A young person’s journey through school has the potential to be filled with plenty of ups and downs; joys and challenges, particularly when they are navigating the teenage years. A question many of us struggle with as parents is when to reach out and contact the school if issues or concerns arise. In my experience, when families, teachers and school leaders work together to address issues thoughtfully, respectfully and compassionately, most situations can be easily addressed before they become a major challenge. This is helped by positive relationships in which all parties feel valued and respected.

Catholic School Parents Australia has developed a website that provides a wealth of resources and practical ideas to help families form a better understanding of how to grow the partnership between home and school. The website includes a discussion about the following tips you might consider when deciding how to respond to an issue that has occurred for your child:

• The more promptly an issue is dealt with the better the likelihood of an effective outcome.
• The class teacher should usually be the first point of contact – going straight to a member of the leadership team could erode the trust of your child’s teacher.
• Make a mutually convenient time to meet with the teacher.
• Avoid becoming emotional or confrontational.
• Be open-minded as you may not have all the facts.
• Accept that a teacher may not have an immediate response but that you are beginning a conversation which will lead to a solution.
• Keep your child’s interests at the centre of the conversation.
• If the issue is unresolved by the class teacher, then you might approach a member of the school leadership team and explain the steps already taken/attempted.
• The Principal or a member of the senior leadership team usually should be involved if the matter relates to whole-of-school policy or practice.
• The Principal or a member of the senior leadership team should always be involved if there is any question about the safety of your child.

This is just a brief summary of some of the great information provided on the website. If you are interested in finding out more, you can access the resources via the following link:

https://www.parentengagementcspa.edu.au/

God bless

Angela Myles | Executive Principal 

University of Wollongong -Early Admissions Opened Monday 17 June

Check out the Early Admission key dates and criteria on their website here

Univertsity of Newcastle Information session - 20 June Club Mudgee

The University of Newcastle are inviting families of Year 12 students to join them at their upcoming regional Parents and Carers Info Sessions hosted in Mudgee.

Parents and Carers have the opportunity to hear from knowledgeable university staff and current students, covering a range of different topics to assist you in supporting your child through their transition from high school to university.

Thursday 20 June - Follow the link to register for the event

UoN Parent Information Session - Mudgee

UAC Key Dates for Year 12 students

Year 10 HSC Careers Expo Excursion - Thursday Week 9

Next Thursday - 27 June Year 10 will all be attending the Western Sydney HSC and Careers Expo at Homebush. This is an important step in your pathways post school. There are many exhibitors including universities; employers; TAFE; Defence Forces; Police; GAP year companies; Trade representatives and Apprenticeship companies on the day. It is the biggest EXPO of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. There will be something for everyone!

The excursion also included a visit to the Gallipoli Mosque at Auburn which ties in with  RE units on world religions and the Studies of Religion course in Year 11 -12.

A note was sent home requesting permission via the Compass portal.

Subject Selection Year 10 Process

Year 10 subject selection for 2025 has begun. Students have received their UAC booklets and have started to consider the subjects they enjoy at school, what general pathways they are interested in and their skills and strengths in the classroom. Students will continue to work on activities to get them thinking about their future, and gather information about the range of courses offered in senior school predominantly in their Assembly lessons. An overview of the process is below:

Blaney McCarthy-English | Acting Head of Campus - Secondary

Our Value for Term 2 is Compassion. This coincides with our annual St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal.

All students are busy bringing in cans of food for our local St Vincent de Paul. These cans will be distributed by Vinnies to the most vulnerable members of our community. Thank you for your generosity going forward. Donations can also be made by this link.

As part of our St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal, we will be hosting a Years 5-12 Vinnies School Sleepout. The school community will come together in solidarity and give up one night in a warm comfortable bed to help raise funds and awareness about homelessness and disadvantage in our very own backyard.

The Brain and Behaviour 

Sheila from Real Schools explains the impact the adolescent brain has on behaviour in the following YouTube clip. 

A SPECIAL REPORT: Smokeless Tobacco Products

The evolving nicotine landscape requires parents and caregivers to stay informed to protect young people from these emerging threats. Snus and nicotine pouches are gaining popularity among young people as smokeless tobacco (SLT) products. Both products are discreetly placed under the upper lip, allowing nicotine absorption through the gums.

Health authorities are urging proactive measures to curb this growing trend and calling on regulators to implement controls before these products become as widespread as vapes. The high nicotine levels in these products pose serious health risks, including nicotine addiction, cardiovascular disease, gum disease, tooth decay, and even nicotine poisoning. Researchers highlight the detrimental effects of nicotine on developing brains, linking its use to depression, anxiety, ADHD symptoms, and an increased risk of addiction to other drugs.

The marketing of snus and nicotine pouches targets young audiences through social media influencers, raising concerns about their increasing popularity among school students. And like vapes, they come in various flavours and strengths, with unregulated nicotine levels leading to inconsistent and misleading labelling.  It is clear that SLT products contain not only nicotine, but also other chemicals with unknown long-term effects.

This Special Report will help you become aware of the potential risks of smokeless tobacco products and guide you in age-appropriate discussions with your child.

We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this Special Report, and as always, we welcome your feedback.

If you do have any concerns about the wellbeing of your child, please contact the school for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to your special report:
https://stmattsmudgee.catholic.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-smokeless-tobacco-products-au

   

Attendance

Regular school attendance is critical for academic growth and paves the way for future achievements. It is important that your child attends school everyday where possible. If your child is unable to attend please remember to make a note on Compass explaining their absence. 

   

Uniform 

At St Matthews we take great pride in our school and the appearance of our students. As uniform expectations are an integral component of our school, we insist that the uniform is neat and tidy at all times. By wearing their uniform well, our students are showing pride in their school and themselves.

Lately, we have noticed an increase in two issues we would like to correct with our uniform. The first is a burst fade haircut. As a Wellbeing Team and a school we have decided these styles are exaggerated and do not align with our uniform standards. I have attached 3 photos to demonstrate what we have decided is exaggerated. Please note there are many more cuts and styles that are exaggerated and I do not intend to go through all of them at the moment rather point out a style we are seeing an increase in. Secondly, clear jewelry (nose piercings etc) and fake nails are not a part of our uniform either. We ask that you support the school with our uniform expectations and strongly encourage your children to align with this. With an increased amount of extracurricular activity coming up for our students we will reserve the right to not select a child if they are unable to consistently meet our uniform requirements. 

Dillon Price | Leader of Wellbeing 

CEDB Spelling Bee

On the 29th of May, Abigail Freeman (Year 8), Layne Bannister (Year 9) and Oliver O’Brien (Year 9) attended the CEBD Spelling Bee in Wellington. Here, they competed against all schools in the Catholic Education of Bathurst Diocese in spelling rounds of seen and unseen words. The students represented our school beautifully and achieved some fantastic results.. 

~ Oliver placed 4th

~ Abigail placed 3rd

~ Layne placed 2nd 

Congratulations Abigail, Layne and Oliver!

High School Reading – Why Is It So Important?

Full Spectrum Education

Getting reluctant readers to pick up a book is pretty difficult – trust us, we know. However, the importance of a consistent reading routine is well understated. Reading not just gets them off their phone, computer or games, it improves spelling, grammar, sentence structure, creativity and critical thinking!

In all honesty, it doesn’t really matter what they read, as long as your high schooler is reading something. From physical magazines to non-fiction manuals or history books, to general fiction, it’s highly unlikely that you won’t be able to find something they want to read. The act of reading itself activates the neurological pathways that force the reader into a state of constant imagination, something they don’t experience when information is being displayed visually to them via a screen.

Having more reading in one’s life improves spelling and sentence structure as the reader is more exposed to the different ways in which sentences can be structured. This gives them a variety to choose from when it comes to their own writing, giving them options to make a basic sentence way more advanced and interesting to read.

Not only this, vocabulary is improved. Especially with the epidemic of YouTube, your high schooler is likely consuming content that is a low-grade of vocabulary, usually punctuated with many “ums”, “buts” and “likes”. Any book goes through a triage of editors, making sure the vocabulary is as varied as it can be to engage the reader. This means that the reader will subconsciously pick up these words as they go.

Creativity and critical thinking are another huge aspect of reading. By this constant imagining, the reader will always have a different perspective on a story to another. Because they are not being presented exactly how it should be understood, they begin to form their own opinions which helps them engage critically with more ideas outside of books. The generation of images in their mind also lets them connect with their own creativity when it comes to writing their own stories or essays.

Reading is single-handedly one of the best things a student can do in their free time. Remember, children learn by copying, so if you need to pick up reading to show them how easy it is to pick up a book – do that!

Rose Gardner | English KLA Coordinator 

As part of their Marketing topic, Year 12 Business Studies students recently completed blind taste testing of cola soft drink varieties. This activity required students to evaluate the product purely on taste. Once students had ranked their personal preferences they then had to examine the positioning, packaging and pricing strategies for each of the different brands. This enabled students to assess the differentiation approach employed by each brand. Interestingly, during the blind testing all students ranked the same sample in first place.

All students were engaged in analysing the different marketing techniques of the large multinational corporations and were able to develop their understanding of how and why brands utilise different marketing techniques to sell their products. 

Mrs Croake | Business Studies Teacher 

Last Tuesday, St Matthews students participated in a Dio gala day for football in Bathurst. Both our boys and girls teams were victorious in their opening match and came very close but falling just short in their next two. Despite the cold, our students had fun and represented the school with pride. Well done to all those who participated on the day!

Mr Neaverson-Smith and Mr Hammond | Coaches