior school.  Bullying is serious: even what appears to be ‘mild’ bullying can have a devastating impact on students if they don’t feel safe coming to school and are not able to focus on learning and having fun with friends.  Hence our Tenison Woods College community has a zero tolerance policy in relation to bullying. This approach is of course complemented by a range of policies and approaches to creating a positive culture, accentuating individual wellbeing and restoring relationships when dissonance occurs. In essence, we see these proactive learning experiences for students as a way to inoculate against or decrease the conditions which lead to bullying behaviours.

Bullying can be obvious (overt) or hidden (covert). Bullying can take place in person or online. Research indicates that the majority of young people who bully online also bully others in person.  Covert bullying is a subtle type of non-physical bullying which usually isn't easily seen by others and is conducted out of sight and often unacknowledged by adults. Covert bullying behaviours mostly inflict harm by damaging another's social reputation, peer relationships and self-esteem. Covert bullying can be carried out in a range of ways (e.g. spreading rumours, conducting a malicious social exclusion campaign and/or through the use of internet or mobile phone technologies).

Communication technologies allow for different ways to bully others, but do not change the fact that the bullying behaviour (and not the technology itself) is the main issue. Technology does however create new challenges for dealing with bullying.

During this period of focus on bullying I ask the Tenison Woods College community to reflect on the bystander in bullying situations. We know that most bullying situations involve 'bystanders' - other people who watch or are nearby at the time the bullying takes place.  The role of bystanders in bullying is complex and each situation as well as each student is different. However, I ask our community to reiterate to students that our College community supports active bystanders and respects student's judgment about their own safety and the appropriateness of taking actions in a bullying situation.

I also ask parents to reflect on how they encourage their children to navigate their relationships. Often the most powerful learning for our children is how they see us adults relate to one another and resolve our concerns in a mature and respectful way. Challenging isn’t it?

BYOD at Tenison Woods College

Thank you to the Senior School families who have supported the Bring Your Own Device approach this year with all the challenges and successes that it has brought for the family.  I remind families, 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.

COYYA Visitors

This week on Monday and Tuesday we welcomed Peter Bierer and Holly Roberts from the Catholic Office for Youth and Young Adults (COYYA) to the College. Peter and Holly worked with both students and staff across a range of year levels. They focused on the Year of Youth and the feedback from young people in our Archdiocese during last year's listening forums.

Parish Planned Giving Rebate

I remind families that parents contributing to the St Paul’s Planned Giving may claim a rebate from Tuition Fees of 50% of their contribution up to a maximum claim of $750. Official Parish receipts are to be presented to the Business Manager after the 30 June 2018 for a deduction to be made.

Harmony Day: Everyone Belongs

Harmony Day is celebrated around Australia on 21 March each year. It is a day when all Australians celebrate our cultural diversity. The day is also the United Nation's International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

Harmony Day is managed by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) and gives people the opportunity to celebrate what makes each Australian unique and share what we have in common. The continuing message for Harmony Day in 2018 is that in the diversity of stories, we all belong to and strengthen the identity of one Australia. We are all welcome as part of our country, enriching Australia by our story. It is also a day to reflect on where Australia has come from, recognising the traditional owners of this land.

Ultimately Harmony Day is about community participation, inclusiveness and respect – celebrating the different cultures that have made Australia a great place to live.  I am delighted that at Tenison Woods College we have chosen an evening meal as an opportunity to share our cultural heritages and gifts.

May the God of Gentleness soften the tensions within us.

The God of Power strengthen us.

The God of Wisdom gift us with discerning minds and hearts.

The God of Love teach us to be companions to each other.

Amen

God Bless,

David Mezinec | Principal

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