Education Matters

As a parent, there are many ways in which you can support your children at school, including meeting staff and teachers, attending school assemblies, helping out at school events and being part of the Parents and Friends (P&F) group, sometimes known as Parents and Citizens (P&C).

Year 12 is a significant year for students. As they go through their final year of high school, sit end-of-school exams and make key decisions about their future, their year may be full of nerves and high-pressure moments. This makes your involvement in your child’s life at this time even more important. To help you, we’ve put together six ways to support your child during Year 12.

Everyone experiences anger. Regardless of age, anger is a normal reaction to frustration, stress or disappointment. As boys grow up, they face increasingly difficult situations and begin to deal with some of the challenges of daily life, but they also learn to express and manage their anger in more effective ways.

Although the summer holidays are a fantastic time for children to rest, recover and enjoy a break from school, it can be a challenge getting back into a school routine. To aid the transition back to school, we’ve uncovered five tips to prepare for the new school year:

Developing healthy and consistent routines can make a significant difference to your family. Routines help to keep your life organised and provide your children with a structure to develop independence, learn how to set priorities and meet deadlines, and develop healthy habits of self-care. We’ve put together five helpful tips on how to establish a good school routine.

Ensuring your child reaches their potential is undoubtedly a priority for any parent. We want them to have the best life possible and for them to realise their God-given talents and gifts. It is an immense responsibility to teach children to give their best and inspire them to live up to their potential.

Whilst serving as a rest for students, school holidays can often have the opposite effect on parents by putting them under stress to find fun things to do to occupy their children. The cost of keeping kids entertained is also rising, with the ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’ taking increasingly bigger hits during school breaks.

The transition from school into the next stage of life represents a significant change. Leaving the school environment – a place of safety, routine and security – and entering into a new territory of responsibility and independence is exciting, but it can also be a daunting experience.

According to the Australian Government’s 2015 Mental Health of Children and Adolescents Report, almost three percent of Australian children aged four to 17 met diagnostic criteria for a major depressive order, with adolescents aged 12 to 17 at greatest risk. The report also found that approximately seven percent of young people aged four to 17 had an anxiety disorder.

Events such as R U OK? Day, remind us to be aware of each other’s mental health and wellbeing. While experiencing social and emotional difficulties is a natural part of growing up for children, sometimes symptoms display for an extended period of time or begin to interfere with everyday life, indicating more serious mental health concerns.