Dear Parents and Carers,

We are probably all aware that today is St Patrick’s Day. But did you know that this week we also celebrate the feast day of Saint Joseph? St Joseph is a model for us of good living, of living and acting in such a way that reflects God’s goodness and love by constantly doing what is right and good.

2021 -The Year of St Joseph
This year the Catholic Church marks the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of St Joseph as the patron saint of the universal church. Pope Francis has declared 2021 as the Year of St Joseph. 

Pope Francis reminds us that Joseph loved Jesus with a Father's heart and that all four Gospels refer to Jesus as the Son of Joseph. There is not one record of a word spoken by Joseph in the Scriptures yet aside from Mary the mother of Jesus, no other person is recalled more in the teachings of the Church up and down the centuries. Joseph put his family before himself; his actions speak louder than his words. St Joseph was content to be hidden because he was not all about himself. St Joseph was all about God.

This Friday is Bullying.No Way! Day and as part of this nationally recognised day we have been refreshing our understanding of what bullying is and what it is not. We have been practicing strategies for when we experiencing or witness bullying. This is something we continually revisit on a regular basis with our students.

At St Benedict’s we have an Anti-bullying Policy and it can be found on the school website. But an Anti-bullying Policy is only one part of the whole school strategy to reduce and respond to bullying.

A Positive School Culture
It all starts with building a positive school culture and values. A positive school and strong values creates healthier relationships amongst the community. Relationships where bullying doesn’t fit in.

We have strong values in our school:

Our values underpin our 5 Ways of Being.

These were developed with students and are continually revisited in classes. We wanted to simply define what our values call us ‘to be’ at school as students, parents and staff.

Recognising the Positive
We like to recognise when students are displaying actions, attitudes and words that are examples of the 5 Ways of Being and remind them of the positive contribution they make to their own learning or the school community. At the end of each term we recognise one person from each year level in each class that has significantly demonstrated one of the Ways of Being with a 5 Ways of Being Award.

Responding to Bullying
At times we need to recognise that bullying is occurring in our school between students. It is important to understand what bullying is. It involves three critical components:

1. A repeated pattern
2. The misuse of power in a relationship
3. Behaviour which causes harm

This can be between individuals and/or groups. It can be obvious (physical, verbal) or hidden (exclusion, intimidation). It is not always obvious and can often be unacknowledged by adults. Not all conflict and aggression is bullying. Sometimes the conflict is between equals, and this is not bullying. Regardless of the context, all conflict is responded to.

Our Anti-bullying Policy outlines how we respond to any bullying that may occur.

Early intervention is the key for us. Where bullying is happening, we need to know and address it before more serious habits of behaviour form and we need to determine the best form of response for the situation.

Bullying is complex and challenging to deal with. Short term, quick fix solutions like punishment don’t assist to break the cycle of the bully-victim social relationship.

Our response will always require some analysis – identifying when and where it occurs and rectifying any power imbalance; relationship-focused – building positive relationships and learning successful social strategies for both bully and victim; and open communication – students, parents and staff are all engaged openly in working towards a positive and optimistic future.

At St Benedict’s we stand together against any form of bullying.

If you would like to be a little clearer about what bullying is and how you can help your child to respond to bullying then I encourage you to visit www.bullyingnoway.gov.au . There are some outstanding resources. In particular I encourage you to read "What is bullying"?

May St Joseph and St Patrick bless our school community this week with a desire to always do what is right, and with a firm faith in God’s loving presence within and among us.

God bless.

Rachel Smith
Principal