A note from the Sisters of Mercy Parramatta

Recently an announcement was shared with our community regarding the Sisters of Mercy Parramatta choosing Mercy Partners as trustees of OLMC to protect the custodianship and continuity of OLMC into the future. In this announcement, it was noted that there will be a special liturgy to mark the handing over of the College to Mercy Partners. This event had been scheduled for October this year but has been postponed until February 2022, notwithstanding any restrictions in Sydney at that time.

Online Learning ’21 Survey

I would like to thank all parents, students and staff who completed this survey. The data collected so far has been most positive and reinforces for our staff that we are on the right track to providing online learning for our students. We will share these significant findings over the coming weeks.

Sharing our Experience

Staying connected is vital at this time and I have been delighted to see pictures of our community in their homes studying, relaxing and enjoying family time. Here below are some photos of students and staff that they have kindly shared - including a picture of an OLMC family cheering on a relative who was competing at the Olympics! Staff submitted photos in the theme of 'Shadows' and these have been put into an online gallery experience. CLICK HERE to visit the gallery!

This week I invite you to send photos in the theme of Wellbeing Wednesday - it could be a photo from your walk around your neighbourhood, playing a board game with your family or doing yoga. Please send your photos to social@olmc.nsw.edu.au.  

OLMsCene Magazine

This time around, families will be mailed their copy of the latest OLMCsCene magazine. This magazine should arrive in the coming weeks, and I invite you to take time out to have a read to keep up to date with College activities.

Live Streams

We will be introducing a variety of livestream sessions throughout the week. These are a great way to stay up to date and connected. Links to these presentations will be sent prior to each one.

Communications and Engagement Survey

In the coming weeks, parents will receive a Communications and Engagement Survey. The aim of this survey is to gauge the effectiveness of our communications with parents and identify areas for improvement. Communication and engagement with our parents and families is as important as ever during this lockdown and beyond. The results of this survey will enable us to make decisions on how we move forward with such things as regular publications, occasional magazines, social events and gatherings, ideas for guest speakers and topics of interest, for maximum engagement with our community.

Tips for Online Learning from Ex-student

I am delighted to share with you an article from an ex-student from the Class of 2020. Daphne Fong, who is now studying Law, Politics and Industrial Relations, is part of UNICEF's Young Ambassador program helping to raise the voices of children and young people in Australia. CLICK HERE to read the article.

Message from the Governor of NSW

We were delighted to receive a special video of encouragement from the Governor of NSW. I share it with you all here below.

Lucie Farrugia
Principal 

If you are in Year 10 and interested in completing an external VET course as part of your Year 11 and Year 12 studies, please make sure you have submitted your paperwork to me by 23 August.

A reminder to all Year 12 students that applications for the Macquarie Leaders and Achievers Early Entry program close at 2pm on Friday 20 August. In addition, as a result of the changes announced by NESA to the HSC results release, UAC has also updated their important dates – ATAR’s will now be released at 9am on 17 December 2021. The deadline for change of preferences is midnight on Saturday 18 December and offers are eleased at 7.30am on Wednesday 22 December.

Are you interested in exploring options for post-school? The OLMC Careers website has a simple tool called Career Targets. It is featured on the homepage, and it helps students start exploring career options by choosing their favourite subject. This then brings up a target board with many job options. By clicking on the jobs, students can find out more information related to that job including the type of qualification required.

Donna Jones
Careers and VET Co-ordinator

The innovation continues with our Online Learning '21 program.

Ms Huang’s Year 11 DT class had a wonderful experience with Karen Yevenes from Western Sydney University, who led them through a hands-on workshop in industrial design techniques. What a great opportunity we have as part of our growing partnership with WSU!

Year 9 Drama worked on constructing political theatre scenes using key themes from Bertolt Brecht’s plays. They self-devised scenes about alienation, exploitation of workers, social class stereotypes and corruption. The class is becoming increasingly confident with ‘set designs’ using digital backdrops.

Year 9 students used Oreo cookies to model Divergent, Convergent and Transform Plate Boundaries as part of the module, “Disaster Planet”. They used their sense of hearing to observe the sounds of the cookie breaking and crumbling. They used their sense of touch while moving the cream as the (tectonic plates) the two halves of the top layer of the cookie collided and scraped past each other. They eventually used their sense of taste!

French classes have enjoyed playing educational online games including "four in raw" a verbs' conjugation group-based game.

Fun Friday has given rise to creative fun including playing "Guess the Song 2021 Music Quiz" in Callaghan 4 Homeroom

I would like to begin by commending our Year 12 students who have demonstrated resounding resilience throughout this period of uncertainty and have maintained their focus and efforts as we continue to revise and prepare for the HSC examinations.

Students undertaking English Extension 2 and Drama are also in the final stages of completing their Major Works, and Performances. Three students have undertaken English Extension 2 this year and all three are composing Short Fiction for their Major Works. These compositions are 6000 words, and they are accompanied by a Reflection Statement of 1500 words and students will be submitting these for their HSC on Friday 27 August.

Year 12 Drama students are also in the final stages of completing their Group Performances and Individual Projects. There is a diversity of projects undertaken this year including five students who are completing performances along with students who have chosen to create Costume Design, Video Drama, Director’s Folio, and Scriptwriting.

Year 11 have also been working hard this year beginning their Senior studies and developing their skills in a variety of ways. In Term 2, Year 11 Advanced English explored one of the Bronte sisters’ novels as part of their study of Gothic Literature, producing some amazing multimodal presentations on either Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre, while the Year 11 Standard students studied two distinctive and creative, multimodal interactive texts produced by SBS, K’Gari and The Boat.

Term 3 has seen several Year Groups study Shakespeare. Year 9 are studying Romeo and Juliet, while Year 10 is studying Macbeth and Year 11 Advanced is studying Othello, proving that remote learning is no barrier to the study of canonical texts. English teachers have been developing some amazing activities for the students to engage with including a collaborative Performance Project with Year 11 which involves students working in small groups to produce their own live performance of a scene from the play Othello, including costume and prop designs.

Christopher Ostrowski’s Year 7 English class has made book covers with a difference. They designed an original book cover for their current novel but in addition, they had to provide a written explanation of how their cover captured the idea of the current Module: The Individual Experience. They also needed to explain the symbolism in their use of colour, type of font and any other design features they created. The three novels were Chinese Cinderella, The Happiest Refugee and The Diary of Anne Frank. This is a class with both literary and artistic talent and it was reflected in their finished work.

Barbara McBride’s Year 7 class has been writing about personal experiences as part of their study of The Individual Experience, focusing on memoirs, autobiography and biography. Here is an example from Marziyah Patanwala:

The weather was just magnificent, and we had just reached a tropical island filled with colour, a part of the famous Mamanuca islands. I was so excited because it would be the first time I had gone snorkelling ever. When we got off the boat, we walked through the cooling water until we reached the sand where we were greeted by locals of the land. Before we went snorkelling, we put our gear on and then we made are way into the water. Brushing against my skin were different types of small fishes and slippery rocks. I went in with my dad and we slowly observed all the beautiful creatures and shapes of coral that surrounded us. I had never in my life felt so calm and relaxed that I wanted to explore even further. After we had gone snorkelling for 2 and half hours, I felt so happy and realised a whole new appreciation for the environment. All the reefs that I saw each had something unique about it like the depth and the types of marine life that live around them. Later, we were treated to lunch where we had traditional Fijian food such as coconda, which was made from the food resources on the land which was delicious. We watched as the natives of the land did traditional dances that I joined in later. I spent the rest of the day I explored the island with my sister and learned about their culture and we had some dessert. It was the most beautiful experience I have ever had experienced.

Cynthia Martin’s Year 8 class has had lots of fun writing small didactic stories after learning about stories with a moral which leads into their study of the Lost Child Trope. Here's one:

There once was a child who loved to read but never returned their library books. One day, there was a knock at the door. The librarian had had enough. The child opened the door and there, before her very eyes, the keeper of the books became a feathered, winged beast. The beast walked into the house, sniffed the air, and tracked the book to the child's room. She took the offending book off the shelf, holding it in one clawed hand. She growled at the child, pulling a second book from behind.

'That's not mine,' the child whimpered.

'Lies,' the creature hissed and hit the child over the head with the second book.

The child was now one of the millions of names in the book of the beast. Moral: always return your library books.

- by Avria, Caitlyn and Alicia

In Michelle Emelues’ Year 8 English class this term, they have been learning about the presence of tropes in literature and in particular, the Lost child trope. After tracing the origin of the lost child trope to fairy tales, our studies have turned to an Australian focus, exploring the trope in Indigenous stories and early colonial ballads. Year 8 recently enjoyed studying Banjo Patterson’s poem ‘Lost’, reading and discussing the poem together as a class on Zoom, identifying characteristics of the lost child trope as explored in a uniquely Australian landscape. Students scaffolded their ideas in break-out rooms, linking examples from the poem with their prior knowledge of the trope and producing a paragraph for each characteristic of the trope.

A foreboding and dangerous landscape is presented and hinted at constantly throughout the poem ‘Lost’ by Banjo Patterson. The poet has used foreshadowing in the quote, ‘the old man walked to the sliprail, and peered up the dark’ning track’ to present a possibly dangerous environment which is seen through the way that the track is dark. Usually, when a location is in shadow, it is associated with uncertainty and danger. Moreover, the fact that the ‘sliprail’ was present to prevent the man from going further outside hints at the idea that some protection had to be offered from the outside world, for one would probably not build a railing in the ‘ranges’ (mountain ranges) just to look pretty. Furthermore, it could also be interpreted to show how Willie’s mother tried to keep him in the safety of his own home and act as a border between the ‘safe world’ and a more sinister, dangerous location. It is also mentioned in the poem that, ‘He only went to the Two-mile, he ought to be back by this’. This further hints at a more dangerous place in comparison with the safe location of the ‘Two-mile’. This leaves the reader to wonder if the farmstead has areas beyond that are unsafe to the inexperienced. - Kathryn Rendulic 8ENG4.

In this poem, many unfortunate images of death and isolation can be seen. Overall, ‘Lost’ by ‘Banjo Patterson’ is quite a bleak and sad poem, and this can be seen through many events which take place throughout the piece. When it is said that Willie’s ‘comely face was battered, and his merry eyes were dim.’ It shows quite a saddening image of death as it contrasts his former traits (merry, comely) with his now lifeless being. This also shows a feeling of isolation as in this poem, he died alone out in the bush, with none of his family members by his side. This isn’t the only death in this poem, however. Willie’s mother is found one evening, ‘… lying dead. And stamped on the poor pale features, as the spirit homeward pass'd, Was an angel smile of gladness -- she had found the boy at last.’ While this is a very clear image of her death, this does not show isolation, but instead a sense of peace and finality. Willie’s mother had gradually faded away while on her quest to find her lost son and now is finally at peace after being reunited with him once again. This gives a sense of tranquil, bittersweet finality to the poem.

Amy Watson’s Year 10 English class is currently learning about the conventions of a Shakespearean Tragedy.  One of the most significant features of the play, Macbeth, and any Shakespearean Tragedy for that matter, is the fatal flaw of the tragic hero. This fatal flaw, otherwise known as the hamartia, eventually leads the hero to their downfall. In Macbeth’s case, his unchecked ambition is the catalyst for his inevitable demise. At the beginning of most lessons, we engage in a quick writing workshop called ‘Lightning Writing’, and true to its name, students are given a short amount of time to write on a particular topic or concept. To consolidate students’ knowledge and understanding of the significant tragic convention, I asked them to pretend they were one of Shakespeare’s tragic heroes and asked them to write about the fatal flaw that would lead them to their downfall.

The students really enjoyed the writing prompt and responded in a way that demonstrated a level of introspection and awareness, and in some cases, brutal honesty about their own shortcomings! I lead the discussion with my own hamartia, and it was interesting to see that many of us shared the same flaws. Quite a lot of us said that our tendency to over-think things and our propensity to be too trusting would lead several of us to our downfalls if we were Shakespearean tragic heroes. It was a lovely way to bond as a class and share a few laughs, but importantly, it helped cement our understanding of the convention. 

Gerard Altura has found Microsoft Whiteboard an invaluable tool to collaborate and share ideas in class. A couple of weeks ago, Year 8 engaged in understanding fairytale conventions and tropes as part of Module C. We used Whiteboard to visually represent and draw what we remember about fairytales – it was really fun, and the girls enjoyed drawing and watching each other contribute. 

Katherine Bull’s classes are undertaking the following activities and learning In Year 9, students have been working in groups to create a “One-Pager” to visually share key ideas and information learned about Romeo and Juliet. They have used both visual symbols and key quotes to share their important takeaways. In Year 11, our lightning writing at the start of each lesson is a really successful way to engage with one of the ideas for the upcoming lesson, and students really enjoy sharing in break-out rooms and then discussing with the wider class. One example of a Lightning Writing is: If you had the opportunity to design your own dream house, what would it look like and where would it be located? This aligns with our study of the symbolism of location/place in Where’d You Go Bernadette. Year 12 Standard English has been using break-out rooms to share ideas and collaborate by reflecting on their essay writing skills, using a step-by-step guide to collate all feedback from their responses so far this term and identifying key skills they can improve across all Modules. Year 10 have been doing some stagecraft, such as planning the stage directions for the dagger scene in Macbeth and how they would create the most suspense and tension,

English Competition Report

Throughout Semester 1, OLMC students have participated in a range of writing competitions including

• Write4fun
• What Matters
• Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Prize

These competitions provide participants with opportunities to develop and refine their creative and analytical writing skills beyond the confines of the daily curriculum.

The efforts of a number of students will be acknowledged when we return to school. Of particular note are the achievements of the following students who were successfully shortlisted in the Write4fun competition:

Year 7: Elizabeth Samuel, Zoe Samar, Kaeshia Suthakaran

Year 8: Kathryn Rendulic, Hailey Lhotka, Nyssa Suraj

Year 9: Alyssa Taouk, Olivia Nesci, Megan Uy

Year 10: Bettyna Mostoles

These students have been invited to allow their short stories to be published in the 2021 Write4Fun anthology of poetry and fiction.

This year we have been working closely with Inclusive Learning to deliver a tailored literacy program via Reading Circles. This sees all Years 7 and 8 English classes have an Inclusive Learning teacher team that teaches one lesson every week, working with targeted students and the English teacher to focus on developing the students reading and comprehension skills. The program gives students choice when selecting their reading and small reading groups build collaborative skills as well as building their skills in inference, evaluation and creativity.

12VR has continued to feature as an important learning space and English classes from Year 7, 9, 11 and 12 have been regularly using Level 4 this year. This new learning space has also provided the English Department with the opportunity to build professional relationships within the Department and develop our pedagogy. By meeting every week to co-plan and debrief, we have been able to take four classes at once to use the space. This co-teaching model releases more responsibility to the students to problem solve, collaborate and engage in deeper learner experiences beyond the constraints of a traditional four-walled classroom setting.

We have also welcomed back Dr Felicity Castagna who has facilitated a series of writing workshops with Years 10 and 11 and selected students from Years 7, 8 and 9. This valuable incursion offers our students the experience of planning, drafting and publishing a substantial piece of creative writing.

Leanne Portelli
English and Drama Leader of Learning 

Despite the challenges we are all facing, our Public Speaking girls have shown great resilience and are continuing to be involved in competitions, all of which have now become virtual.

By this Friday, four of our girls will be submitting videoed recordings of speeches for the Speaking4the Planet competition. This event, as the name suggests, asks entrants to provide others with an awareness of issues with our environment. The four girls are Sofia Tong (Year 7), Annoushka Maikap and Sahanna Sri (Year 8) and Samantha Emeish (Year 11). This is the same competition where Jennifer Wang (last year in Year 7) won the World Junior Title and this year’s entrants have all prepared well and will no doubt impress the judges as well! We wish them luck.

By the following Friday, Year 9 students Isabella Makhoul and Shanika Nawani will be participating in the Legacy competition. Both girls are very accomplished speakers and have prepared excellent speeches and they are sure to do well.

Finally, against the background of the disappointment of seeing the cancellation of a trip to Canberra for four days in September, we must give credit to the eight girls participating in the Australian Debating and Public Speaking Competition and its Junior counterpart, Speakfest. These events will now go virtual. Despite this development, the eight girls have been preparing very well for each of the four events involved. The Senior team consists of Year 11 students Sakshi Chouta, Sarah D’Souza, Sophia Santos and Mikayla Simpson while the Junior team comprises Year 8 students Gabby Fleming Sierra Lake and Jennifer Wang as well as Year 9 student Neha Sharma. The girls have already attended a Zoom seminar on three of the events: Interpretive Reading, Impromptu Speaking and a choice between Persuasive or After Dinner Speaking. Since that workshop, the girls have worked very hard on their events and many have completed their preparations. Over the next two weeks, the girls will also be attending two more Zoom sessions on Coordinate Debating, a form of debating where both sides can challenge speakers while they deliver their arguments. I would like to thank Miss Naomi James who also attended the initial Zoom session and contributed to training the girls.

To show how enthusiastic our girls are, a new event was announced for November and no fewer than 17 girls have put their names down to compete.

I would also like to mention that our new DAPS Leaders, Sakshi Chouta and Stephanie Ogle, have already shown initiative in promoting public speaking, even under lockdown conditions. Thank you to those girls.

Christopher Ostrowski
Debating and Public Speaking Coordinator

Max Potential Scholarship Recipients are participating in their next online workshop tomorrow, 19 August. During this workshop they will be presenting their Personal Expressions and completing the next part of the program. These students have been enormously dedicated to fulfilling all of the requirements of the program to date, despite the challenges of not being able to meet face to face and have demonstrated their resilience, creativity and enthusiasm while developing their leadership capacity. They are to be commended for their efforts so far. Well done to the following girls who are participating: 

• Cheyenne Baquaial
• Sakshi Chouta
• Stephanie Mavridas
• Mikayla Simpson
• Jewel Jackson
• Bernadette Grima
• Cassidy Turrell
• Charlotte Gilles

Trudi-Ann Harvey
Max Potential Coordinator 

Whilst the Uniform Shop is currently closed to students and families, online purchases can still be made. These orders will be processed and delivered to the Student Centre upon the students' return.

Purchases: Online purchases can be made via the Online Uniform Shop (https://shop.olmc.nsw.edu.au/).

Winter Uniform: Students are to wear their Winter Uniform during Term 2 and Term 3. For the Senior Winter Uniform, the long sleeve shirt is optional.

Scarves: There are scarves available for purchase either online or at the Shop.

Tights: The Uniform Shop has tights available for purchase with the Winter Uniform. If you are purchasing these elsewhere, the requirement is 70 denier opaque, colour - Ink Navy.

If you have any concerns regarding uniform items, please do not hesitate to contact the Uniform Shop on 8838 1275 or uniformshop@olmc.nsw.edu.au.

Each Friday morning, we gather as a faith community to share prayer which is led by the 2021-2022 Liturgy Leaders Alyssa Dib and Ebony Elias. All staff and students receive the Zoom link the day prior and are most welcome to join us. Please note that if you have a special intention, you can unmute at the commencement of the prayer and share this so that those gathered can offer up the prayer to your intentions.

Update of Activities and Events

Events scheduled for Term 3 have been rescheduled for Term 4 and updated information can be found below:

Father Daughter Liturgy

This event will now consist of a pre-recorded Liturgy. It will be shown to all students in Pastoral Care on Tuesday 31 August at 9am. Thank you to all girls who sent in photos - these are being put into a slide presentation as a part of this Liturgy.

Mercy Day

The revised date for this very important celebration is December 2. Year 12 girls will be most welcome to return to school for this event. Depending on restrictions at the time, the Mass will take place in the morning, and then activities will follow as we normally would on Mercy Day. Students will be encouraged to bring a shared lunch and will be able to depart school at about 2.30pm.

Senior Retreat

This had been planned for Week 1 Term 4, Wednesday 6 - Friday 8 October. We have made the difficult decision to cancel this event for 2021. This will now take the form of a series of Reflection Days. More information will be sent to Year 11 families next Term.

St Gabriel’s Reflection Days

The Liturgy girls, along with Ms Lonergan and Mrs Reyes, have worked hard to prepare for this community event and it will be rescheduled for Term 4 at a time mutually convenient to both St Gabriel’s and OLMC. More information will be sent to students involved at a later time.

Year 8 Reflection Day

This Term 3 event will be postponed to Term 4 and will be held on site or at a venue close by. More information will be sent to Year 8 families early next Term.

Cape York Immersion

Parents have been notified that this Immersion is likely to be postponed. Information will be passed on to those families directly linked to this event at the beginning of September.

Welcome to OLMC’s new Retreat and Liturgy Coordinator

My name is Mary Reyes and I joined OLMC during Term 2 as the Liturgy and Retreats Coordinator and Religious Education teacher. I have worked in the Diocese of Parramatta which, along with my formation in the CFC Youth for Christ ministry, has allowed me to discover my life’s joy in teaching, prayer, reflection and serving the Church.

My vocation in teaching has given me the opportunityy to attend World Youth Day Sydney (2008), Madrid (2011) and Poland (2016) as a group leader through my active involvement with the Catholic Youth Parramatta (CYP). All of this has led me to OLMC, the next chapter on my journey of faith, as I rediscover the heart of Mary and the Mercy Values that are so connected to my personal values. I feel so lucky to have been warmly welcomed to this wonderful community and I look forward to working alongside you all.

Feast of the Assumption

Last Sunday was a very important Feast Day in the Catholic Church - the Feast of the Assumption. 

What is your leadership Portfolio? Debating and Public Speaking.            

What are the key responsibilities of your Portfolio? To organise and promote public speaking and debating events.

What is your vision as Leader of this Portfolio in 2021 and 2022? My vision as a leader is to encourage OLMC girls to understand the value and importance of using their voice to speak about topics they are passionate about and ensure they have a platform to do so.

Name one person with whom you would like to share a meal and why? I would want to share a meal with Gordan Ramsey because I would want him to cook the meal and, although he looks intimidating, he is also funny.   

What would be your superpower? Why? If I had a superpower, it would probably be persuasion because I can be pretty convincing when I feel strongly enough about a topic which is why I really enjoy debating.       

What are your interests outside of school? Baking/cooking, organising and painting.

What is your Leadership Portfolio? Stewardship

What are the key responsibilities of your Portfolio? My responsibilities include encouraging involvement in and commitment to stewardship endeavours throughout the College community, reflecting the best aspects of being a student at OLMC (including upholding the Mercy Values) and establishing and maintaining channels of communication between Houses. 

What is your vision as Leader of this Portfolio in 2021 and 2022? To enable OLMC students to become more involved and inspired about the issue of Climate Change. I would like to encourage students to take action on behalf of the environment and have more students involved in EcoOLMC.

What is something about you that others might be surprised to know? Many people do not know that I am extremely passionate about the environment and the impact Climate change has had on fauna and flora.

What would be a good theme song for your life? Why?Firework - because no matter what obstacles I face, as long as I have my friends and family, I always know everything will be ok.             

Name one person with whom you would like to share a meal and why? Ruth Bader Ginsburg because she is the woman who inspired me to want to become a lawyer. Her struggle for equal rights and her story has always been the motivating aspect of my dream career. 

What would be your superpower? Why? My superpower would be reading people's minds - because I tend to understand people and I am good at knowing what people are thinking.             

What are your interests outside of school? I enjoy singing, dancing, netball, umpiring and reading.

Seven Healthy Screen Time Habits for online learning

Both adults and students have had to adjust to major lifestyle changes since lockdown began. One major change has been a significant increase in screen time. Whilst screens and technology can be used to facilitate positive interactions and outcomes such as socialising, learning, and working remotely; prolonged exposure to blue lights can lead to impaired sleep quality, which affects memory, mood, and focus and can also reduce our levels of physical activity.

The following healthy habits and tips may assist in managing screen time and maintaining wellbeing during this period of lockdown:

1. Keep schoolwork/time and phone separate – Staying focussed can be hard when distracted by message notifications. During times of learning or studying, leave your phone out of reach such as in another room or with your parents. Turn off or place your phone on silent and put “Do not disturb” messages on any online messaging services.
2. Set daily limits and take digital breaks – Schedule short screen sessions for less than 1 hour each time. Take digital breaks for at least 1-2 hours every day when you put aside your devices, and engage in other enjoyable activities like reading, going for a walk or cooking.
3. There are apps available to help control screen time such as ‘ScreenTime’ or ‘Dinner Time’ for parents to monitor screen usage. Another app “Flora” is a screen limiting app where you can plant a virtual tree each time you set a break timer for 25 mins. 
4. Avoid screen time before bed – Blue light affects production of the Melatonin which regulates our sleep cycle. Avoid exposure to screens/devices for at least 1-2 hours before bed to help you fall asleep and rest well. Adolescents need 8 to 10 hours of sleep every night to function optimally.
5. Keep devices out of bedrooms at night – Families could consider setting rules to keep devices out of bedrooms overnight. This can help prevent disruptions to sleep by limiting access to messaging and/or gaming.
6. Set a comfortable study space – Tidy your desk on a regular basis to keep your study space neat and organised. Set up the space to ensure it is comfortable and quiet with limited distractions. Ensure there is adequate lighting, and seating with adequate back support. This can help optimise learning outcomes and information processing.
7. Practise great body posture – check your posture every so often. Ensure the desks, chairs and monitor are set at the appropriate height. Use of an exercise ball or regular stretching routines can also help keep your body moving and maintain good posture and flexibility.
8. Make physical activity part of your day – at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity daily is important to keep bodies and minds fit and healthy. Set a plan for the family to do physical activities together during lunch breaks or at the end of the school day, such as going out for a walk or riding a bike. Completing your physical activity outdoors will assist in giving your eyes a break from artificial light and provide an opportunity to reset your mind for the next day.

The following articles may provide further information on this topic:

https://raisingchildren.net.au/teens/entertainment-technology/screen-time-healthy-screen-use/healthy-screen-time-teens  

https://parents.au.reachout.com/skills-to-build/wellbeing/things-to-try-technology/managing-your-familys-screen-time  

Fiona Tung
College Counsellor