Leadership Lunch with Grace Tame
On Thursday, Senior Campus students were challenged and inspired by a talk from Grace Tame, 2021 Australian of the Year. Her talk and the Q&A which followed saw Grace bravely and candidly share her very personal story of resilience.
Grace explained that during her school years she was not taught about grooming. While grooming may be an uncomfortable topic, she believes that education about the six stages of grooming which she outlined is essential.
The six stages of grooming outlined are:
- Targeting – this is where the perpetrator looks for a vulnerable individual;
- Gaining trust – the perpetrator develops a false friendship to lull the target into a sense of security and safety;
- Filling a need – the perpetrator, having found someone with a gap in their emotional support, then takes on the role of filling the gap;
- Isolating the child – the perpetrator looks to drive a wedge between the target and their genuine support system;
- Sexualising – the perpetrator gradually introduces sexual content to normalise it so that it is not a shock when it is actually introduced;
- Maintaining control – the perpetrator strikes a perfect balance between causing pain and providing relief from that pain.
Grace explained to students how the stages related to her own experience and I encourage all parents and carers to be having open conversations with their children and reaching out to the School or Laurel House if support is needed.
Currently, Laurel House are halfway through six sessions they are running with Grade 9 students during their Health and Physical Education classes. This course in Grade 9 leads on to sessions on respectful relationships in both Grade 10 Health and Physical Education and our Grade 10 Retreat Programme. Laurel House are also presenting to Grade 11 and 12 students in two separate sessions in the last fortnight of Term 3. This workshop will take them through real life events surrounding the issue of consent and the subsequent outcomes.
On Tuesday 14 September Laurel House are also running a seminar for parents in the School Auditorium at the Senior Campus (5.00pm-6.30pm). During this session they will run through some of the material with parents that they intend working through with our Grade 11 and 12 students. Parents of students in these grades are encouraged to attend and can RSVP HERE
Book Week and Reading
Book Week celebrations over the last fortnight has seen students and staff dress up as their favourite book characters, participating in a Book Swap sale to support the Indigenous Literacy Foundation, a BBQ to support the Smith Family’s Student2Student reading programme, enjoying CBCA shortlisted books, writing a book in a day and a Book Art tutorial and competition.
In a world which is digitally dominated, it is easy for reading to drop out of the home environment. Modelling reading, letting your son or daughter see you read each day as part of family routine is increasingly challenging to achieve but more important than ever.
Whilst books on bedside tables are common, children and teenagers rarely see their parents making the choice to read. Finding 10-15 minutes of reading time while your child is around on the weekend can be a good place to start modelling a routine which reinforces reading as a pursuit not only for School but also for home and for pleasure.
Richard Ford
Headmaster
