There is a story about a man who, as he was passing some elephants, suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at any time, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not.

He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. “Well,” the trainer said, “when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.”

Like these elephants, the power that self-belief has to limit us is enormous.  At the other week's Dux Ceremony I would hazard a guess that most of the students who were recipients of awards did not have a lack of belief in their capacity to excel.  Similarly, I know that teachers do their best to build this positive self-belief, and encourage their students to not let a previous failure limit their horizons.

What is more crippling is when this self-belief is accompanied by a sense of not being in control of your life.  MyTERN is focussed on building the capacity of people to take charge of their responses to the behaviours of others.

Last week, I was very proud of our College's role in the launch of Reconciliation Tasmania's initiative: 'Youth Speak Out'. Devonport was the host and the Deputy Premier (and Minister for Education and Training) Mr Jeremy Rockliff MP officially launched the event. Ruby Hardwicke, Chloe Hollingsworth, and Ruby Skirving spoke and provided an excellent voice for youth. Their RE teacher last year, Margaret Shearer, is passionate about Reconciliation and was instrumental in promoting their participation, and that of their whole class in 2019.

(Ruby H, Chloe and Ruby S pictured with Fiona Hughes Co-Chair Reconciliation Tasmania (RT), Deputy Premier Jeremy Rockliff, Bill Lawson AM Co-Chair RT, and Mark Redmond Chief Executive of RT and Mayor Annette Rockliff).

Take care and I will keep you in my prayers.  

Frank Pisano

Principal

This year we have invested in an online parent resource covering a range of topics that will be published fortnightly, rather than a one-off presentation. SchoolTV provides advice for parents from the experts in their respective fields in the form of videos, articles, and links to other resources. We hope you will find it useful. The first edition is below.

In this edition of SchoolTV - SCHOOL TRANSITIONS

Any school transition is a very exciting time for children and parents. It means your children are growing up!

However, transitioning is an ongoing process. It can continue long after students have entered their new environment and may encounter difficulties at a number of different stages. These stressors may appear as anxiety and frustration and result in negative or disruptive behaviours. Such behaviours can become problematic making the transitioning process even more difficult for children and parents.

In this edition of SchoolTV, parents will learn practical strategies to assist your child during the transition process and reduce stress and anxiety levels.

We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this edition of SchoolTV and we always welcome your feedback. If you have any concerns about your child, please contact the school for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to the School Transitions edition of SchoolTV
https://sbsc.tas.schooltv.me/n...

Kim Walters
Deputy Principal: Pastoral Care

Last week, caregivers for Years 11/12 were emailed through SEQTA with instructions to setup an account for SEQTA Engage - the parent/guardian portal. 

This is part of a staggered release to parents and caregivers over the course of Term 1,  with Y11/12 receiving access in weeks 2 and 3 (which we are currently in), Y9/10 in weeks 4 and 5 and Y7/8 in weeks 6 and 7.  Look out for the email entitled Welcome to SEQTA Engage! and the supporting documents Starting Out and User Guide, in a separate email.

To provide some context, a few years ago SBSC launched SEQTA – a dynamic learning management system. We hope for SEQTA to assist us to continue to improve student learning, organisation and communication. It is a digital platform comprised of three interrelated portals. SEQTA Teach is how teachers communicate information about their subject with students, who see it in SEQTA Learn. Parents have a window view of what students can see through SEQTA Engage. 

For now, SEQTA Engage will provide access to the following services for caregivers of College students:

• Upcoming assessment due dates
• Lesson title and details in your child’s courses
• Student timetable
• Homework
• Past academic reports

There is now a section on our website https://www.sbsc.tas.edu.au/college/seqta-engage where information will also be made available.

Sandra Farr
Teacher/LMS Intergrator

It is Week 3 and we have already had a number of students misplace uniform items. To alleviate this we ask that parents ensure every item of their child's uniform is labelled. From time to time things get mixed up, but if your child's name is on the item there is a much greater chance that the item will be returned to its rightful owner.

Please understand that when the students get changed for PE, there are no staff members in the changerooms.

Kim Walters
Deputy Principal: Pastoral Care

The Cert III in Individual Support (Intro to Nursing) students and their teacher Mrs Kate Campbell, have been busy setting up "Rosie's room". Rosie's room is a simulated learning space for the units that they will be covering. Some of things that the students will learn about are providing home and community support, recognising healthy body systems, assisting clients with movement and preparing and maintaining beds.

College cleaners participated in a 'hands on' How to Clean training program recently. Some of the training content included the safe use and labelling of chemicals, demonstration of microfibre cleaning products, graffiti removal techniques and electrical safety. 

This training will help to ensure our cleaners stay relevant with current industry practices and provide them with the skills and knowledge to carry out their work safely and efficiently.   
The training was provided by Gary Jefferys (Statewide Operations Manager) from Collings Services.
 
Steve Powell
Health, Safety & Culture Officer