Weekly eNews
Ross Featherston
Headmaster, Brighton Grammar SchoolEarlier in the year I mentioned that Jonathan Haidt’s excellent book The Anxious Generation was on my holiday book list.
Having now read Haidt’s book, I would recommend you consider adding it to your reading list.
The continuing and increasing public discourse regarding social media and teenagers drew me back to Haidt’s work with an emphasis on his four foundational harms that can spring from excessive time online.
It should be noted that in summarising these four harms, I am not really doing Haidt’s work justice, but I do believe as a community we need to take a closer look at this important topic.
Haidt proposes that excessive daily interaction with electronic devices can lead to social deprivation (missing out on ‘old fashioned’ outdoor play time with other children), sleep deprivation (fairly self-explanatory, but exacerbated if children have their phones in their rooms during bed time), attention fragmentation (losing the ability to concentrate on a single task for a long period of time) and finally, addiction (becoming hooked on something online).
Haidt acknowledges that, of course, there can be benefits of social media for adolescents, but he posits that there is little evidence that indicates the benefits to adolescent mental health from long-term and heavy social media use.
Whilst we currently have a clear approach in place for the use of phones and technology across the whole school, as mentioned, it is an issue that we are closely reviewing. Crowther Centre’s position paper on Screen time is another valuable resource.
Changing topic, a shout-out to all our Performing Arts students and staff for the highly successful Journey Concerts over the past two weeks, with the final one taking place tonight.
Also well done to our Snowsports boys and staff for their excellent results at the recently completed Interschools Championships – BGS placed 2nd Overall Champion Primary Boys School and placed 3rd Overall Champion Secondary Boys School.
Finally, this Sunday is Father’s Day, a time to celebrate and honour the significant male role models in your life and you son’s life.
Peter Tellefson
Deputy Headmaster, Head of Junior SchoolLast week’s Book Week celebration, Reading is Magic, was a great success with plenty of variety, colour, noise and fun!
Our boys enjoyed the dress-up parade and cross-age rotations from Prep to Year 6, participating in a variety of classroom activities, author presentation by Tristan Bancks, author/illustrator visit from Heidi McKinnon, bookmark competition and attending the Meerkat Production play focusing on the shortlisted 2024 books.
It is important we provide a variety of experiences, both at home and school, to continue to develop a love of reading amongst our boys.
Book Honouring, the Premier’s Reading Challenge and Beanstack (Years 3-6) are a number of initiatives our boys are engaged in, ultimately our aim is for our boys to read because they want to, not because they have to.
Thank you to Laura Hall and Rebecca Taylor for their coordination of our Book Week activities and to all parents for your support.
I am a strong believer that the little things count. So often I remind the boys how important their manners are and when speaking to an adult to make good eye contact, these two examples are little things that make a difference and build confidence in boys.
We have a responsibility to assist our boys develop a sense of pride in themselves, their family and their School.
I love the start to my day meeting and greeting the boys. I continue to be impressed with our boys and how they present themselves and engage appropriately with their peers and adults at school.
Best wishes to all our dads for Father’s Day on Sunday.
Wilson House Happenings & Reminders
- Thank you to all Year 3 boys and parents who supported last week’s Maths Night and to Brent Brickhill for his organisation.
- The Year 6 production of Finding Nemo Jr will be held on Wednesday 11 September and Thursday 12 September from 7.00pm in the Rosstrevor Hall at BGS. We encourage our ELC to Year 5 boys and families to support their Year 6 buddies.
Tickets are now available for all ELC – Year 5 families via the Trybooking link. Tickets are $20 each. All tickets need to be purchased prior to the performances as there will be no ticket sales available at the door.
- Our next Ute Full of Food will be held Thursday 19 September. Items particularly requested are: breakfast cereals, sugar, jams and spreads, pasta and pasta sauce, rice, noodles, biscuits, tins of vegetables, fruit and fish are particularly welcome, meals-in-a-can, toilet paper, bathroom supplies.
- Junior School families are invited to support the BGS Dance Night on Friday 13 September in Rosstrevor Hall at 7.00pm. Tickets are available here.
Amelia Barrow
Director of the Early Learning CentreWith Spring just around the corner, we have hope for blue skies and warmer days ahead of us.
At the beginning of the week, the boys focused on finishing off their secret business in preparation for Father’s Day this Sunday. Although I won’t ruin the surprise, the boys have thoroughly enjoyed focusing on their Dads or Grandfathers over the past fortnight.
Their creative skills have been flourishing with each boy making something special to take home this weekend.
A definite highlight this week has been welcoming our Dads or special guests to our Father’s Night celebrations. We took photos on arrival as a memoire for the night and enjoyed spending time in the classroom working together before heading over for our African Drumming session.
The whole school could hear the rhythmic beats of our boys and their Dads. The smiles and laughter amongst everyone was so infectious, and I hope this was an incredible memory for all. Thank you to all those attended.
Over the next two weeks, we will be working closely with our ELC4 boys in understanding online safety and age appropriate content when using iPads or devices at home.
Being online has many benefits for young children, including opportunities to explore their creativity, improve language skills, solve problems, and build connections. There are, however, risks and by talking to the boys about online safety we aim to build the foundations for safer online experiences as they grow older.
We would like to wish all of our Dads, Uncles and Grandfathers a wonderful Father’s Day this Sunday and hope you are spoilt!
Parenting Tips
The Quest for Independence and Identity
‘A lot of parents will do anything for their children, except let them be themselves.’ — BANKSY
This quote hits home for many of us. We all want the best for our kids, but sometimes our efforts to guide them can stifle their individuality.
While setting boundaries is essential (think veggies, homework, and bedtime), too much control can backfire.
Setting limits on our children’s behaviour is a natural part of parenting, but it’s important to strike a balance between limits and control. Read more below.
Olivia Tims
Junior School Psychologist
JPG News
End of Term Lunch
The JPG will again be offering an end of term lunch for the ELC and Junior School boys on Friday 20 September 2024. Lunch will include a pie, apple juice and a treat. The cost will be $10.00 (extra pie $5.00).
Online ordering is available through Flexischools online ordering system. Orders must be placed by no later than Friday 13 September 2024 at 5.00pm – no late orders will be accepted. Please note that normal canteen ordering will not be available on this day.
