Pastoral Care & Wellbeing Coordinator
We are thrilled to welcome all students and families to the start of another exciting school year at Mount Carmel Catholic College. A special welcome goes to our new Year 7 families and to the families of students joining us in Years 8–11. We hope your holiday season was filled with joy, relaxation, and memorable moments.
At Mount Carmel, we are committed to providing a safe, respectful, and nurturing environment where all students can thrive. This commitment is brought to life not only through our words but through consistent adherence to our College rules and values. These standards are essential for creating a positive atmosphere where every student has the opportunity to achieve academic success and grow as individuals.
We invite you, as parents and carers, to partner with us in encouraging our students to be their best striving not only for personal excellence but also for the greater good of our community. Together, we can inspire our young people to make choices that reflect our shared values and contribute to a strong and united College identity.
Each day, we ask our students to uphold the ethos of Ite In Veritate "Walking in Truth," fostering a culture of respect, inclusion, and mutual support. By working together, we can ensure that every member of our community feels valued, safe, and empowered to pursue their goals.
Thank you for your ongoing support, and we look forward to a wonderful year ahead.
Mr Simon Huntly & Mrs Theresa Moore
Pastoral Care & Wellbeing Coordinators
School Can’t: Is Your Child Struggling to Come to School?
For some neurodivergent students, school is not a sanctuary for learning. It’s perceived as a source of constant stress, triggering physical symptoms like stomach aches, headaches, and even nausea. These children may wage a miserable battle to stay home each morning or have trouble remaining in school throughout the day.
School refusal, also called school avoidance, is a serious matter. An acute case can last from two weeks up to a year; a chronic case might persist for a year or two. School refusal may stem from underlying struggles associated with ADHD, learning disorders, separation, other neurological concerns or generalised anxiety. A student might be overwhelmed by academic challenges, bullied at school, rejected by peers, and/or troubled by family distress at home. School refusal has grown worse since the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts say that many students didn’t return to the classroom when schools reopened and resumed in-person learning. School refusal looks different in adolescents and teens. Many of them leave school early, skip class, or avoid certain parts of the day by going to sickbay. Some have sleep problems and complain of stomach aches and other ailments. Some experience panic attacks.
The important role of the parent is to be able to communicate these concerns for your child to the school as soon as possible to work together as soon as possible to get to the root cause of the fear/ concern and help the young person learn to address what is creating the anxiety for them. The ADDitude magazine ran a great webinar for parents and educators on school can’t/refusal that parents can subscribe to view.