Welcome to the start of the 2025 school year

I hope all the members of our Padua College community have had a well-rested break and are ready to engage in a year full of challenging educational experiences.

Before the term started, the senior students leaders held a Leadership Conference. This was an excellent opportunity for the group to plan on how they intend to make Padua an even better place. Led by our College Captains, much of the discussion centred on how we can embrace diversity, equity and inclusion. While these terms seem to be thrown around as political footballs, especially with Trump and Musk occupying the Oval Office, in education they should be seen as a positive. Only when everyone gets a seat at the table can we grow and learn. It takes a village to raise a child and when everyone in that village chips in and helps out then the task is so much more manageable. Celebrating Harmony Day later in the term was also a key area of focus for the student leaders and I am really looking forward to working with the team.

Uniform - A sense of community pride in 127 years

Part of our success (our coping strategies and resilience building) during challenging times is the focus on providing structured and predictable environments with clear routines, values, norms, and expectations of behaviours.

One way in which we encourage high expectations at Padua College is in the way we present ourselves to the community through our uniform. Now more than ever, the College uniform is a vehicle in which we can express pride in our community.

The school uniform identifies members of Padua College. It assists in creating an atmosphere of uniformity, pride, loyalty and equity. All students enter class as equals as far as image and dress are concerned; their individuality comes from their attitude, character, spirit, and involvement.

Students should wear it proudly and well, realising that at all times they are ambassadors for our College.

I wish to draw your attention to a few areas of particular concern and the information from our uniform policy.

Active Wear: The College has a sports uniform that includes navy shorts. Students should not be wearing black Lycra style active wear for sport or with other items of the sport uniform.

Blazer: Must be worn to and from school through the year (If cold/wet the Padua softshell waterproof jacket is permitted to be worn over the blazer).

School Shoes: Black leather lace-up or T-bar school shoes. No soft material or suede or boots allowed (skate shoes are not permitted).

Summer dress: Length of the summer dress is to the knees.

Jewellery & Make Up: Two earrings per ear in the ear lobe (small stud or sleeper). No other jewellery is permitted and clear plastic studs and band aids to cover piercings are not permitted. Excess jewellery will be confiscated. Makeup is to be kept to a minimum and must be natural looking. Clear nail polish is permitted.

White Sports Polo and Polar Fleece: These items are no longer part of the College uniform have been phased out. I discourage parents from purchasing these second-hand as they are no longer part of the school uniform.

To embrace a whole school approach, we need to ensure uniformity (pardon the pun!) in our expectations, each campus will simultaneously recognise and reward those students doing the right thing while reverting measures to maintain our standard with consequence for those students blatantly disregarding our rules and expectations.

PAM – Student Digest

Building Connections between School & Home

Padua College is once again rolling out the ‘Student Digest’ whereby a fortnightly email will be automatically generated and be sent to PAM account holders. This will be a snapshot outlining your child's attendance, learning areas and commendations over the two weeks.

The information contained in this Digest is listed below.

This initiative builds greater, more regular communication between school and home; encouraging greater accountability for attendance and learning areas and task dates to enhance positive learning behaviours and relationships between students/staff and families.

The Student Digest will be sent to parents each Day 10. Please note that this feature relies on the data that has been entered by teachers. If at any time your child has brought to your attention that an assessment task dates/overdue is not correct or needs updating, then please bring that to the attention of the classroom teacher as soon as possible to rectify the situation.

Building Resilience – One Challenge at a Time

Starting a new school is often seen as one of the most defining and impactful life events. Working back through a scale of relativity, each new year presents a significant event, so we are not surprised that the new year can attract a sense of nervousness. We therefore take a significant amount of time refining the process of transition into each year level at Padua. HeadStart also provides a significant opportunity to ease into the new year.

With all this considered, some teens can still experience challenging levels of anxiety, fear of the unknown and a doubt as to whether they can cope with all the new ‘stuff’. These are all normal reactions and part of the learning journey as we navigate a path whereby we utilise our God given talents; to be the best we can be in order to make a positive impact on the world.

An antidote to differing levels of anxiety is to celebrate those opportunities where resilience can be built. Renowned child Psychologist Dr Michael Carr-Gregg is quoted as saying “Resilience is key to addressing mental health issues. We need to allow our kids to experience adversity. There is a tendency to shield our kids because parents have become a bit over-protective.”

While our modus operandi is not to unduly burden our students with deliberate challenges as a form of ill placed exposure therapy, the reality of the complex world we live in today provides these obstacles for us. Our role as parents and educators (and I am lucky enough to be both) is to prepare our young ones in their task to overcome the challenges and each navigate to their own North Star.

The Struggle of the Butterfly

Those who have watched a butterfly slowly emerge from its woven cocoon often describe the process of witnessing as painful. The struggle of the butterfly emphasises the final exit from the cocoon as the most gruelling part of its transformation. It is critical to the growth of these beautiful and colourful insects that they are not rescued from this challenge, as doing so will harm the butterfly's ability to fully develop.

The struggle to open their cocoon is what builds the strength in their wings. Without the struggle, the emerging new butterfly lacks the strength to fly and embark on their new journey in the world.

Classes and the 2025 Academic Year

The challenge and excitement of the new year can present challenges for our emerging butterflies. I believe it is beneficial for us to explain our processes for arranging classes, generally across the junior levels (senior classes are determined by subject choice and student selection, and where those subjects appear on the timetable).

Friendships in adolescents have significant intrapersonal and interpersonal implications, and can significantly influence physical, social and emotional development. One of the many challenging aspects of remote learning for students in recent years was that schools ordinarily provide such a rich context in which to develop social and emotional skills, and this context was suddenly removed for extended periods. At Padua College, we are naturally aware of the importance of the peer group for young people at this age.

As a College, we are deeply committed to the principle that students of this age are best supported, in the long term, by having opportunities to learn and develop relationships with a broad group of people. For this reason, we purposely mix students into new classroom groupings every year through the junior years. Prior to this stage we extensively consult with subject teachers (and primary schools for the incoming Year 7s), Learning Enhancement and the House Co-ordinators to ensure a balance as classrooms are principally about learning. While it would, of course, be comforting and reassuring to move from one year to the next in the same class as close friends, it can lead to difficulties; some in the short term, and some in the longer term.

In our experience, students who are good friends will continue to maintain connections at school during recess and lunchtime, and outside of school. Not being in class with friends does not result in ‘losing’ friendships.

It is an important life skill to be able to work with a broad group of people, some of whom we feel closer to than others. This is important in school, but also in work and in many social contexts. We are all unique individuals, and we all need to be able to get along with others.

Being placed into a new class group without existing close connections certainly can be challenging, but we believe it is a challenge through which students grow and mature. Facing challenges such as this positively is one concrete way to develop resilience.

Wisdom from the Elders

As a place of education, we are all committed to the lifelong journey of learning. Below I have collated a plethora of resources that you may find useful in supporting the development of resilience and helping your child build the inner strength to cope with adversity, change and the challenges and obstacles, not only for dealing with the new start of 2025 but as they grow into adulthood.

• School TV – Resilience Edition with Dr Michael Carr-Gregg and other Australian experts

https://padua.catholic.schooltv.me/

• Raising Children Network - Resilience in Teens -

https://raisingchildren.net.au/pre-teens/development/social-emotional-development/resilience-in-teens

• ReachOut Life skills and challenges

https://parents.au.reachout.com/life-skills-and-challenges

• Ted Talk: How To Raise Emotionally Intelligent Children – Australia’s own Lael Stone (12mins)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fL09e8Tm9c

• Ted Talk: Change Your Brain and Resilience - Lehan Stemmet (18 mins)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7XE9pYnC5E

• Book: Bounce Back by Wendy L. Moss
• Podcast: You Can't Grow It Alone (Resilience) - The Grow Your Mind Podcast

• Podcast: Well, hello anxiety: The Podcast

https://drjodirichardson.com/podcast/

Scooters

It has come to our attention that a number of students (Year 7-9) have been travelling to school or bus stops using electric scooters. While we understand that these scooters are a convenient mode of transport, it is important to note that it is illegal for children under the legal age to ride electric scooters. We will therefore not be in a position to safely store these in the junior bike shed at the College.

Our primary concern is the safety and wellbeing of our students. Electric scooters can present significant risks, particularly when used by younger students who may not yet have the necessary skills or experience to safely navigate busy roads and pathways. Additionally, riding an electric scooter at their age can result in legal consequences. I have taken the liberty to include below information from Victorian Police website.

Student Photo Permissions

At times, photographs or videos of our students will be published in newsletters, on the school intranet or website, or in our social media. Copies of our Standard Collection Notice and Privacy Policy are available on the College website in the Enrolments section of our Policies page. Please note that consent to use these images in this way, if provided at enrolment, may be withdrawn at any time by contacting our marketing team via email: marketing@padua.vic.edu.au .