Hi everyone and welcome back to Term 2. What a crazy couple of weeks we’ve had! As I write this, South Australia has had very few Coronavirus cases, something I didn’t envision happening so soon. SA has done a fantastic job of staying at home and social distancing. My hope now is that some of the restrictions can be lifted, although, I fear things may not return back to normal for some time yet as other states and countries are not faring as well are we are. With most families feeling safer about things, we have almost 100% of students back at school. I think a lot of them are thankful to be back so that they can see their friends and continue their learning.

This holiday period was a very different one for all families. When it started I wasn’t sure what to expect. But as the days passed and we got into a bit of a routine I started to really enjoy the slow pace of the days and time spent playing with the kids, reading my book or going on afternoon walks with the family. I hope that you also got time to enjoy some part of the holiday break with your loved ones and I hope that your jobs haven’t been affected too dramatically by the virus.

Over the next few weeks our school will start its annual focus on cyber safety. Teachers will support all students to focus on how we can keep children safe in the digital world. It is also really important that us, as parents, also monitor and support our children at home when they are online. From someone who has a 10-year-old son, who would like to be 18, and do his own thing, it’s imperative that we help students understand that digital devises can enhance learning and be a lot of fun as long we use them responsibly. I encourage you to have open discussions with your children about what they’re doing online and how they can keep themselves safe. One last bit of advice I would give would be, and I always ask my students and children to do this, is to get children to speak up something doesn’t look or sound or feel right. Unfortunately, bullying is much more prevalent online because the perpetrator often feels like they can hide behind their phone or computer. Sometimes the only way to find out if these things are happening is if children speak up and tell someone about it.

In the midst of all this craziness, last week, we celebrated Catholic Education Week. I think this is a great time to give thanks for all of the wonderful things our Catholic schools do to develop and nurture our children. I feel privileged to be a part of Catholic Education South Australia and more specifically St Joseph’s Kingswood. I can attest to the passion and professionalism of the staff that work here. At the end of last term, we all worked exceptionally hard to prepare for a remote style of learning so that all children could continue their learning regardless of whether they were at school or not. All teachers had to change what they were doing and learn about new ways of developing curriculum and connecting with students in a matter of days. We are very lucky to have them! With very low cases of Coronavirus and a great Catholic Education system we have many things to be thankful for in SA right now. 

Take care,

Jamie