Student Support Services Team
SchoolTV
SPECIAL REPORT: Celebrating NAIDOC Week
NAIDOC week celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It is celebrated by all Australians and is a great opportunity to recognise and learn more about the history and culture of Indigenous communities.
NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee. Its origins can be traced back to the Aboriginal rights movement, when on Australia Day 1938, protestors marched through the streets of Sydney to highlight the status and treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. Today, it is a week-long celebration held in July that consists of range of traditional and contemporary activities.
NAIDOC Week is an important event that helps build positive relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. It enables a deeper understanding of our differences and similarities and is a great opportunity for all Australians to eliminate bias and discrimination by reflecting and reconciling the wrongs of the past to facilitate hope and build a fairer future. Families are encouraged to join in and support young people in learning the significance of NAIDOC Week.
This Special Report offers suggestions on how families can celebrate NAIDOC Week together. We hope you take a moment to reflect on the information offered, and as always, we welcome your feedback. If this raises any concerns for you, a loved one or the wellbeing of your child, please seek medical or professional help.
Here is the link to your Special Report.
Health Matters
2025 Care Carnival Sun Smart Shield Points
Congratulations to all those who were Sun Smart at our recent Care Carnival. Our students received points throughout the day for being Sun Smart by SLIPPING on a Shirt, SLAPPING on a Hat, SLIDDING on some Sunglasses, SLOPPING on some Sunscreen and Seeking Shade.
The below points go towards the termly House Cup points. Congratulations to these Care Groups at the Care Carnival!
- 4th Place on 46 Points K4
- 3rd Place on 51 Points O6
- 2nd Place on 72 Points K8
- 1st Place on 80 Points O5
eSafety message
Swimming between the digital flags: helping young Australians navigate social media’s dangerous currents
The relationship between social media and children’s mental health is one of the most important conversations of our time. That's why, from mid-December, the Australian Government will require certain social media services to take steps to prevent under 16s from having accounts.
This week, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant outlined how Australia plans to take this bold action forward, in a speech delivered at the National Press Club.
Here's what parents need to know right now:
1.It’s not a ban, it’s a delay. We’re giving kids more time to build digital skills and resilience before facing the pressures of social media.
2.The responsibility lies with the platform. There are no penalties for children or parents—only for platforms that fail to take reasonable steps to prevent under 16s from having accounts.
3. You’re not alone. eSafety offers trusted resources for parents and carers, educators, young people and kids. We’ve got the flags, the swimming lessons, and the safety tips to help you support your kids. And our protective powers in areas such as cyberbullying and image-based abuse will still be there to help if things go wrong.
Australia is building a culture of online safety—just like we’ve done on our beaches. Because the internet, like the ocean, is not going away – and our kids are already dipping their toes in. To stay up to date on social media age restrictions, visit eSafety.gov.au.
Help your teen develop healthy boundaries
Some examples of healthy boundaries in a romantic relationship to share include:
- It’s okay to spend time with friends outside of the relationship.
- It’s okay to spend time apart from each other.
- It’s okay to set boundaries on what you can share about your relationship online.
Good relationships come from good communication – asking and talking. Respect is a two way street, so they need to listen to and respect their partner’s boundaries. By doing so, they are also modelling the behaviour that they want to see from their partner.
For more information please click onthe link below.
Yarning Circle
Year 7 Deadly Choices Graduation
A big congratulations to our Year 7 students who graduated from our Deadly Choices Program which ran this term. It was great to see such commitment from our students turning up each week, learning, growing and engaging with the program content delivered by Chris Viti from the Mackay Hospital Health Service.
Thank you to Chris for supporting our students this term and for the generous gift of a Deadly Choices shirt for each of our participants, as well as new bag for those who had achieved 100 per cent attendance in this term's program.
Teacher Aide First Nations
WEX (Work Exposure in Government) Program
The 2025 WEX Program is now open for applications from all Year 10–12 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students who are interested in Australian Government careers. This is a fully funded program that runs from Sunday, 26 October – Friday, 31 October, 2025 in Canberra.
WEX provides Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students with hands-on experience and information about job opportunities and career pathways in the Australian Government.
All transportation, accommodation and meals will be provided at no cost. WEX is funded by the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) under its Children and Schooling Program. To apply, please go to: https://etmp.com.au/programs/wex-canberra-2025/
