Dear Friends,

Welcome to the end of the first week of ACT Lock down and the end of Phase 1 of Remote Learning. I hope all our families have been able to slowly ease into remote learning and life at home together. Please remember as stated above, you are still your child/ren's parents, and we are here as the educators to facilitate and support the remote learning program with you. Tomorrow via Compass I will be sending a  Remote Learning guide Phase 2 for parents, which will begin for all our students on Monday. 

For children of essential workers who need to come to school for our remote learning supervision, please see the link below for bookings now up to the 2nd of September.  The first link shared last week was dated up to today.

https://holytrinitypscurtin.schoolzineplus.com/form/291

Last Friday, we would have celebrated our week 5 Term 3 Awards Assembly.  As soon as we are back physically together at school, we will present these awards to each child and  take photos to share with families.  Congratulations to these students on this great achievement in the first 5 weeks of this term: 

I am conscious that many local businesses, including families at Holy Trinity, may be experiencing hardship at the moment.  Please let me know if we can support promotion of any service now changing to home delivery etc.  Our canteen suppliers, Merchants' Feast, are now not providing school tuckshop food, however are still open for family meals with a delivery service as follows: 

We are offering contactless home deliveries 7 days a week. We offer freshly cut deli meats to order, cheeses and pantry staples such as pastas and sauces. We also offer home made fresh meals such as lasagna and cannelloni with freshly baked Italian bread as well as grazing platters. Head to our website www.themerchantsfeast.com.au to place an order or contact us via email with any queries hello@themerchantsfeast.com.au

Prioritising mental health in the digital world

 by Dr Kristy Goodwin

Whilst there may not yet be conclusive evidence linking digital media use to poor mental health outcomes there’s no denying that it’s one of the chief concerns facing parents and educators of children and adolescents, growing up in a digital world. The contradictory research findings confirm that this is a complex topic.

There’s certainly consensus in the research that young people are heavy technology users, which comes at a cost of their psychological and physical needs. Their digital behaviours eat into the time that was once available for three pillars of mental health – sleep, relationships, and exercise.

Minimising sleep disruption

Sleep is vital for mental wellbeing and emotional regulation in childhood and adolescence. Inadequate amounts or poor-quality sleep can cause mental health issues. Studies consistently show that Australian children and teens aren’t getting enough sleep. Digital device use is also linked to sleep disruption, impacting the sleep-wake cycle. The Lancet study suggested that nearly 60% of the impact of young people’s psychological distress could be attributed to disrupted sleep and exposure to cyberbullying.

Parents need to remind children and young adolescents about the critical role sleep plays in their psychological wellbeing. Parents can help adolescents foster healthy social media habits by establishing a digital curfew, keeping devices out of bedrooms and discouraging teens from ‘bookending’ their day with social media as it can easily trigger the stress response at these times.

Maintaining healthy relationships

Positive relationships are fundamental to a young person’s psychological wellbeing. Adolescents are biologically wired for relational connection. They want to be part of a tribe. Whilst teens and pre-teens may insist that technology connects them and caters for their relational needs, if used excessively or inappropriately, technology use can compromise their relationships and deteriorate their mental health.

Parents need to encourage and sustain opportunities for real interactions amongst adolescents. When we connect in-person the brain releases oxytocin, the social bonding hormone, which isn’t replicated online. The need for keeping a balance between digital and face-to-face interactions is paramount.

Ensuring sufficient exercise

Sedentary social media and digital consumption frequently replaces physical movement on weekends and after school, which are the opportunity times for kids’ sport, free play and outdoor activities. Brain science now informs us that physical exercise boosts serotonin and neurotransmitters such as dopamine and norepinephrine that play a critical role in regulating adolescents’ mood.Lack of exercise is now being linked to the current anxiety epidemic that we are seeing in young people.

Parents need to ensure that children experience a minimum of 30 minutes exercise, and teens a minimum of 60 minutes. “Go outside and play” is a term that this generation needs to hear as frequently as children in past eras.

In closing

The research into the links between kids’ digital technology use and their mental health presents a complex picture that defies simplistic conclusions. Blanket statements and headlines that suggest screens and social media are to blame for kid’s poor mental health aren’t helpful as technology is now a part of all our lives. However, there is enough evidence to suggest that the key pillars of mental health outlined above can be severely impacted by the overuse of digital technology. All things in moderation, a common guideline for healthy living, is best when considering kids’ social media and digital technology use.

Dr Kristy Goodwin presents a related webinar: Taming digital distractions

Our school has a membership with Parenting Ideas. As part of this membership, you can attend the upcoming webinar ‘Taming digital distractions’ at no cost.

About

In this webinar, Dr Kristy Goodwin helps parents and carers understand why children and adolescents are vulnerable to digital distractions. She provides science-backed solutions to help kids and teens develop healthy digital behaviours so that they can focus, learn and thrive online.

When

Wednesday 8 September 2021 at 8:00 PM AEST

To redeem

1. Click this link: https://www.parentingideas.com.au/parent-resources/parent-webinars/webinar-taming-digital-distractions
   2. Click ‘Add to cart’
   3. Click ‘View cart’
   4. Enter the coupon code TAMING and click ‘Apply Coupon’ Your discount of $39 will be applied.
   5. Click ‘Proceed to checkout’
   6. Fill in your account details including our school’s name to verify your eligibility. These are the details you will use to login to your account and access your webinar and resources
   7. Click ‘Place Order’

This offer is valid until 8 December 2021. If you’re unable to make the broadcast time, just register anyway and you will get access to the recording.

Dr Kristy Goodwin

Dr Kristy Goodwin is a digital wellbeing and performance speaker, author and researcher (and mum who also deals with her kids’ techno-tantrums!). She’s the author of Raising Your Child in a Digital World, and a media commentator who doesn’t suggest that we ban the iPhone or unplug the gaming console (digital abstinence isn’t the solution). Kristy translates research into essential information and realistic strategies for parents to ensure kids and teens thrive in the digital world. For further details visit www.drkristygoodwin.com.

Mass Online

Live Stream Mass is available from St. Christopher’s Cathedral Monday—Saturday 12.15pm and Sunday 11am: https://www.catholicvoice.org.au/mass-online/

Due to the ACT lockdown requirements, the vacuuming roster will be temporary suspended until further notice. 

Thank you to all the parents who have contributed to this service through out the year.

We look forward to having you back later in the term.