Wellbeing Report – February 15, 2018

Travelling to and from St Patricks College

Parents, please ensure that your son is aware of his responsibilities as a commuter and the need to adhere to the code of conduct fair and reasonably expected of all commuters regardless of whether they are a students of St Patrick’s College.-

How a student travels to and from the College is a personal decision made by each family depending on the location of their primary place of residence, access to public transport, parents working commitments and, in the case of year 12 students, whether the boys themselves have access to a car and hold a driver’s license. The College respects each parent’s decision and their right to choose how their son will travel to and from the College.

Students driving to the College are expected to adhere to all road traffic laws. Should your son be using public transport in the form of a bus or train it follows then that they are bound by the code of behaviour expected of any citizen using these forms of transport. Pay the fare, not infringe on of the rights of other travellers, not damage the train or bus and not put their lives and the lives of other commuters at risk.

The College does not own or have control over Vic Rail or any of the bus companies which provide a service to College students and their families. Accordingly, if students continually breach the code of behaviour expected by commuters it is within the right of Vic Rail or the bus company to cancel the service and or ban certain students from accessing their service.

St Patrick’s Day

St Patrick’s Day will be celebrated at the College on Friday 16 March 2018. In an effort to get into the festive spirit all students are encouraged to wear their green St Patrick’s Day tie for the entire day (including to and from the College). Many students purchased these ties in 2017 and accordingly you only need to find them in your wardrobe. For those new to the College, or who for whatever reason did not purchase a tie last year, they are available for purchase from the College shop for $3.

Youth Suicide

During the Christmas holidays there was extensive coverage across all Australian media on the passing of Amy -‘Dolly’ Everett, a 14-year-old girl from Katherine NT, who tragically died by suicide. Dolly’s death is a deeply tragic event and reminds the many in our community who have been impacted by suicide of how distressing and heartbreaking suicide is. In an effort to provide timely support and information about ways to address this important issue with young people I wish to draw your attention to the following resources available on the headspace website:

Resources for families:

• How to talk about suicide with young people

• Understanding self-harm for families

• Understanding bullying for families

• Social media advice for families

• Information for parents and carers

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Head of the Lake

This year’s Head of the Lake Regatta will be held on Lake Wendouree on Sunday, February 25 commencing at 8.30am. Each school participating in the Head of the Lake Regatta is allowed approximately 100 students to be part of their school’s cheer squad. Accordingly, only Year 12 students will form the official -Spit Crew- at the Regatta. Students in the Junior School, Middle School and Senior School who have brothers competing on the day are welcome to attend, however they will need to be in the care and control of their parents. They will not be allowed to enter the St Patrick’s College Spit Crew area.