Mission and Wellbeing (AP)

Bullying 

Students thrive in safe environments that promote positive relationships, safety and wellbeing so they can achieve their full potential.

At McAuley Catholic College, we define bullying as an ongoing misuse of power in relationships. It is intended, and its repeated use causes harm, distress and fear. It may be verbal, physical or social behaviour involving individuals or groups.

• Bullying can happen in person or online, and it can be overt (done openly) or covert (hidden)
• Bullying will probably continue if no action is taken.
• Bullying is not the same as conflict or social dislike, even though, in some cases, the outcome of both can be bullying.

Our anti-bullying policy states that the school will take reasonable actions to develop plans and implement programs to deter bullying. Throughout the year, we undertake the following: 

Pastoral Care Program – each student participates in a pastoral care program that their homeroom teacher leads. Students are expected to meet each week for a pastoral care lesson. Students engage in activities and discussions during these lessons to reinforce positive relationships. Anti-bullying messages are consistently offered with the support of contemporary research, including relevant media use and appropriate educational material.

Restorative Justice Program - the college strives to follow a process of Restorative Justice when dealing with behavioural issues. Restorative Justice endeavours to,

• Focus on the SPECIFIC BEHAVIOURS or INCIDENTS without blaming
  
  
• Draw out WHO WAS AFFECTED and HOW THEY WERE AFFECTED
  
  
• Direct questions towards the central issue in order to solve what needs to happen to MAKE THINGS RIGHT

Year Meetings – each cohort meets regularly with their Year Coordinator. This gives the Year Coordinators an opportunity to consistently convey the message that inappropriate behaviours will not be accepted and encourage reporting to staff if it does occur. Amongst other things, the intention is to eradicate the notion of ‘dobbing’ related to bullying issues and reinforce it as necessary ‘reporting’.

Assemblies — the whole College community generally meets weekly to celebrate students' achievements and successes. This is another opportunity for the College to reinforce its zero-tolerance policy toward bullying and encourage positive relationships and a culture of care.

Last week, all students in Years 7 - 10 undertook the following: 

Structured Lesson on Bullying - this was undertaken in Religious Education classes. During this lesson, the students were shown the 2024 Tell Them From Me Data on Bullying. They were prompted to consider what the data was telling them, and discussions and teaching took place on what constitutes bullying and its effects. Students were then given options to have their say. All students in Years 7 - 10 undertook the Student Bullying Surveys. Students could anonymously name any other students they feel are being victimised or displaying inappropriate behaviours towards others. Importantly, the survey allows the College to support those students named in the surveys, and follow-up occurs through either the relevant Year Coordinator or the Pastoral Care Coordinator.

The students were also reminded that they can seek support from staff at any time if bullying is occurring. They can also access the Bully Free form on their intranet site and suggest processes that can be improved to help students feel safe at school.  

Parents and carers play an important role in helping your child understand bullying and know how to respond to it.

If your child tells you about things at school, or you observe something in public that involves conflict or bullying, take the opportunity to talk about what bullying is. Questions you could ask include:

• What do you think bullying is?
• Have you seen it? How did you feel?
• Have you ever felt scared at school because of bullying?
• As well as me, who are the other adults you would talk to when it comes to things like bullying?
• Have you or your friends left other kids out on purpose? Do you think that was bullying? Why or why not?
• Have you ever tried to help someone who is being bullied? What happened? What would you do if it happened again?

Remind your child that bullying is never okay and discuss how they can respond safely if they experience or witness it. Encourage them to seek help from a trusted adult and keep seeking support if needed. By promoting open communication, we empower children to stand up against bullying and create a safer environment where everyone can feel that they belong.

If you have concerns that your child is being bullied, please contact your child’s Year Coordinator first. In our College, students can also report bullying by undertaking the Confidential Student Survey on Bullying Behaviours on the Student Intranet Site. 

If you believe the behaviour constitutes a crime, or is a serious incident of cyberbullying, please refer to the Bullying No Way website for information on how to report to other authorities and access wellbeing help.

Students can also report online bullying at https://www.esafety.gov.au/report/forms

Students do not have to face bullying alone—there are people here to help them and ensure they feel safe and supported in school.

Attendance - Compass App Attendance Display – Important Update

Please be advised that Compass has recently made an unannounced change to the Parent App. The App now displays a student’s whole and partial absences instead of their attendance percentage.

These absence figures may include days that are not classified as actual absences, such as class cancellations, flexible timetable arrangements, and certain school-based activities. As such, the attendance numbers in the App may not reflect your child’s true attendance record.

We want to reassure you that:

• This data does not impact your child’s official attendance rate.

• It will not appear on your child’s academic reports.

We are working closely with the DLCS and Compass to resolve this issue and either correct or remove the inaccurate data from the App.

Attendance - Every Moment Matters

Last week, emails were sent to families with attendance below 90%. Please note that full-day absences, frequent late arrivals, and/or early departures all contribute to a student’s overall attendance profile. Catholic Schools Guidelines state that a student’s attendance should be above 90%. 

There can be various reasons why children’s attendance can be a concern, and we recognise their attendance profile may have been influenced by leave taken due to medical reasons, travel or family commitments, but we feel it is important to keep you informed. 

Please don’t hesitate to contact the school and speak with your child’s Year Coordinator if we can support you and/or your child with any matters.

Winter Uniforms 

A reminder that as the weather cools, next term, students must be in winter uniform items. Below is the range of new uniform items available for winter: 

• College Long Charcoal Grey Pants with College crest
• Maroon jumper with College crest and/or 
• Softshell maroon jacket with College crest
• Maroon trackpants with MCC logo.

The uniform trading hours for the school holidays are as follows: 

Online ordering information is on the infographic below. 

Project Compassion - Caritas 

Caritas Australia would like to thank you for your incredible support of Project Compassion this Lent. Each homeroom contributed to the Project Compassion box, and Year 8 students have innovatively developed ideas to raise money for Project Compassion within their Religious Education class. Through their efforts, they have contributed to raising money for vulnerable people and highlighting the importance of ensuring human dignity for all, especially the poor.  

Your generosity this Lent is helping to empower the world’s most vulnerable communities, enabling them to overcome challenges and lift themselves out of poverty.

Together, we are creating a better tomorrow, helping vulnerable communities build stronger futures for themselves and empowering them to break free from the cycle of poverty. Thank you for standing with Caritas, as they Unite Against Poverty this Lent.