Assistant Principal - Pastoral Care

Recently Year 7 held their Belonging Day experience at Boambee under the guidance of the Year 7 Pastoral Team and over 80 Year 10 Student Peer Mentors. A great day of learning and socialising was had by all. This will be supported by Belonging Night on Monday evening when the parents and family groups come to the College to share a meal and hear from their child’s Homeroom Teacher as to how they intend to support your child throughout 2025. This year instead of a formal Year 7 Student/Parent/Teacher evening, parents/carers will have the opportunity to meet their child’s teachers in a less formal manner. The evening will get underway at 5:45pm. These types of activities are so important to the culture of an organisation so please do all you can to attend. Thanks to Mr Baldwin and Miss Hannaford along with the many other students and teachers involved in the organisation of both events.

One of the items on the agenda for Tuesday’s SJPC Parent Representative Body Meeting is a discussion around parenting teens. In light of this I have borrowed some information that recently appeared in the St Augustine’s newsletter that might be of use.

Adolescence is a time of huge change, physically, emotionally and socially. Teenagers are developing their own sense of identity while navigating through all the influences of family, friends and society. It is perfectly normal, and necessary, for teenagers to develop their independence and own ideas of where they fit into the world. It is almost a right of passage for teenagers to push boundaries in the form of challenging beliefs and rules that they readily accepted as a younger child. This is their way of establishing independence but can, however, lead to difficult behaviours. Teenager’s emotions often appear to be on a roller coaster as they attempt to find ways of dealing with peers and other adults. This may surface as conflicts and disagreements with parents, teachers and other authority figures. It is important for us to remember teenager’s  brains are still developing. It is also important to allow teenagers to understand you are there to support them, even when they make mistakes. Some ways we can do this are by:

• Respecting their privacy and supporting them in developing their own unique identity.
• Letting them know you are willing to listen and assist them to solve problems or difficulties they may be having.  
• Showing interest in their ideas, feelings, and friends. 
• Showing them that you are willing to understand their need for independence. 

Blue Sky Community Services in Coffs Harbour is facilitating a range of upcoming parenting programs. These are free programs with refreshments provided and lunch provided for the Tuning Into Teens all-day session. There are online and face-to-face sessions available for the Teen Tactics, #Addicted, School Avoidance and the Age of Rage Programs.

The Blue Sky course linked below may be of interest to you:

Until next time

Michael Stubbs