
2 minute read
From the Head of Pastoral
Mr Hilton Hardman
Mobile Phones and Social Media The latest statistics tell us that around 940,000 young Australians aged between 13 and 17 use social media. This is roughly two-thirds of young people in that age category. We know from national statistics that about 1 in 5 young people experience cyber-bullying, and this is supported by a recent survey of students in WA schools, which found that 1 in 5 students experienced bullying at school, with a majority of cases involving a component of social media use. These figures equate to around 80 St George’s students experiencing issues.
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The consequences for children who experience cyberbullying are monumental. They can range from anxiety and social isolation to significant school avoidance, and at its worst, self-harm or suicide. At St George’s, we try to remind our students as often as we can about the pitfalls of social media and the behaviours that are appropriate or not. Living by the THINK principle when posting is an excellent start to ensuring we all treat each other with the respect we deserve. This topic links well with our Parents Guest speaker coming in on the 10 March from 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm. Paul Litherland will be discussing several points relating to Online safety and Online gaming.

If you wish to attend this session, please email sgamble@stgeorges.wa.edu.au - we have a restricted number of seats available for this session.
World’s Greatest Shave The world’s greatest shave is coming up soon, and this year, the Students Guild would like to get our school involved. The Leukaemia Foundation’s World’s Greatest Shave aims to raise money for research into blood cancer and provide aid to affected families, especially throughout COVID-19. Every day 47 Australians will be diagnosed with blood cancer, with 110,000 Australians currently living with blood cancer or related conditions.
We encourage students to get involved in this drive and support by making a donation or getting in contact with Mr Hardman on how they could get involved.
Mr Quan has set the students the challenge of raising $2000 for him to shave his head, and Mr Hardman will shave his head if the students hit the $4000 mark. The School’s goal is to hit $5000. For sponsorship, please click on this link St George’s World’s Greatest Shave

