Dear Parents and Caregivers,
Empowering Parents and Girls
As we begin the new year and settle into the routines of building our community of learners, we are excited about the programmes and initiatives that encourage our young women to value them themselves, support each other and build positive and healthy relationships.
The whanaungatanga groups are part of the focus within the school to give girls a sense of belonging and connectedness that enhances their well being. Staff and students alike are enjoying the opportunities to get to know each other better, share ideas and experiences and support their group.
The EAAA programme with the Year 12 girls has been very successful judging from the anecdotal comments we have collated. While we await the formal evaluation of the workshops that will be conducted by the University of Otago team, we are confident that we have given the girls valuable information and tools that will enable them to be able to assess potentially difficult social situations, acknowledge the issues and act in a way to keep themselves and others safe.
Parent Workshop: Tuesday March 7th
As a follow on from our parent seminars last year, we continue to plan programmes and workshops for our parents that address the issues our girls are faced with through the internet, media and social media sites. We are proud to be able to offer another such opportunity by organising an Otago wide workshop for parents of teenagers and pre-teens being presented by Maree Crabbe.
The workshop: “It’s time we talked: Pornography, young people and sexuality today” assists parents to understand the impact of pornography on young people and what they can do to address it. It will be held onTuesday 7th March 7.00-9.00pm at the Otago Boys’ High School auditorium.
Maree Crabbe is an Australian researcher who coordinates the community education project Reality & Risk: Pornography, young people and sexuality. She is co-producer and co-director of the documentary films Love and Sex in an Age of Pornography, broadcast in seven countries, and The Porn Factor, broadcast recently in Australia, and author ofIn the Picture – a whole school resource to assist secondary schools to address the influence of explicit sexual imagery. Maree has worked with young people – and on issues affecting young people – in the community sector for over 20 years. Maree’s articles on young people, sexuality and pornography have been published online and in print media.
Having had Maree present to principals, teachers and counsellors last year, members of the Otago Secondary School Principals’ Association felt strongly that her information and messages would be very valuable for all our parents and so we have been very fortunate to be able to get her to Dunedin again for this workshop. Maree is an engaging, informative and expert speaker who works all over Australasia. I would urge you to take the time to attend the workshop.
Please pass the flyer (found here) to any friends and family who are keen to support their daughters and sons to build healthy and happy relationships.
This workshop is free and available to all parents in Otago thanks to the generous support of the Otago Community Trust.
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