SCHOOL CLOSURE MONDAY 3rd NOVEMBER

A reminder to all parents that we have a school closure on Monday 3rd November. There is no school for students on this day.

2026 CLASS STRUCTURES – PARENT INFORMATION

As we begin planning class lists for 2026, we welcome parent input regarding any specific educational needs that may affect your child’s class placement.

At St Ita’s, we view school as a vital space for children to learn more than just academics. It’s where they begin to explore how to:

• Be friendly with many, not just friends with a few
• Work alongside others with different views and strengths
• Build respectful relationships
• Adapt to change with resilience and confidence

Changing classes can naturally bring a mix of emotions—excitement, nervousness, uncertainty—but it also provides valuable life lessons. Just as adults transition between workplaces, students benefit from learning how to form new, positive working relationships in fresh environments.

We strongly believe that keeping children in the same group year after year limits these important learning experiences. By experiencing change, children learn to form new connections, become more adaptable, and develop independence.

Our class placement process is thoughtful and thorough. We consider:

• Each child’s academic, social, and emotional needs
• The strengths and teaching styles of staff
• Peer compatibility (not friendships)
• Requests from students for peers they work well with

To help with this process, we use Class Solver, a tool that assists in creating balanced class groups based on gender, academics, social and emotional needs.

Important Information for Parents Making Requests:

If you would like to make a class placement request, please complete the 2026 Class Request Form (Google Form link below). Requests must be submitted in writing each year—even if similar requests were made previously.

Please Note:

We cannot accommodate requests for:

• A specific teacher (please don’t make ill-informed teacher judgments)
• Placement with your child’s best friends (Best friends does not guarantee best learning)

All requests will be considered carefully but not all requests are not guaranteed.

If you’re discussing next year with your child, we encourage you to frame it as an opportunity for growth—like starting a new job. Share your own stories about building new relationships in changing environments. These are important life skills, and your positive outlook can help them feel confident and supported.

Please click on the link below to complete your request.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe2JghWySp4xRyUwjV8mip0QuLFM3PDTcVarr8Y9wzs-DjEzg/viewform?usp=preview

Thank you for trusting us to know and support your child—both individually and as part of our wider school community.

The St Ita’s Leadership Team

SOCIAL MEDIA AGE RESTRICTIONS

The Australian Government is implementing new laws to protect young Australians at a critical stage of their development, through world-first social media age restrictions.

From 10 December 2025, age-restricted social media platforms will have to take reasonable steps to prevent Australians under the age of 16 from creating or keeping an account.

The restrictions aim to protect young Australians from pressures and risks that users can be exposed to while logged in to social media accounts. These come from design features that encourage them to spend more time on screens, while also serving up content that can harm their health and wellbeing.

While no formal assessments have yet to be made, the age restrictions are likely to apply to Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube, among other platforms.

More generally, age restrictions will apply to social media platforms that meet three specific conditions, unless they are excluded based on criteria set in out in legislative rules made by the Minister for Communications in July 2025.

The conditions for age restriction are:

• the sole purpose, or a significant purpose, of the service is to enable online social interaction between two or more end-users
• the service allows end-users to link to, or interact with, some or all of the other end-users
• the service allows end-users to post material on the service.

Online gaming and standalone messaging apps are among a number of types of services that have been excluded under the legislative rules. However, messaging services that have social-media style features which allow users to interact in other ways apart from messaging may be included in the age restrictions, as well as messaging features accessed through age-restricted social media accounts.

With the social ban coming into effect by December 2025, these are some answers to your questions about what it is and how it may impact on families.

WHAT IS THE SOCIAL MEDIA BAN?

The Australian Government passed a new law called the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024 on 28 November 2024. This law introduces a mandatory minimum age of 16 for accounts on certain social media platforms. It will take effect by December 2025, and parents cannot give their consent to let under-16s use these platforms.

WHY IS THE SOCIAL MEDIA BAN HAPPENING? 

The Government says the social media ban is needed to protect the mental health and wellbeing of Australian children and teens. They believe the risks of social media, such as cyberbullying, harmful content, and online predators, outweigh the positives.

WHAT SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS DOES THE BAN APPLY TO?

The platforms the ban will apply to still needs to be officially worked out, but the suggestions at the moment are YouTube, X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and Reddit. Tech companies that own these platforms could face fines of up to $50 million if they don’t take reasonable steps to stop under-16s from having accounts.  

Apps like Messenger Kids, WhatsApp, Kids Helpline, Google Classroom and YouTube Kids are expected to not be part of the ban. 

HOW WILL SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS KNOW MY AGE? 

There was talk that Aussies would have to hand over personal IDs, like driver’s licences or passports, but the Government is expected to decide against this. A few ideas are floating around on how to ensure that under-16s don’t access these platforms, but there is no one solution yet. 

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO ME IF I HAVE AN ACCOUNT?

It's up to the tech company that owns the platform to create systems to ensure those under 16 can’t create or keep social media accounts. This means there won’t be fines or penalties for young people and their families if they gain access to age-restricted platforms. The tech companies will face potential penalties instead.

St Ita’s will keep all families up to date with any developments that get rolled out in the lead up to roll out as we approach the end of the year.

This weeks conversation starters, to help you kick off some quality conversations with your family.

• Who do you normally play with at recess and lunch and why?
• What three words best describe you?
• What is the best gift that you have ever recieved and why?

The goal? To help build a routine—whether it’s nightly dinners, drives to school, or even just one dedicated evening a week for “Family Conversation Night” (no screens allowed!).

You’ll be amazed at the magic that unfolds once it becomes a family habit.

INCLUSSIVE EDUCATION

Positive parent partnerships are offering a great opportunity to parents via free online workshop where you will have the opportunity to listen, share and learn with parents and carers who support young autistic people from across all states.

Learn more about autism and ways to strengthen the partnership between home and school.

• This online workshop is four short sessions spread over four weeks.
• Each session contains unique information and attending all will provide the best learning.
• These workshops are interactive online sessions, delivered via Zoom. Each session has a separate registration.